Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Raising Forage and Bait raising minnows in a tank??

Wondering if its possible to get some fatheads and put into a 100 gallon bait tank ( aerated and filtered) if they will spwn out and multiply?? anything in peticular to help them with spawning? Just curious, i hate buying hundreds of dollars of minnows every year to feed my ever growing children....

Salmonid

Oh yeah, already spending hundreds of dollars on pellets but like to use the minnows to keep everyone in the pond active when it comes to actually chasing down a bait, making them easier to catch with lures...too much with the pellets and the fish wont hit anything else. LOL

Salmonid

Mark, I wanted to do the same thing so I hope you can pull it off. I can't aerate at my ponds so I put my plans on hold. I wanted to use 275 gal. totes but will wait till later to try them. Good luck with your project.

It is very difficult to create a zooplankton community robust enough to support large numbers of FHM fry in an aquarium.

CJ do you have any ideas for a small scale way to grow fat heads?I too have been thinking of ways to raise minnows here at the house away from the big pond.

I have spawned FHM and other similar species in small lined backyard ponds but never in large numbers like those needed to feed large numbers of fish. I have spawned them and others in aquariums too. It just takes a lot of work to condition the fish and then get the fry to feed on infusoria until they are large enough to take ground up flake food.

Digging a small 0.1 to 0.25 acre forage pond is my best recommendation...

I actually had some FHM spawn in my 300 gallon tank, the issue I had was there a GSH hitchhiker that took all of them out.

Even though I was mad, I have to admit it was pretty cool to watch that shiner pop them FHM fry.