[quote=Hollywood
So are you saying that if I put a couple of pounds of fathead minnows in the pond, I could protect that shell crackers until they get big enough to be safe from the bass.
Ideally the FHM go in and do what they do, spawn like crazy. Females are capable of spawning every two weeks producing 200-400 each time. This gives your fish an all you can eat buffet of various sized FHM. I added five pounds to my 1/4 acre pond. They were $10 a pound locally. Besides the food you said they'd be given, what else is there for them to eat? How old is the pond?
The pond is quite old. It used to be a dynamite catfish pond, but the owner got tired of fishing and when a river otter came through, he allowed it to basically purge the pond before it moved on. A year later he drained the pond. That was about five to six years ago. The pond has been full for about four years. It is an acre in size, about 15-18 feet deep, surrounded by woods, fed by a creek from a nearby cow pasture, and it is teeming with insects and frogs. It is not artificially fertilized, but the pond's owner has begun throwing out fish feed daily.
Are fathead minnows the only type I should get? I have called a pet store to see if they can get some from a supplier for me.
My friend knows a guy who stocked his pond with these minnows who get about 1.5" long and apparently provide great food for the bass. Would that work? I should know the species by tomorrow.
