Bdoug -- I probably didn't give you enough background information. I DON'T have personal experience with this. We just have a general concern within the fisheries profession.

Say that you decide to add largemouth bass to a pond that already has existing populations of both predator and prey fishes. In this case, you decide to stock 6-inch fingerling bass. If you buy bass that have been raised exclusively on pellets, they may not survive too well. Their entire lives have been spent in a circular tank or raceway, and they gather to feed on pellets several times a day in a feeding frenzy. You can expect some to be so naive that the resident predators eat them right away, and there go some of your expensive fingerlings. Some may learn predator avoidance, but then they don't know how to feed on wild prey fishes, so at first they are pretty unsuccessful. So, some of these may die in a month or two, while some learn.

Now, let's say that you stocked the pond with 6-inch largemouth bass that came from a commercial producer who raised them in an outdoor pond. They learned to catch insects, and they learned how to chase, handle, and feed on prey fishes in that pond. They may even have learned that they need to avoid their larger brother or sister that became a cannibal. These fish would be expected to survive the first month or two after stocking at a much higher rate than the pellet-reared fish.

Hope that clarifies my minor note of "caution."

Dave

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From Bob Lusk: Dr. Dave Willis passed away January 13, 2014. He continues to be a key part of our Pond Boss family...and always will be.