kris - to place or insert photos in a post go to the Arcives on the forum main page. Look In the Intro Section for the heading of "Common Pond Q&A (Archives)". Near the page bottom will be a topic of "Posting Photos on PBoss Forum". This should explain in fairly good detail how to add photos. Follow the instructions to the LETTER. If I can do it most anyone can. Ask questions if you are having trouble with the procedure.
Fatheads, I will assume that you want to overwinter the fatheads from one year to the next. Overwintering can have pros and cons depending on your use for the minnows.
If your small shallow ponds are covered with lots of snow for periods greater than 3-4 wks in winter the fish will probably winter kill. The easiest way to prevent this is to keep snow off the ponds - shoveling. Depths of 3 ft may not be enough in your region based on severity of winter weather. Depths of 5'-6' would give you a little more room for error than the 3ft depths. I have successfully maintained fatheads in a 3 ft deep pond during northern Ohio winters. Snow removal was a necessity. Two main problems of the numerous problems you will encounter are dealing with rooted weeds (vegetation) and parasites. As you gain experience with this project, you might discover that it is easier and with less aggravation to each year remove the annual production, drain the small ponds, refill in spring, and start with a new brood stock. Lots of information has been posted here about good spawning material or devices for fathead minnows. Use the "Search" feature at the upper right portion of each page to look for old information about fathead minnows. There should be quite a few posts in the headings of Questions and Observations, Creating the Food Chain, and Types of Fish to Choose. If you need more info, ask specific questions.
