Thanks for the input Sue and RC. Since I have turned the system on I have noticed that the water is getting cooler. Also, I have some new developments since I made this post originally.
Keep in mind I have two ponds. One that carries bass, channel cat,and BG. The other has flathead,LMB,CC,BG, and some crappie.(mixed bag of fish)
I arrived home Tuesday evening after making this post to find 2 floating LMB in the "bass pond". Both were about a pound in size. This is where I am scratching my head. When I took the boat out to remove them and investigate I noticed that both were white as could be and very deteriorated. When I used the boat oar to scoop them out they literally started falling apart. These fish were not visible Tuesday AM. I had just come off of running the system 6 hrs the night before (7PM-1AM). My thought was these fish had to have been dead for some time to be in such bad condition but it got me wondering if I had created the problem or this was just natural mortality.
So, I ran them again Tuesday evening for 6hrs. 7PM-1AM just as I had done the night before. I got up early yesterday morning and inspected both ponds. Everything looked great. Fish seemed active. No floaters. When I arrived home yesterday evening everything was fine. At 7PM I turned on the air. An hour into it I happen to look out and see a white belly. I take the boat out to find another pound LMB floating. This one also has no color and is missing an eye already as well as starting to fall apart but it was not nearly as decayed as the first 2.
So this raises yet another question or series of questions. Am I actually killing these fish or were they already dead and the diffuser is just stirring up waste on the bottom? My thinking is that if I were killing these fish it wouldn't be 2 or 3 fish. I'd be seeing more like 20-30 floaters. Has anyone had any experience in seeing this?
There have been no floaters in the "catfish pond".
Last edited by tranquility; 08/04/11 12:36 PM.
