HSB would be a much more compatible fish with the YP-BCP combination. HSB could be added or harvested based on the predatory pressure needed to maintain the goal of balance.
Dr. Cody, I've been getting more and more intrigued by the prospect of a BCP-YP combination given that these are such desirable food fish. In my own pond, I would like to avoid hybrids so that each species is its own self-sustaining population, which would rule out HSBs for me. I was wondering if -hear me out-
longnose gar could be substituted as apex predator in a BCP-YP fishing pond, possibly with the addition of LMB.
The way I'm picturing it, the YP and BCP fry compete intensely for resources due to their similar spawn times, their fingerlings get thinned out by bass and young-medium sized gar, medium-large BCP, YP, and LMB get thinned out by the fully grown gar. Since I suspect gar might have a preference for fusiform fish, adding the bass prevents them from imbalancing the BCP-YP ratio too badly.
The result is a controlled, relatively balanced population of catchably-sized BCP and YP. The gar are prevented from breeding out of control through LMBs and cannibalism thinning out their fingerlings. Obviously this isn't a complete ecosystem in its own right, I was just wondering if I was on a workable track or not.
