I put leftover shiners from icefishing in my two year old trout pond. Quarter acre, 9 ft deep, aerated. The population has exploded. They are obviously reproducing well. I don't know specifically what species of "shiner" they are. My understanding is the quality control on the shiner bait industry is not ISO grade.
About two weeks ago I started noticing discoloration in the normally dark backs of the shiners. Close examination shows whitish lesions. Some are dying, with about 50 or so dead on the edge of the pond surface - at least to my casual observation.
However, there still seems to be lots of shiner activity at the surface. And the "big" shiners of about 4-6" are not dead. No trout have died. Just a bunch of the smaller, as described.
Qs:
1) Any diagnosis or explanation out there?
2) As long as mortality doesn't hit the trout population, should I be concerned? Is there usually disease crossover from species to species?
3) The trout seem to be actively feeding - I see them hitting the surface. And even though they are pellet fed, they are not hitting the pellets hard - they seem to be going after live forage. I assume that includes the shiners. Is that a bad thing?
4) A guy up here in the region says I should buy a block of salt used for livestock. Split into four chunks and place it in various parts of the pond. Says it is good for skin infections on fish. Do the Pondboss guys buy that?
