Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations fingerling identification?

I have stocked my pond with fatheads and bluegills. I see a large amount of fry and fingerlings. Is there a way I can determine if the bluegill are spawning successfully? I have only seen one nest, and that one had several large crayfish in it with one bluegill watching them. I am worried that the crayfish aren't allowing the bluegill eggs to hatch.

Is there a way to determine the difference between bluegill and fathead fingerlings?

How can I tell if my bluegill are reproducing?

Thanks in advance.

Purchase a trap or seine them. Fatheads are long and colorless; bluegills are short and fat with color.

Dave has it prety well described. This will be readily apparent when the fish are 3/4" to 1" long and out of the water in a net, your hand or in a mayonaise jar w/ water. minnows long and slender, bgill short and wider bodied.

Thanks for the responses.
I will give this a try this weekend.
Hopefully, there will be a nice mix.

How long does it take for bluegill to reach 3/4" in length?

With ample food (zooplankton), the 3/4" (20mm) length is reached at 5 to 6 wks after hatch.

Jimk, I was concerned about my bluegill and bass also. I discovered I had bullheads in my pond and started catching the small fingerlings with a small mesh net. Twice I have caught bluegill and coppernose fingerlings hatched this year. I have also caught a good many freshwater shrimp to my surprise! While walking the banks to capture bullheads I have spotted several bass some have tripled in size. I would think that some of your bgill fry may have been meals to other species, but some if not many will survive.

Thanks Doctor Duck,

My pond is new and I have only stocked fatheads and 3"-4" bgill. I stocked them in late April. I have a huge amount of small minnows, but they all look the same to me. The only other thing in my pond is a large number of crayfish and a large number of frogs.

My concern is that I don't see any bgill nests. The only one I saw looked like it had been taken over by crayfish.

Hopefully, I can get the time to trap or seine this weekend and take a closer look. I just hope the baby bgill will be big enough to distinguish from the fatheads.

If I don't see any small bgill, should I declare war on the crayfish and frogs? I am new to this. I don't want to unnecessarily remove future bass food. Is it possible for crayfish and/or frogs to interfere with bgill reproduction?

Jimk, how big and where is your pond? I really wouldn't worry about the frogs at all. The crawfish here in Ms. usually feed on plants weeds etc. That's not to say that they won't eat bgill fry.
It is natural to have concerns about what you can't see going on in your pond. The bgill are there and they will reproduce many times in the course of a year.
Enjoy your pond and don't worry until you do see something wrong. Good luck.

Doctor Duck, thanks for the response.

My pond is very small, about 60'-80' round, 8' deep. I'm in PA.

I plan on introducing a few lmb into it next spring if the bgill have taken hold. If they are doing anywhere near as well as the fatheads, I will have some very well fed bass. It's just that eveerywhere I look I see crayfish(crawfish) and frogs(big frogs).

I guess it could be worse, before I stocked it I had noticed a heron hanging around. But I haven't seen him for awhile.