Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Feeding bream dogfood

Have been looking for info on feeding dry dogfood for bream, but have not found any info. Just planning on coppernose and redear to keep the mosquitoes in check.
I have a very small hole in the ground -- hardly worth calling it a pond. About the size of my 30 x 40 foot shop. I have access to all of the out of date ( can't sell it) dog food that I can haul off...... all types from a Vet's office. Is it worth the trouble to feed it to the fish. It may not be a good as regular fish food, but then Free is a great price.

Any thoughts?

Bob,
If you're only intrested in controlling mosquitos it may not be wise to feed too much.
Once a day would prob. work. You don't want them too full!
Now, with no preditors it's very likely your panfish will over populate & stunt unless you play the role of preditor & remove alot of bream!

If you truly only want mosquito control it would be much easier to just stock mosquito fish (gambusia) & maybe some koi.

Bob, it's small, but put in some catfish along with the bream ! If you can feed them for free, put in 20-50 little ones for a future fish fry ! I hear the catfish tolerate & grow the best with cat/dog food as a substitute.

Thanks guys for the quick response. I was only kidding about the mosquitoes. I would prefer the bream to grow and let the grandkids be the predators. That's why I am not to hip on the catfish since the kids love to grab the fish and play with them. Seems to be more fun than catching them with their hands then with the poles.

I just wanted to make sure that the dog food would not harm the fish. I figured it had some protein in it and would be cheap.I can also get all of the cat food I want for free. Would one be better than the other???

I stocked the pond with 1-2 inch fingelings so they have not adapted to any paricular feed yet, I don't think.

Bob, if you're in the area everyday, keep a coffee can full of feed close and feed them small doses as often as possible. If you have an endless supply of food, maybe try 2 coffee cans, and see which one they prefer ! The Bgill/Readear will get very aggressive feeding, and grow fast. I hope you're a country boy and like to fillet & eat perch ! Otherwise, without predators, you will overpopulate in a hurry !

So far no one has said not to do the dog or cat food, so that is great. It will be interesting to see which one they seem to like better.

It will be fun to watch the growth rate. If I can't catch enough, I can always trap some and feed the local cats a treat.

To little kids- size does not seem to matter much. It's just the fact that something is hanging off the end of the line when they pull it up, and something they can pick up and put in the bucket. I know I will not win any size awards with this set up.

This is also a cattle watering hole in the pasture, so it will get plenty of natural nutrients for sure.

Since there is a lot of experience out there.... how long before a 1 incher is big enough to spawn, and how long before he is worth eating.

So far no one has said not to do the dog or cat food, so that is great. It will be interesting to see which one they seem to like better.

It will be fun to watch the growth rate. If I can't catch enough, I can always trap some and feed the local cats a treat.

To little kids- size does not seem to matter much. It's just the fact that something is hanging off the end of the line when they pull it up, and something they can pick up and put in the bucket. I know I will not win any size awards with this set up.

This is also a cattle watering hole in the pasture, so it will get plenty of natural nutrients for sure.

Since there is a lot of experience out there.... how long before a 1 incher is big enough to spawn, and how long before he is worth eating.

They will spawn when they get about 3", the eating size depends on your fillet knife I have been on some hunting trips where we eat what we catch/kill, the smallest fish are the hardest to clean, but taste the best !

And as a rule of thumb-- how long to get to three inches? If this is early June-05 would it be by Sept-05--March 06--June-06 ???

I have heard that coppernose will or can spawn four times a year -I assume that to be between early spring-(March) and October or November here in East Texas. What part does water temperature have to do with the time of the first spawn of the year. When did the 1 inch fish hatch??? Are the one inchers the first spawn of this year or the last of last year??? Do they spawn in the dead of winter ( Dec-Jan)???

And as long as I am on a role-- what is the average female percentage of any given spawn. And lastly, the average number of hatchlings per female.

Do bigger bream eat any of the spawners???