Green head: I agree with Bill. That rotenone article in the last issue of Pond Boss is very well done. After reading that, you should easily be able to renovate a pond fish community. I especially liked the fact that Mr. Latona talked about a 3 ppm concentration for many fishes, rather than using 1 or 2 ppm. Nothing is worse than going to all the time and trouble to renovate a pond, and then having some fish survive. Plus, it's usually the undesirable fish, such as bullheads or carp, that survive the partial kill. The same thing is true for muddy water and water with a lot of decomposing organic material (such as plants); these situations require more rotenone (as Mr. Latona indicated).

Bill: I have always been taught, and now tell my students, that rotenone will not kill fish eggs. The most common example I have heard is common carp -- if you have a early summer rotenone operation just after the carp have spawned, the water detoxifies in just a few days when temps get into the 70s F. So, the eggs may hatch after the toxicity is too low to kill the newly hatched carp fry.

Now, having said this, I don't actually have any personal experience where eggs actually did survive. We try to avoid rotenone operations near spawning times just for this reason. Perhaps some other contributor can chime in, if they have more information or personal experience.

The other "tidbit" that I was always taught, and continue to pass on is: don't let pigs near the water where you have applied rotenone. While most mammals are not affected by rotenone at the recommended dosages, pigs are supposedly very sensitive to it. Again, I have never let a pig into any treated water to "test" this piece of information! :-)

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.