Thanks to everyone for your responses. Is the Golden Shiner a hardier fish than the FHM?
I don't think "hardier" is quite the right measuring stick.
I think the "ease of predation" makes a much bigger difference for a mature pond.
If you put small and medium bass in a pond with little cover that was absolutely full of FHM, they might be capable of wiping out all of the FHM in a single annual cycle.
Even with heavy cover, a mature LMB/BG pond might have zero remaining FHM, despite the huge initial population of the minnows.
Golden Shiners, if established with an ongoing breeding population, survive in many of the LMB/BG ponds of people on the forum.
Hope that helps a little. (That is just some non-expert discussion.)
