Thanks All!
I'm getting some 4" RES (pellet trained) from the fish truck next week. I figure that way fish reproduction is under more control. If they haven't controlled the leeches by next spring, I can add breeding habitat, or add some more RES.
CJB thanks for the offer of male bluegill. Those should work since sunfish don't appear to switch sex and aren't hermaphrodites. Still, as newbie, I'm put off by the stories of overpopulation and stunting*. I created a mess by accidentally introducing leeches. I don't want to seesaw between one species disaster and another.
I can't find any stocking recommendations for such a small pond as mine (60,000 gal) without supplementary feeding. So I'm starting with 10 RES. Does that seem ridiculous? I'm putting a couple in the 100 g tank in the greenhouse with my tropical aquatic plants, and the rest in the pond.
I'm also thinking about adding some minnows, and some crunchy things for the RES to eat - not snails because of the grub problem. For minnows, maybe Bobby Rice's silversides? They are native, have survived in land-locked settings, and probably won't eat the frog spawn. For RES, would papershell crawfish or something else be best (after they've eaten the leeches)? I will give them some sinking pellets, but would like to have the pond populations be self-sustaining.
Which of these are bad ideas?
*Good stunting story - in the 1960s trout were air-dropped into ponds/lakes in the Sierra Mountains where there was little to no food. The survivors grew to about 6" long, half of it mouth. They took to hanging out in the reeds and eating fallen redwinged blackbird nestlings.
Thanks so much!
