Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations Happy LMB

Some of you might recall my dad posting about our cement holding tank. It receives water via windmill and distributes water to both the cabin and the BG pond. Here is a pic:




We've stocked various fish with moderate success. We started with RES, FHs, and Pacu. After the Pacu died (winter temps) and we found no more RES or FHs, we started over.

Next, we put GSH and FHs and hand-fed Aquamax 400. We must've overstocked it, because we had a massive dieoff.

A few GSH and FHs survived. We drained, cleaned the muck off the bottom, and started over. After 150 large FHs and 75 3" GSH were doing well, we decided to put two small (~8 in.) LMB. I transferred LMB from my mom's place with stunted LMB pond (about 100 miles away). I haul fish in a large igloo ice chest with an O2 tank and stone diffuser.

Afer putting most of the hauled LMB in other ponds, we saved the two smallest for our little cement tank. Thinking we still had too much forage, we were hoping the two little bass would put a dent in the FHs and GSH.

The bass went in March 20. Yesterday, no more FHs or GSH came up to feed. Thinking we had a third dieoff, my dad drained the tank to about 4 inches. Lo and behold, there were two extremely fat bass that were well over 8" long. How in the world did two (originally 8") fish eat 150 FHs and 75 3" GSH in one month flat??

With those large mouths. chomp chomp

That's pretty neat. Each LMB ate 3+ fish per day. When I think about it, I guess that would be expected in a forage rich environment.

"Feed me, Seymour!"

I guess the bass have nothing else to do but eat, and if there's no cover, it's an ideal situation for forage extinction and fattening up LMB.

Dave- I was thinking the same thing. Even though it's 3+ fish per day for each bass, the conditions are as bobad described above.

I suppose in tight quarters with no cover, such feeding habits are normal. The bass also came from a pond with stunted LMB that I am slowly but surely correcting. I wonder if the LMB just went crazy with all that new-found forage--like going from an all-boys prep school to a state college.

I figured they'd eat all the GSH and FHs...just not that fast.

Another question: Now that they've literally eaten themselves out of their environment like bass so often do, how long can they sustain their growth without more food?

My dad and I certainly don't want to starve them, but it may be a week or two before we can get more forage in there. This could be a fun experiment...we'll see how it evolves.

They probably think they transferred from Baylor to UT.

LOL.
Easy there, 'ol guv. They don't call it THEE University for nothing. Baylor has amazingly beautiful women (I'd know...I married one of 'em ) and at a ratio that is just unfair to lonely Aggie males.
Why do you think the Aggies come up to Waco to try to get a date??

As for UT...they have their fair share (pun intended), but why go there when you can go to Baylor and not have to worry about weeding through the ones that look like they jumped into my tackle box head-first?