Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose Only fish necessary for pond health

Felt,

If you were going to go in with only one fish you might consider smallmouth bass. The small ones will eat the things your bluegill were eating and the larger ones will eat the smaller ones. There will never be as many fish as you had when the BOW contained bluegill. You wouldn't need aeration though it wouldn't hurt to do it. Buck and Thoits noted that their SMB monoculture could be cropped heavily with no detriment to the Spring Standing weights noting in at least one BOW that the annual crop was larger than the BOW could likely carry. A BOW will carry a greater weight of SMB than LMB and a lesser weight than BG. They are kind of a blend of LMB and BG in terms of the foods they tend to eat.

Provided they could reproduce in your BOW they may be a good choice. If Gambusia are native in your region, I do like John's rec or perhaps other local small minnows. Small minnows could be a prey fish for the SMB as well.