SPC,
Good advice from Bill Cody and Teehjaeh57 as always! Those two guys among others here know their fish including redears!
Are you the one that planted male bluegills from Clear Lake a few years ago?
I'm also considering adding redears to my trophy female yellow perch pond and male bluegill pond. And I share their concerns in potential hybridization -- even more so as I sell big male bluegills and my customers don't want hybrids bluegill of any kind.
I also have an added motive to reduce the snail population as I have some issues with parasites that are part of a snail cycle.
My plan will be add as many male adult redears from local lakes as I can via angling, but I don't believe it it will be enough, and I need to be sure not to potentially add any viligers (free swimming larvae of zebra mussels) or other parasites. If I add any fish from local lakes I will be treating each redear to a 30 ppt (30,000 ppm) saltwater solution until the fish turns on its side before putting them into the pond. The saltwater solution should cause any surface parasites or viligers to implode.
I will also be purchasing several hundred small redears and bluegills from American Pond and Lake Management in Russiaville, (Matt Rayl) and feed training them in one of my recirculating tanks until they are large enough to sex. Redears are tough to feed train but I think I have enough experience feed training other species to get the job done. I also believe bluegill of the same size in the same tank, which are easy to feed train, should help the feed training process.
Keep us posted on what you do and I will keep the forum posted on my progress or lack there of.
Last edited by Cecil Baird1; 03/23/14 06:04 PM.
