Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Creating the food chain Emerald Shiners

Do you know if emerald shiners can live in texas and would they be good forage for hybrid stripers?

Lots of knowledgable fish raisers have tried unsuccessfully to get emerald shiners (Notropis atherinoides) to spawn with any measurable or consistant success in ponds. Those who say emerald shiners spawn in their ponds should double check the species of shiner they are using. Several shiners look very similar to emeralds.

A better more practical shiner to raise with striped bass is the golden shiner. It grows big and readily spawns in ponds of all sizes. With a little weed cover and not an overabundance of stripers they should do well.

Would the golden shiners eat the shad and blugill eggs?

As far as I know all fish at some time or another will eat fish eggs if the eggs are readily available. Fish eggs are used to catch Steelhead (trout) in many streams during autumn thru spring. I don't think the shiners will prey on unprotectd fish eggs any more aggressively than bgill or many of the other small fish. Shiners should not be intense predators on bgill eggs because the eggs are protected by the male fish. I have golden shiners in a pond with bgill and the bgill seem to have very successful spawns.

Gizzard and threadfin shad have adhesive eggs which are broadcast over vegetation or a variety of bottom substrates; even over open water. These unprotected eggs are suseptable to consumption from almost all types of fish. Large numbers of eggs per female increases the chances of many eggs hatching.