What kind of special potion are you going to use? They will be the key to the entire "cycle". The Res won't produce enough offspring to influence anything and the occasional decent SMB and/or HSB will be hard to come by without 4 to 6 inch groceries.

Absolute gender identification of BG would be a slippery slope for me. They would have to be larger for a positive ID and even then....

I would be VERY cautious about purposely adding any kind of snail, clam or other mollusk. I don't want to stock anything that attaches itself as a parasitic fluke to a fish. Caution: What I don't know about RES would fill a much larger book than what I do know. Likewise on clams and snails.

Do redears actually NEED things with shells or will/can they thrive on a fish diet alone? I see snails and other hard backed thingies as something that redears can help control but not really need as part of their daily bread. Give me some help here.

I see the addition of mollusk type life forms as a potential for harm to the well being of the entire fish population. Elimination of them can be pretty questionable if it doesn't work.

If it is an experiment and you acknowledge the present and future potential for damage to the pond and all area ponds then have at it. I don't believe that birds introduce fish but do know that they introduce parasites to area water holes.

It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.

Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.

Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP Grandpa