Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Raising Forage and Bait Got any RRFHM pondmeisters out there?

For those of you who don't know, RRFHM stands for rosy red fathead minnow. They're available at Petsmart and make great forage for muddy waters, preyed upon even more than the regular FHM in clear and plankton filled water. Surely I'm not the only pond mister who has schools of these fish in his pond?

They're not uncommon to see stocked. But, I've not heard of anyone in our area using them.

Have you had them stocked for long

Would be interested to stock in future pond

Would think they would not last long b/ c of coloration

I've been using them in forage ponds for quite some time. My newest 1/4 acre pond received 10 lbs. as soon as it hit full pool. They run about a $1 a pound from the fish trucks, and there are several hundred per pound. For breeding, I use foam "mating pads" that seem to work pretty well. Craft stores sell approx 6 x 8 inch, colored foam pads that are about an 1/8 inch thick. They are about 50 for $5, and they float real well. I tie strings of 5-6 of them, spaced about 2-feet apart. I put a 3-4 oz., pyramid weight on about 6-8 foot line tied to the last of the pads. The first pad gets anchored to the shoreline. The sinker gets thrown out, and I have a string of "mating pads" for the rosy reds and the fatheads. I've also thrown in a bunch of 1-1/2 to 3-inch scraps of PVC pipe for them to use.


For some reason, the rosy reds and the black fatheads are sold separately here. I'm not sure why, but generally the rosy reds immature and are smaller than the fatheads, which are usually breeding size.

Ken

Wow, FHM's are about $10 per pound here.

Wow, FHM's are $10 per pound here.

My bad! Yes, they are 1 lb., for $10, whether they are immature rosy reds or mature fatheads.

Sorry if I mislead anyone -- just another senior moment. It is just embarrassing when someone with more seniority on this earth catches me!

Hey Kid, let that be a lesson to you.

I see'em for sale at a couple hatcheries here in Ohio.
Haven't tried them though.
Dan

Can anyone share an advantage they see in using rosy reds over regular FHM? They generally cost more, so it would seem they should have an advantage to use them... I have a couple theories of my own, but am curious what others think.

Travis,
My choice has always been on availabilty. I like the rosy reds because I can spot their new and old schools so easily. Where I currently have both, I've also got small CC and RES, and hopefully I should soon have some small some HBG. I figure the rosy reds will get wiped out before the fatheads because of color.
Ken

I put in 10 pounds this spring. They were about ten dollars a pound. Visibility is about the only advantage I can see so far. I have about ten inches of vis. and I can see them out further than I can see reg fhm from the shore. I think that this actually might be the opposite for the fish though. We have a minnow trap set up so we can catch some bait to use and no one has yet to catch a fish on the roseys. we are using them to just under the surface while the fish are busting. I guess the darker color of the reg fhm may stand out when the predators are under them looking up at the blue sky..

My main choice was because I could get them before the fish truck came. Price was tripled for 2 reasons, I got them at Petsmart and they were sold per fish. If I had waited until this spring and they were at the same size, they would have started to spawn about now. I'm glad of my purchase.

Connor, fatheads usually run about 400 per pound for $10.00.

I've read that they run in that neighborhood of price. I really did overpay by a huge margin. I think I got 117 for $15.

The pet stores are pricey and many people do not realize that they are available at many bait shops for a much cheaper price. Now if you want them as pets many times the bait may not hold up as longer since they are not treated as well, but due to the price difference you can pull the dead ones out and I still think you would come out ahead.

A few times back at the bait shop I was getting me some FHM to go fishing and there were a few people there looking for Rosies and they were out. They used them to feed their fish at home. I told them to just get some of the blacks as they are the same fish just different color and that their fish would probably not care that they were not pink, at least if they were hungry.

Told them they could get much more food for there fish rather than buy the rosies at any big box store or pet shop.