Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Creating the food chain More on Fatheads

For the past year and a half, I have been stocking my two acre pond with golden shiners to try to establish a forage for my bass (in addition to an existing bluegill population). Despite loading several pounds of shiners, I don't see much sign of them in my pond. A friend of mine suggested adding fatheads instead of shiners, since he claims they spawn more frequently and have a better survival rate amongst my predators (bass, bluegill, some perch). I'm not so sure about that. I realize that in the south, shad are the preferred forage, but can anyone suggest if fatheads have a better establishment capability than golden shiners??

From everything I've read on the subject, yes. Fatheads are one of the most hardy minnows you can find and they breed like crazy.

There are a lot of prior posts on them. I've read that fatheads do reproduce like crazy, but it seems the consensus of advice I received said that stocking fatheads in a pond with existing predators is just providing them with expensive fish food. If you don't have bass in the pond now, adding them would probably be good so they have time to get established before introducing predators. My understanding is that they move too slow to escape predators and survive long term even if given a head start.

A little recent experience with fatheads proved to me they are just expensive fishfood. I put in three gallons worth in my 1/2 acre pond 4 weeks ago. For the most part they are completly gone. The thing with fatheads is that they are a surface schooling fish that roam in schools in the wide open water. Pretty expensive fish food.

My experience doesn't totally support the conclusion that they are expensive fish food. First, I have a 30 year old pond(1/2 acre) with bass, Bg, and surviving fatheads (never re-stocked). There aren't a lot of the fatheads, but I assume those that survive every year reproduce in profusion and many get picked off. I don't see many but always see some. Same thing in my 3 year old 3 acre pond that was stocked initially with fatheads....always see a few, not many but I conclude that could mean that many are food dishes.

I stocked 30 pounds in early April and put in some skids for cover/egg laying. Within 3 weeks there were very few to be seen. The first batch of baby fatheads could be seen for a week or so swimming around the pond. But no more. My opinion is that the only ones that survive beyone a couple of weeks are the ones who hang very close to cover. There are still enough to reproduce but I don't think I will ever see large numbers of minnows in this pond.

I had Fatheads put in last fall to start our food chain along with Blue Gills.

Right now there are literally clouds of fathead fry in all sizes. From day old to several weeks. They are multiplying like mad along with the tadpole population. Had a few breeder size bass added in the fall as well and they have bread as we see many fry bass along with the minnows. The Blue gills are stuffing them selvew right now but the fat heads seem to breed fater than the blu gills can eat.

Thanks for your experiences, guys. It seems to be a hit or miss deal, with some having sucess and others finding them to be expensive fish food. I guess cover (hiding places) is the key to whether any small forage or fry survives. Obviously, there is cover is most every pond to allow fish populations to grow from fry or else we would eventually deplete them through harvest or age. I am going to stock a few more pounds of fatheads over the course of the summer, as a get a few bucks here and there to throw away, and see if I can't get something to take hold.

i put in 10 lbs in may , the bass and who ever cleaned them out in couple weeks. i have tons of emearld shinner fry buy the bank , no fats. was out on the dock looked in the water and there where thousands of 3/4" or so fats in 5' of water. i don't know if their out there because of the shinners

Could they be a little like Gizzard Shad in that they tend to congregate in deeper, more open water, where the bass do not generally hang out? IF a pond had that kind of area, I would imagine that several could survive. I can't imagine a slow moving shoreline surface mover would last long.

One other thought. Would it be better to throw in fatheads in the late fall or early winter for a better survival rate, as the fish may have slower metabolisms then? Just wondering if anyone had a better experience stocking fatheads or golden shiners at less active times of year.

I like to stock them in the fall in cold water so they can find hiding places while the predators aren't feeding heavily.