Ok, I've got a pond that has all the structure I want. The soil and water have been tested and there are no problems. The pond isn't leaking and it has lots of water bettles, frogs, etc. An aeration system is coming, but probably won't be turned on until early spring. I'm getting a little restless because I want to get some fish in there, but the pond is only about 1/2 full.
Here's my question. Would it make any sense to go ahead and stock some BG's and Fatheads now and get them reproducing? I planned on waiting until water level was full and then proceeding (to save on shipping costs and to have more control). However, with the extra time on my hands, I'm starting to wonder if I could go ahead and fire the system up with a lower number initial stocking.
Any reason to think I'd have too many BG by the time I stock the LMB? Would dropping the initial stocker numbers down in half be the correct approach? Or, not knowing when the pond will actually be full, would even fewer be better?
The only drawback I can think of is that the spawning grounds aren't yet under water. However, I'm sure they'd still be able to perform their rituals somewhere.
