Howdy, y'all!
My first
pond mini-pond went in last fall (
around Oct). I filled it with well water, which I suspect was anoxic coming out of the ground. I bought a Vertex PondLyfe 2 system and installed before filling... kicked it on as soon as I could and it's been running ever since (24/7). After a few weeks of churning, I bought a few fish (about 1.5lbs FHM, ~24 CNBG, ~8 RES) I live in east Texas and the winters are mild. I checked temps a few times during the winter and the lowest I saw was low 50's, so I never turned off the aeration. The fish did great all winter and are still doing fine (for the most part). I lost a minnow or two over the last 6 months and figure that is just normal. Nature has found it's way to the pond... crawfish holes along the bank, crows showing up on my game cam with wiggling fresh-caught minnows in their mouth (I didn't know crows fished), a redear slider moved in and a common snapper visited for a couple weeks before moving on, etc.
Today, the water temp is 82 degrees and the fish are still eating well (I hand feed Aquamax), but I found a bluegill lethargic near the bank... not gasping, so just sitting there not swimming. I reached down and turned it around and it slowly swam off. I walked around the pond and found another bluegill dead. These are the first sunfish deaths since I stocked them 6 months ago. I've been hoping to see some bluegill fry, but haven't yet. There are a lot of minnows that have spawned and the fathead fry along the banks are copious. I have been hoping to find an albino channel catfish to add to the pond, but no luck yet. There aren't any predator fish AFAIK... at least I haven't added any yet.
My question for you Pondmeisters -
Is there an expected or regular fish mortality rate that is considered normal? I mean, living fish have to die as some point and lots of things can cause that... if I find single dead fish and another looking suspiciously not normal, should that be a red flag or should I chalk it up to coincidence? I don't currently own a way to test the pH, so that is still an unknown, but all other visual queues I know to check appear normal. Aquatic plant growth (outside microorganisms) is virtually non-existent due to the newness of the pond. Any pointers?
I'm still learning all the time and appreciate y'alls' patience with my level of ignorance.
Thanks!
/clayton
