Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Raising Forage and Bait Baitshop FHM to stock your pond?

I ran a little experiment. I will preface this post with the statement that I did this test once with FHM from one baitshop located near me...

I have a 20 gallon aquarium setup with a cycled filter. I started with 8 Rosey Reds (RR) and had them in there for two months or so. They were growing well and seemed very healthy. (I monitored ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels. Ammonia and nitrite were 0 and nitrate climbed to 10 ppm during this test.) Two weeks ago I introduced a dozen FHM from the baitshop and they were feisty and appeared healthy. Roll the clock forward two weeks. All the FHM from the baitshop are now dead. The symptoms prior to death included lethargic behavior and a dulling of color the back half of their bodies. Some got a slight fuzzy growth. It could be argued they died because of stress but, three of my originally healthy RR have now died with the same symptoms. I don't think stress is contagious.

My advice, get your stockers from a reputable supplier, regardless of species.

I am continuing the test for a few weeks more. It will be interesting to see if any of the RRs survive the contamination from the baitshop fish.