Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations What Happened? Fish Dying

I haven't seen a lot of activity at the pond lately, then this past Saturday I wanted to see if the warmer temps sparked some activity. Not what I was expecting to see. I know I did not get my fountain put in yet, would that cause a problem? I got fountain put in on Sunday. Pond was stocked 4 years ago with FHM and 3 years ago with LMB and Red Ears

No idea but it does appear to be water quality.

What are those critters piled up along the shoreline? Can you get some out and into your hand or a pan of shallow water to get a good close up picture of them?

I will grab some close-ups today. They appear to be minnows, I could be wrong though.

I think those things that look like critters are exuviae - cast skins of insect lavae or nymphs. Close up clear picture will definately help.

I thought they looked rather arthropod-ish as well.

IF those are arthropod sheds, AND that many survived to the molting stage, then I am a little worried about the fish population in your pond. Hungry RES and small LMB should have feasted on those.

Have you done any fishing lately? I would definitely fish for your LMB and also fish for your RES. There is a slight chance that the LMB finished off the FHM long ago, and the RES population has not kept up with the forage needs of the LMB.

If so, it should be quite easy for you to catch hungry bass. If they look skinny, with their heads too big, then they are stunting. OTOH, if they are fat and healthy, along with your RES, then you have a healthy pond and just need to start managing your vegetation.

P.S. If you have a high volume fountain, then you may want to start it with limited running hours. If you pull LOTS of water off the bottom in the summer then you may cause the pond to turn over and the fish would then mostly be in a column of low-oxygen water. You can gradually increase the run time if everything in the pond looks good.

We have had flooding rains the past couple days. I was not able to get pictures. I checked this morning and everything has decomposed. If I see anything new turn up I will be sure to get some close-up pictures.

You may be correct. I looked up (exuvia) and found these images. They are Comet Darner dragonfly skins.

I did some fishing over memorial day weekend and didn't catch anything, just some nibbles. I pulled some bass last fall, but have not caught any redears. Not even sure if any are left.

On the plus side, lots of Dragonflies should indicate healthy water.

Unless your fountain is unusual, it doesn't pull water from very deep intthe pond.