Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Creating the food chain Did I stock enough minnows?

I see this as (arguably) two separate questions:

1) Could the CC, LMB, and BG have wiped out the original 5000 FH and all the offspring they had this year?

2) Could they have eaten 2500 additional FH in a week?

I'm not sure which of these you are after so let's tackle them both.

1) I sure think so. In a pond with LMB and BG, it's not really a question of will the FH survive, more like how soon will they be wiped out. FH are slow, and even intermediate sized BG can feed on the young FH. In my 1 acre pond, the FH and GShiners had a whole year head start on the BG, LMB, and CC. The pond was thick with FH before the other fish went in. I have not seen a FH since the end of the first warm season since stocking the predators.

2) Probably. That's 200 FH for each LMB (ignoring other predators since your unstated size BG may not be big enough for adult FH, and your CC may not be very predatory yet). If it was only 100 FH per LMB, I'd say quite likely. (We once had an 8" HBG in an aquarium who could polish off a dozen penny goldfish in under 24 hours.)

And your title question - "Did I stock enough minnows?" For starting the pond out, I'd say yes. Nobody but the wealthy or the indulgent pond boss (OK, that's pretty much everyone here) can stock enough FH to keep them in a pond long term. As Bob Lusk says, FH are just a snack for the bass in an established pond.