Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Creating the food chain Stocking minnows

A quick question for my first post. Before that though- I love this web site and the PB magazine.
We just finished excavation on my small pond (1/3 acre) and I have app. 1.5 feet of water in the lowest point.The water level may fluctuate a bit until I get some more rain. I am now working on installing cover in the still dry portions of the pond. The pond is fed by a small spring but primarily by rain and run-off. Water is still very cloudy.
My plan is to stock FH and possibly shiners and BG this fall. What is the minimum depth of water I should wait for before stocking my minnows?
Sorry it took so long to get to the question, I just wanted to include as much info as I could.
Thanks in advance- Shaef

Sorry I did not read further...I see that Chris from SE Ohio has many of the same questions as I do. Next time I will read further before posting questions- I would appreciate any input anyone may have on my questions though. Thanks again- Shaef

Proud member of the Thin Blue Line

Hey, Shaef, welcome to Pond Boss! Why don't you also post a quick hello in the New Member section of the forum just as a way of intro.

Don't ever worry about asking a question that's already been asked - as far as I can tell, there aren't too many original questions left anyway (kind of like we say in aviation - there are no original causes for crashing an airplane. They've all been used before, so learn from them!). Most of us still learn from seeing questions asked and answered several times, so fire away. That said, though, there is more information here than you can shake a stick at, so take your time and read, read, read! Of course, use caution. Diving into the depth of this forum can lead to loss of interest in everything else in your life, so be diligent!

As for your question, I am also a newbie pond owner so I don't really know the best answer for your situation. If there's only 1.5 feet of water right now, though, you may want to wait a little longer before you start adding fish, though you can certainly add them before you hit full pool. At that depth, thy could be sitting ducks (pretty bad metaphor use there!) for birds and other predators and you may also run into unforeseen issues with the pond holding water or water quality that would need to be addressed before you want fish in it. Also take a look at some of the threads on cover so your new additions will have some hiding places.

Good luck, keep us posted, and share some pics and a more detailed description of your place and your goals.

When water levels start getting to half way full you can add fathead minnows. I am a fan of patience though. What are your goals for the pond?

A lot depends on your water clarity and cover. I jsut did a massive plant of gams, fhm, gsh, bg and res. The pond was fairly shallow and filling, but water was very murky. And predator birds may have met with instantaneous lead poisoning. I'd get them in before the Winter. But in phases. either some of each every few weeks as you add depth or the fhm first.

Thanks for the replies so far- I will be waiting a while until the water deepens. Last night from the dinner table we watched one of the long legged fish-eating buggers walking through the water looking for a meal. I don't want to make it any easier on him.
I will be going over to the new member section as suggested to intro myself. Thanks again and I look forward to reading all of the great articles and posts on the site. Shaef

Proud Member of the Thin Blue Line

CJBS- My goals are to have the healthiest fish population that my pond will support. I will be stocking BG, shiners and FH's this fall with bass to follow next spring. I would also like to add CC's at some point.
Just measured the water depth yesterday and we have 3' of water so far. My son and I are building a dock right now and then we will move on to the cover which will consist of pallet structures, logs-trees, and a stone pile. If I can find it at a decent price, I would like to do a small area of pea gravel for the BG spawning area.
I will try to download some photos ( I am OK at taking the photos but not the downloading part- hopefully my kids can help with that).
Bottom line is I want a healthy pond where my dad, my son and daughters and I can relax and catch healthy fish.
Again- I love the web site, especially the forums- you can really learn quite a bit here.
Shaef
Proud member of the Thin Blue Line

Shaef, I wouldn't stress at all over making areas for the BG to spawn. They will find areas that suit them, they're sorta like rabbits. I made 2 different spawning areas for BG and they ignored both of them.

ess- thanks for the info- that is one job I can cross off the list.

Shaef

Proud Member of the Thin Blue Line