Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Stocking an already populated pond.

How would I drain one pond into the other. Since they are both at the same level wouldn't both ends of the siphon be under water therefore rendering it useless?

Man, I wish I had your ponds and Codys money.

You could rent a pump and pump it over. I did basically that except I pumped it 50' uphill.

If you're serious about developing these ponds into an enjoyable recreational fishing paradise perhaps consider really digging into them before putting any new fish in.

What is the water clarity? You can use a GoPro camera to shoot video underwater if clarity is a couple of feet. This will allow you to see everything that is in your pond, therein you can decide if you want to drain them, remove anything you don't want in your ponds (such as the vehicle, trees, etc.), set fish habitats, fill them, and stock them.

Got the siphon going. Worked like a charm! Thanks for the help. Even had a fish get sucked through. Can you help me identify?

Looks like a stunted BG to me.

So how can you identify a stunted fish vs. a young fish. Sorry, I am pretty clueless on all this.

Artiger,

The fish looks stunted to me mainly due to the eye size appearing over large compared to the size of the body. There may be other clues, in a larger fish, the belly will often appear sunken as well.

CMM

Two things that stand out to me in this photo are the eye, and the dorsal fin. Both are overly large when compared to the general dimension of the fish, which could mean this BG is older than a fish this size might otherwise be assumed.

The first thing that jumps out at me is the eye size. The eyes grow at a constant rate irregardless of the body size. If it matters, it also looks like a female BG to me.

My son finally caught one of the catfish. I'm assuming bullhead? Also, is Mudcat and bullhead the same thing?

Looks like a black bullhead. Lots of folks around here call them mudcats.

Siphons been doing work and has really brought it down. I think I might get it shrunk as low as 1 or 2 feet in a 1/10 acre area. How much Hydrated lime do I need to purchase for fish killing? How should I dispense it? While I've got it drained should I lime the bottom? Do I ise the same hydrated lime?

Broadcast spread the lime well over all wet areas of mud. For the remaining standing water, 400-800 pounds of Hydrated Lime should do the job. You can use a 55 gallon barrel to pour a couple bags of lime in and use a trash pump to both fill, recirculate/mix, and spray back into the pond.

If the H-lime concentration is high enough, your water will turn crystal clear a few hours after applying. Add H-Lime in 200# increments if it doesn't clear after the first try...you can't over apply when trying to sterilize, only under apply.

STRONG CAUTION!!! Use, at minimum a good quality dust mask and goggles. Keep a couple gallons of clean water to rinse your eyes if need. Hydrated Lime is VERY caustic and WILL cause severe chemical burns when on clothing that stays wet and contacts skin.....as the picture below shows after a couple hours spraying...The burns came from where the sleeves of my water proof coat were under my waterproof gloves...Took about a month to heal.

True, but on the plus side, chics dig Hydrated lime burns.

So do I need a different lime to fertile the bottom or will hydrated lime work?

Alright men. Thanks for your help. I got the first pond drained and killed with lime today. Seemed to work great. After seeing the dead fish I did not regret it. Among the dead were small mud cats and brim and a few fat bass that I bucket stocked this summer. I was surprised to find a lot of carp as well. Then there we tons of the ones pictured. They were about 3 or 4 inches long. What are these?

Kind a looks like some kind of Gambusia to me but I am not a pro. I am sure one of them can identify it for ya.

Looks like a shiner to me


Pat

Gams look a little like a guppy

Golden Shiner Notemigonus crysoleucas

I have a question. So I limed the little water that was left and killed the fish this past Saturday. We got a good bit of rain yesterday. I am going to start siphoning water into it from another pond today. How long before a can safely restock. The stocking truck makes it's first visit next Wednesday but I don't want to jump the gun.

here is a good cheap way to do it.
Not sure if someone posted this yet but seems like it would come in handy.

Draining a Pond Manually and Cheaply