I have 10 RES (from the batch I stocked into my pond) in an aquarium. Today I added several FH fry to the tank and I can tell you without a doubt that RES adore FH minnows. This leads me to believe that the only reason RES don't normally feed much on fish is because of a lack of appropriately sized prey. Other Lepomis quickly outgrow the minimum size required to fit in a RES mouth so in most ponds that leaves bugs and snails.

I think my biggest challenge with this project is going to be supplying my small RES with adequate forage once the FH quit spawning. Maybe I should stop feeding the FH in an effort to keep them smaller...