With a new, hypothetical, small, pond lets say (2 - 2 1/2 acres)
Instead of immediately adding various types/sized minnows, waiting and adding perch/sunfish, waiting, and then adding your predator fish (bass) What if you start micro?
Start micro by adding things like daphnia, green hydra, clam shrimp, fairy shrimp, seed shrimp, glass shrimp, triops, dero-worms and the like, scuds, freshwater clams, mussels, sponges, Red Ribbon leaches, bryozoans, various snails, salamanders, tadpoles, and crayfish then let these establish and then add your various types/sizes of minnows and on up the food chain.
Now, there will be other various forms of natural micro life that will find its way into a new pond, some of the ones mentioned in fact. Some of the added life I'm guessing will compete with the natural micro pond creatures and some will not. Either way, it would seem having more micro life than normal in a new pond to start off could really help to jump start the pond and potentially help to increase the initial carrying capacity of the new pond. Some of these could be self-sustaining I would imagine and thus adding more diversity on the micro level. I would think this would be all around a good thing.
Is something like this worth it or so insignificant that its not worth investing time and money into it where you could benefit somewhere else instead. Also, some of these may or may not be good choices. Are there other possible drawbacks for really starting so small and giving that stage of the pond time to flourish? (I know some microworms can cause problems but I think I know which ones do).
Also, you would probably need to have some established aquatic vegetation present before adding some of these.
1.) Add Micro -- wait 2 months
2.) Add various minnow species-- wait 3 months
3.) Add Sunfish/Perch -- wait 7 months
4.) Add Pred fish (LMB,HSB,BC)--
Last edited by stang00; 12/08/14 02:54 PM.
