Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations fathead minnows??

i live in central indiana and the recommended stocking for a new pond, (that i have read) includes many pounds of fatheads. it also suggests about 50% of this weight to be restocked every year. i am not concerned with the money, i am mainly concerned of having a nice lmb factory. my main question is: will these minnows spawn? or will they just be eaten this fall when i stock my largemouth. i will be starting with fingerlings of gills, cats, and then bass this fall. i am just curious about information on these minnows and it is difficult to find because they are not one of the popular fish to catch, they are mainly bait.

Craig, fatheads are a first year snack for the bass. After that they will be eating your bream. Don't waste your money on fatheads after the first year.

They should spawn before the bass are put in but will be eaten soon thereafter.

I don't know anything about Bream, I raise Steelhead trout and some Cats. I put in probbly 4000 fatheads prior to putting in the fish and I cannot believe the amount of second generation fathead minnows i now have. Once you put in the Fatheads and if they have enough cover you should never have to put anymore Fatheads in ever. I have 300 fish in just shy of a 1/2 acre pond and the trout will barely touch the trout feed. I assume they are so full and content with the Fatheads which is a natural feed that the trout feed is just a tasty snack. One thing to remember is when the Fatheads spawn they die soon after and become easy prey for the fish, however their off spring go very rapid and the cycle continues. With my experience i certainly would try some Fatheads and see how you get along.

Fatheads will spawn prolifically, but with enough predators around, they will eventually dissappear. Their nitch is to get your freshly introduced predatory fish to quickly gain some pounds.

I add fatheads periodically. They get in the real shallow water and in brush. I don't think big bass mess with them but smaller ones do and bluegill get their fry. They seem to spawn and some of them make it thru the year. After 2 1/2 years I still have some along with huge numbers of baby and juvenile bluegill. Actually, I seine them from a 1/4 to 1/3 acre forage pond that is loaded with bluegill. I seine several times a year with no lessening of either bgill or fatheads.

just the kind of information i was looking for. glad to see that everyone cares to help, and i know i can't be the only one learning something everyday from this board. keep it coming guys i have alot to learn. thanks again.

Fathead Notes. Fatheads do not die after spawning. We used to raise them as laboratory animals for using the fry in toxicity testing. Some lived to be four years old; spawning many times. They don't live long in the pond because they get eaten. Males often accept eggs from more than one female and up to 12,000 eggs per nest have been recorded. Typically females lay 80-370 eggs at a time. Number of eggs per nest often depends on the available area the male can prepare for the nest. Eggs can sometimes be two laryers thick in parts of the egg mass. Eggs hatch in 4 to 8 days depending on temperature.