I was thinking of digging a small pond near the larger pond just for raising fathead minnows for forage and bait. I have some question I am hoping someone will have some ideas.

I'm thinking of a 8' dia. hole about 4-5' deep and with one end a considerably shallower for algae growth to feed the fats. One of the concerns I have is water temperature. The larger pond is 80 on an 85 degree day at the surface and 2' deep. I don't currently have a longer probe, I use a digital temp from my aquarium.

The second concern is aeration. Where I was planning this hole there is no convenient way to get power there. Running just airline would probably not be the best either, there's just not a good route to go with it. The area does get some wind on it, but I doubt that would create enough wave action to do much.

Another question is at what temperature can fatheads live and still reproduce? I know if we buy them this time of year they don't make it in the pond because of the temp difference, even floating the bag to equalize temps is to much stress.

I appreciate any thoughts or ideas. Worse case scenario is I put a horse tank in the barn with a chiller and a pump, but I would prefer the hole out back.