Guys, I've been wanting to start a thread about this but was still in the process of educating myself on RES further. Anyway, presently I have a RES and FHM only pond. My plan was to add SMB this fall. But what would be the likely outcome if I stick to RES and FHM only? Would I be able to control the RES via rod and reel? Would the RES eventually eliminate the FHM to a point the fish growth would diminish? One year into this my RES seem to be off the charts on growth and the FHM reproduction seems minimally impacted by RES predation. I'm curious as to the type of balance people would expect here. Maybe I'm just looking for people to push me into experimenting with this!
EXPERIMENT, YES!
6 years ago I raised a male RES in a 150gal Rubbermaid. Porker weighed 1 & 1/4lb at 18mo. I've had 2 failed leaky ponds, the 2nd was a misunderstanding with a contractor. I've started "RES only" and "RES, a Crappie substitute pond," threads. I get on here and comb for RES only & RES/FHM pond info every few months.
I believe RES & FHM will balance themselves with no more management than LMB/BG ponds with good results in mini 1/10 to half acre ponds. But then I'm loosing my sanity out here in the wilderness.
(PS; need big bucks to put in an EPDM pond and am on financial track for $$ this Nov.'15)
