Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Renovating a Pond or Lake? Hydrated Lime

If there's enough predators, I think things will balance out. Those are some seriously stunted BG. Look at how big their eyes are compared to the rest of their body!

Eric, if there's a place in the archives for what a stunted BG looks like, those pictures are prime examples.

Whatever you do, don't stock BG. There's not enough food to go around now, and more BG won't help matters.

So, I should forego killing the existing fish, forego stocking the BG & FHM, and just stock the LMB fingerlings in the spring? Would 25 or so CC help thin out the forage fish or should I just put those in our front tiny pond?

I'm open for any advice! I feel like we are finally getting closer to having our BG/LMB fishing pond!

Your forage fish are not getting enough to eat as it currently is. Our forage fish need more to eat. The easiest way to this is to feed pellets but you have too many forage fish currently. Your LMB would eventually become stunted too. Your pond is completely out of balance.

I think all those statements are true. But the LMB will become stunted in everybody's ponds if they weren't kept under control by the top-of-the-line pond predator; man.

I think that if he fed the BG, added LMB, and kept an eye on things, the pond would slowly get back into balance, then if some LMB were not removed, then it would become LMB heavy/BG light, and stunt. But, that's without any intervention from man.

One thing that hasn't been asked or answered is where did the LMB or other predators go, IF there were any in there in the first place?

Great information. When we purchased the property in late summer, the pond had very little water left in it due to the drought. We noticed several, rather large, dead catfish and LMB on the shore. I'm assuming the very low water levels took care of the predators while still leaving a few BG and hybrids. Several casts of a cast net resulted in only a couple of very small BG. Since then we've had lots of rain. Maybe the forage fish have spawn and there are no predators left.