The benefit to Fathead minnows is that they are very quick to reproduce and very slow and easy to eat. Young bass do not have to expunge a lot of energy to eat them. They will be wiped out within a year and cause no ill effects to the pond. They are only there to give your initial stockers a jump start, future generations of bass can start off on the bluntnose and grass shrimp but they will also be food for the larger predators. You want your stockers to grow quickly but future generations should not have things so easy in order to control their numbers.
Plus fatheads are real cheap. For $50 you can get enough in the pond to turn into millions for your first stockers of bass.
The benefit to bluntnose, killifish, shiners etc. is that they are more predator resistant than the fathead minnows. They are faster and the bass has to use more energy to catch them. They will be there for the larger bass to eat and for the later generations of bass to eat but they aren't a bonanza of protein like the fatheads are for the initial stockers.
