I'm the proud 1/5 owner of a 5 acre pond that's about 60 years old. It's really shallow (3-4 feet) and fertile as a lot of land runs off into it. It drains from the top with a little spillway on the dam. The water tends to be very pea soupy and turbid but there aren't any current problems with duckweed or vegetation. Fish are LMB, BG, BH, and golden shiners (can't remember the acronym). Been feeding for a few years and it seems like the shiners are outcompeting the bluegills (which I have inadvertently encouraged the neighbors to harvest). Bass are OK but I think they're limited by the cloudy water. I've removed as many turtles and bullheads as I could catch.
There are a lot of freshwater mussels and parasites on the LMB and older BG.
My question is: should I stock redears to reduce the parasites, or leave the mussels alone to preserve water quality? Is there some third option?
Any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks in advance!
