Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Creating habitat Idea for FHM spawning structure

I was cleaning out my shop this past weekend and ran across 8 left over porcelain tiles from a previous project. From what I remember being told, FHM spawn on the underside of flat surfaces. I was thinking about using them along with some bricks to make a structure like this:



The tiles are about 20"x20" and 1/2" thick. I would use bricks to space them which would put them about 3-3.5" apart. I was thinking about making two sets of 4 tiles placed on one of the more gentle slopes. I was going to place the top tile at about 2' of water and go down from there.

I think your idea will work great. Only suggestion I may have is to scratch up the face of tiles. This way algae and the like can grow and adhere the best.

Unlike normal smooth ceramic tiles, these are very rough on both sides already. They are 'natural cut' on one side and have a raised grid and rough surface on the thin set side.

Perfect...!!!

FH males are territorial during the spawn. May want to put them at about the same depth 20 inches (assuming you don't have big water depth fluctuations) and space them about 4 feet apart along the bank.

I am expecting to have up to a 24" water fluctuation during the summer but I have no way to know yet since the pond is still filling. I did not realize they are territorial, I guess I will be making 8 individual shelf structures.

The water level finally came up and is currently 24" from full so I decided to place my FHM spawning structures. I ended up using 24 8"x18" concrete pads and some old 5 hole bricks.







I placed them 5-10 feet apart ranging a from 18-36" below where full pool will be to accommodate water fluctuations. I placed them in 3 different areas of the pond to spread them out.

Do I need to wait until the water clears some more before stocking with FHM? There is currently nothing stocked in the pond, I have noticed a few minnows, turtles and bull frogs that have made their self at home in the pond.

I am also going to out camp this weekend to do some fishing and will most likely bring some golden shiners home. Is there any reason not to stock them along with the FHM? This will be a BG/Bass pond.

If you can catch some of those "minnows" that found their way into the pond, please do so. They might not be "minnows".....

As for releasing baitfish minnows into the pond, I wouldn't unless you are 100% sure that every one that you put in the pond is actually a Golden Shiner (GSH) or Fathead Minnow (FHM). Bait dealers might source their fish from wild stock, and other fish might be in the mix such as common carp, etc.

FHM will survive in that water. I would get grass seed or seed of whatever groundcover you will be planting around the pond on the ground ASAP to help reduce the amount of sediment that is washed into the pond.

If the water stays that color, look at the "Alum kicks Clay's Butt" thread on how to clear the water of suspended solids.