TP, I think, provide excellent forage for 12" and longer LMB. The benefits of TP, I think, are much more muted for 1st year growth of 2" LMB fingerlings. I just base that on some of Swingle's age old research and a couple of anecdotes here where the effects either didn't seem to contribute to faster growth of 2" fingerlings than with BG and/or minnows and in one case the addition of MOZ TP in the initial year backfired and was detrimental. In that case, MOZ TP consumed FHM and grew to sizes that the 2" LMB could not keep up with. Seems like the pond owner also thought the TP may have consumed some of his LMB fingerlings. Lot's of forage for 2nd year and 3rd year LMB were produced in that pond but unfortunately, there were none of the sizes of LMB that could fully benefit from the TP resource.
With regard to escape speeds and probability of escape and so on. What I have found by reviewing the literature is that the realized consumption frequency curves for fusiform and laterally compressed prey can be normalized by reformatting the curves to proportionate weight instead of proportionate length. IOWs, when plotted versus proportionate weight, the curves lay one over the other with similar distributions. To be sure, proportionate weight is the primary variable of specific energy content but the probability to escape a predatory encounter must also be very sensitive to the variable of proportionate weight. In as much as this is true, fish of same weight have very similar probabilities of escape and have similar energy content. Still regardless of energy density, the primary factor affecting peak frequency of realized consumed sizes (presumably the most optimum forage size) is the probably of escape.
How much a forage fish weighs matters for the probability of surviving a predatory encounter. The heavier the prey fish ... the more likely it is that it will survive and the predator fail to consume it. Here just assuming that the health of the prey fish is good. TP in chilled water, it is safe to say, are compromised in the health category and thus are less capable of evading a predatory encounter. But under favorable conditions where one examines the difference between species on the basis of proportionate weight, the species which is heavier at the same length stands a better chance of surviving. Also prey fish in good condition (higher RW) are less vulnerable to predation than prey of the same species and same length that are in poorer condition. Generally, one should expect that MOZ TP will be heavier than BG of the same length. Enough so, for example, that a MOZ TP of 2 1/4" has a similar probability of escape as does a BG that is 2 5/8". Also MOZ TP can grow to 3" in 60 days where excellent growth for BG over the same span of time is 2". MOZ TP thus are better suited for larger LMB which tend to consume them at shorter lengths than they would consume BG.
