Add the lime suggested. Without it and with water flow considerations you may not get a plankton bloom - thus no bottom layer to the food chain. Plankton bloom will help shade the FA and add forage for the BG and tilapia. I would be very careful of over-wintering tilapia as they can easily take up most of your carrying capacity and crowd out the BG and LMB recruitment. Studies on which LMB prefer BG or tilapia are based on gape size for the size of the meal. LMB have an unbelievable ability to gauge the size of prey and their ability to easily swallow it. Because BG have tall spines top and bottom as related to their size, LMB will eat tilapia first as they are longer and less tall (require less LMB gape size) all other things being equal. In the real pond world we know that all other things are not normally equal and LMB are opportunity feeders so they will eat what they can easily catch and swallow first (maximize energy conversion and use). Add some adult 6 in. CNBG if you want them to succeed in the pond.

You may not know if your pond can establish a plankton bloom because it may well be constrained by low alkalinity rather than flow through ( low alka constrained). We have springs and clear water and often its the low alkalinity that is the problem not the springs.


Last edited by ewest; 02/12/08 05:11 PM.