Pond Boss Forums Thread Like Summary - Fish Choices Mini-Pond Water Hose Filled

Call us impatient. The pond is dug, rocks around the rim, and pond is filling with a water hose. It's about 110,000 gallons. 60 x 50, 8 ft deep. Is that 1/8 acre?

So, now comes the hard part. I don't know!

Is it absolutely necessary to aerate a small pond?
Is it absolutely necessary to begin aerating it right away?
If so, what size bubbler do I need to get?
Do I have to wait long before I get it ready for fish?
What should I do to get the water ready for fish?
What else?

Janan

I hear the gasps among all the seasoned pond owners. lol. I had a pond years ago and I don't think we did anything except dig, fill with water (well) and add fish! We enjoyed it for years with no real problems!

This is a fish stocking follow up for Chandlers tiny new pond.
Chandler asks
“Can I have bluegill and bass?”
“I was thinking 15-20 bass and 50 bluegill
ANSWERS
First the fish density - He is thinking of adding 15 LMB and 50 BG = pretator to prey ratio 1:3.3. The common ratio is 1:20 or greater for good fish balance and growth.
I discussed the option of fish density and the BG-LMB combo in an above post. Now I want to discuss fish density also known as fish number per acre or carrying capacity. There is a very good thread and informative and educational discussion about Carrying Capacity in the Common Pond Q&A (archives) Pond Boss Forum. It is well worth ones time to read it.
https://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=92440#Post92440

Ponds and farm ground have what is called carrying capacity or production amount. This is the natural ability of the area or size to grow or produce a certain or determinate amount of pounds per acre.The limit is based on soil fertility. This is all based on available nutrients in the ground or pond. Fertility can be measured by testing the amount of nutrients in the water or soil. Generally the more fertile it is the more nutrients that are present in the water/soil, the more crop it can grow per acre.

In water and soil, the ability to NATURALLY grow fish or a crop is basically based on the how available the nutrients are for use by the plants / plankton the base of the food chain. Not all nutrients present are readily available for use by plants. . To make the nutrients most usable by the plants, lime (alkalinity, pH ) needs to be at least a minimum concentration for allowing optimum plant growth.
In ponds and for grazers on the farm we can bypass the need to grow plants as food for the bottom of the food chain and just feed the animals some external food material, In our case fish, we use a high quality, high protein prepared food and this becomes simple farming of fish or animals.

For Chandler’s tiny pond it’s final size is 48x48 is around 2300 sqft or 0.05 ac. He says it is more round than square so maybe in reality it is 1800 sqft (0.04ac) as in the area of a 48ft diameter circular pond.

Stocking this tiny pond for some sort of maintained balance will be a real challenge.

Fertile limestone based soil ponds can generally produce food for growing up to 300lbs of all the sizes of fish at carrying capacity. With good aeration and pellet feeding the fish, poundage can be boosted to 800 to 1000lbs of fish PER ACRE. The higher the fish poundage per acre the more water quality problems will occur and the greater chance there is of a fish kill. Be prepared physically and mentally for this sad day. The most prominent indicator of this happening is the fish will stop feeding on the pellets. Then expect to start seeing stressed fish, then dying fish.

For chandler’s tiny pond, let’s assume maximum poundage of 1000lbs/ac if there is good, careful management. Pond is 0.04 to 0.05 ac X 1000lbs/ac = 40 to 50 lbs of total fish maximum. KEEP IN MIND THAT THE 1000 lbs/ac IS A HIGH POUNDAGE OF FISH FOR ANY SIZE OF POND. Risky business indeed and with this type of fish density a fish kill is always imminent. Those professionals with good experience and preparedness can regularly maintain the 1000lbs and greater high fish densities.

Fish community in small ponds I think is best served with fish that do not reproduce with the exception of using tilapia and maybe minnows or some sort of small forage fish. Reproducing most used larger fish are always increasing their numbers to OVERLOAD the carrying capacity or upsetting the balance of predator prey ratio to the point the results are often poorer growth of fish. Fish overload also trends toward more commonly occurring ill or sick fish, lower water quality, and more algae problems. All often occur together. Always remember - lower fish density and lower carrying capacities always result in overall better pond conditions including the fish.

When using tilapia, pond predators will utilize for growth some of the young-of-year tilapia. Winter water temperatures kills all tilapia and restarts and renews the fishery by annually reducing the total fish poundage. The next years tilapia numbers stocked can be adjusted based on last year’s results.
Stocking of fish numbers can vary based on the fish species used and ones goals. Chandler desires some nice, fun sized predators and good panfishing results for the grandkids. The tilapia and HSB are an excellent fish combo for these goals.

For this tiny 1800 to 2000sqft pond, I would start with 10 HSB and 12 to15 tilapia.
Here are my calculated fish weights for HSB each year when the initial HSB grow to 23-24 inches after 4 years. For tilapia in Texas, I use 14” (1.8lb) as a final end of year size. When do you ever catch a 13”-14” bluegill? So being able to annually catch a 13”-14” trophy bluegill sized tilapia is a real treat.
Plan to have a few HSB die each year due to angler caused deaths. Also realize an oxygen sag due to an over enriched, over capacity pond will first cause death to HSB. Tilapia are pretty tolerant of low DO so they die later if low DO persists.

Year 1 10 @ HSB 12” = 8.7 lbs + 15 tilapia 27lbs = 35.7lbs. A safe capacity
Year 2 10 @ HSB 16” = 21.0 lbs + 15 tilapia 27lbs = 48.0 lbs At capacity
Year 3 8 @ HSB 20” = 34.4lbs + 10 tilapia 18lbs = 52.4 lbs. Over capacity
Year 4 6 @ HSB 23”(6.5lbs) = 39lbs + 8 tilapia 14.4lbs= 53.4lbs. Over capacity.
Year 5 better think about harvesting all HSB and restarting. Fewer HSB to catch, smarter hook shy HSB and less chance to catch them.

Commentary Note. Keep in mind my suggestions above produce a risky high carrying capacity and a good chance of a fish kill if all things do not happen correctly. There is quite a bit of chance for error with this plan.

Fish at this density in small water have to be regularly fed to keep them growing well because this small of a pond cannot produce enough natural foods to feed this capacity of fish. High food inputs, gradually over time increase the biochemical oxygen demand of the pond.

The good thing about this plan is the pond is new and the annual Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) is the lowest it will be in a new low organics accumulated pond. As organics from internal and external sources accumulate, the annual BOD increases with pond age. Aging ponds have greater chances of fish kills for various reasons but mostly from low dissolved oxygen conditions due to the overall high BOD. BOD can vary throughout the year depending on conditions.
If you want to test this fish growing plan with less chance of having a fish kill, then reduce the fish density by any percentage. The lower the fish capacity the less chance there will be of a fish kill and the better the water quality.

A mini-pond in Texas will have different fish combos than more northern ponds. I will discuss one now.

Keep in mind that feeding fish increases the prod productivity and tends to cause more than 'normal' algae / plant growth that you will have to deal with. This type of problem happens quicker in a small pond vs larger pond; all this is based primarily on water volume pond design. Having lots of fish per unit volume requires more food to keep them growing well,, which gets you into a viscous cycle of feed, more fish manure, kill plants, feed more, kill more plants. This in one of the negatives of feeding fish and increasing productivity beyond its natural amounts.

For starting in a tiny mini-pond, I would not stock fish that have prolific tendencies that will tend to overpopulate the small pond with too many fish that do not grow well. Maintaining a balance with constant reproduction is difficult. It is much easier to manage numbers when the fish are not "heavy' reproducers or do not reproduce. If you initially stock species that do not reproduce or reproduce sparingly ,,,, numbers will be much easier to manage due to lack of annual reproduction and those that are present will usually grow really well and faster as they usually get ample food with less overall competition from same species and other species. A fish grows as long as it lives IF it gets ample food, more that subsistence, each day.

With this philosophy it can be basically a put and take fishery. Then when and if you decide to change course of the species present, it will be basically easy to make the change by just stocking the new species such as BG, LMB or maybe CC. CC without significant predation from bass will reproduce and overpopulate!!!! I would only stock these three species as a last resort when other species fail to meet your goals in this mini pond. These main 3 will usually prevent stocking of other species. that successfully thrive and produce high quality individuals n the mini-pond.

Numerous other fish species besides BG, LMB and CC can thrive in a small mini pond.


Occasionally adding more non-reproducing individuals as old ones die or are harvested is relatively low cost, low maintenance, to produce ample high quality fish when the pond is small.

IMO one good fish combination for a mini-pond is only tilapia in warm season and then trout in fall, winter, early spring. These two fish provide great year round angler action and never cause overpopulation problems for the mini-pond. Enhancing this fish combo is FHM who reproduce and produce lots of small minnows for growing the cool-cold season trout. Tilapia grow fast eat lots of algae and delicate invasive water plants to keep the pond surprisingly clean.

Tilapia(TP) are great angler action on light tackle plus they are great invited guests for dinner. What better way to get rid of pesky pond plants/algae and then later,,, eat the plant controller.?? It is sort of like raising sheep and goats for grass / weed control and then having meat for the table.

Tilapia aggressively eat fish food and are fun to feed, some pellets helps them grow fast @ 2" per month, and keeps them familiar with pellets so you can easily catch them on artificial pellets (Stubby Steve brand) in early fall. We have best luck catching them as water temps fall to low 70F high 60's when they are all still concentrated spawning in the beach area. As you remove the TP the water temp decreases to 60-65F and trout can then be stocked. Tilapia will die when water temps drop to 50 and 45F. I suggest you remove as many tilapia as possible because this removes, out-of-the-pond plant/algae bound nutrients in fish bodies that if left in the pond to fully decay would assist to grow more algae problems next year and beyond.

Trout grow fast especially with pellet feeding and top end size is based on size of stocker trout. 10" stocked trout with ample food can grow to 16" maybe 18" by May-June. This provides lots of angler action until water temps increase toward 70F in spring when tilapia can again be stocked. Trout will die in 70+F water so remove them as dinner guests in spring. Have family fishing parties with prizes for most caught and largest caught to harvest tilapia and trout.

One option to try is not use the trout and just stock tilapia each spring and angler - remove them in late summer - early fall. You get a Clean pond, few algae plant problems, minimal chemicals to buy and contaminate the pond (maybe some pond dye), no fish overpopulation problems, fun feeding fish, food for the table, good angler action; all for a reasonable annual price once a year.


As I get more time I will return to discuss another fish stocking combo for the Texas -southern US mini-pond. As you have read this in not a simple short discussion if done thoroughly with adequate detail. I have some friends in DentonTX.

Choosing the best fish for mini-pond can be a challenge. Choices will depend on pond location and GOALS for the pond and fishery. It is really about your goals. Forage pond? Sport fish pond? Swimming - aesthetics pond? General recreation?

The most common fish combo suggested for the mini pond has been catfish. with or without some forage fish. Catfish feed 'em and harvest 'em. This works but what if you are like me and don't prefer catfish. Plus I have never seen a small pond with several to numerous larger catfish that had water clarity more than a few feet. Many pond owners like clearer water to better see the fish. Clear water IMO tends to be more appealing. Thus my suggestions will be to use fish that will allow clearer water and do not have a strong tendency to cause problems associated with over over population.

Bass only. This can be any one of largemouth(LMB). smallmouth(SMB) or hybrid striped bass (HSB). Each of these species by themselves in a small pond will usually not grow much larger than 12" and often be 9"-11" unless you do some sort of regular supplemental feeding. Numbers of only non-pellet fed bass per acre usually range from 50-90 and each close to 0.7-1 pound. The easiest supplemental feeding is high protein fish pellets. Without supplemental feeding the bass have a subsistence diet of invertebrates and eating baby bass; exception is the HSB who usually do not reproduce in ponds. Bass only ponds rarely have very many frogs unless there is a fair amount of shoreline vegetation or cover.

Feeding pellets can allow more bass numbers or bigger to live in the pond and average to be larger sizes. The more bass per acre in the pond generally the smaller the average size to be. Fewer bass generally results in larger individuals because each gets more food per day. Bass only numbers should be monitored annually to watch for overcrowding which will be displayed by smaller average sizes. Bass only ponds tend to be clear water ponds; some in my limestone based clay soils have water clarity to 16ft - very clear, although the average clarity is 5-8ft. Pond clarity is usually closely related to pond productivity (fertility) and amount of nutrients. Pond conditions, pond inhabitants, base soil composition, water shed, and wind exposure and blown in materials can have a strong influences on water clarity.

For the best fish go to Overton Fisheries about 1 hr southeast of Dallas on I45 to Buffalo TX. They will do the best for your needs of HSB and tilapia. Check with them when they have the larger 'advanced' sized HSB (maybe 8"-10") available which is probably in March-April which would be a very good time to stock both HSB and tilapia together. Tell them Bill Cody from Pond Boss sent you to them. You will be well treated. Be sure to get about 15-20 lbs of the appropriate sized feed for the HSB while there. Tell them you have a tiny mini-pond and do not need a whole 40or50 lb bag of pellets. It will take you too long to use it up before is starts to go "bad". Try not to hold pellets longer than 10-12 months. The advanced size HSB stocked in spring will have benefits for you: 1. they are very pellet habituated better than smaller fish, 2. they will be fun to catch right away, 3. you gain one year of growth using larger ones, 4. You don't need a lot of them so cost is still relatively low. 5. HSB and tilapia together will be a very good start for your mini-pond, and fishes can be very easily be changed if you don't like the results. This is not true with BG - LMB. KEEP US UPDATED AS TO YOUR PONDS PROGRESS SO OTHERS CAN SEE IF I KNOW WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT!