Pond Boss
Posted By: 1997pond Stocked 150 4-5" BG - how much do I feed? - 06/11/21 05:35 PM
I stocked 150 4-5" BG in a my pond that previously only had LMB.

I know you are suppose to watch and see what they eat in 10 minutes but the fish are not all aggessively feeding at the surface so I can tell when they stop. I'm feeding Optimal junior from a Texas Hunter set twice a day (moring and evening) for 2 seconds. Pond is ~2/3 acre.

Is there a guesstimate for how much a day 150 4-5" BG should be fed during warm weather?
Posted By: skydog Re: Stocked 150 4-5" BG - how much do I feed? - 06/12/21 12:07 AM
They will learn---takes awhile--but they will learn--you are perfect for your frequency and amount---increase as they get older--mine are two years old now--8 inches long---4 inches wide---good luck
Posted By: Steve_ Re: Stocked 150 4-5" BG - how much do I feed? - 06/12/21 02:52 AM
Originally Posted by skydog
They will learn---takes awhile--but they will learn--you are perfect for your frequency and amount---increase as they get older--mine are two years old now--8 inches long---4 inches wide---good luck

8 inches long and 4 inches wide? Funny looking Bluegill.
Posted By: jpsdad Re: Stocked 150 4-5" BG - how much do I feed? - 06/12/21 03:40 AM
Originally Posted by 1997pond
I stocked 150 4-5" BG in a my pond that previously only had LMB.

I know you are suppose to watch and see what they eat in 10 minutes but the fish are not all aggessively feeding at the surface so I can tell when they stop. I'm feeding Optimal junior from a Texas Hunter set twice a day (moring and evening) for 2 seconds. Pond is ~2/3 acre.

Is there a guesstimate for how much a day 150 4-5" BG should be fed during warm weather?

4-1/2" BG are about 15 fish to the pound. So we are talking about 10 lbs of BG. In a pond with only LMB, there is no reason to feed them yet. There is lots of food in the pond naturally that LMB can't use effectively. I actually wouldn't feed them at all ... at least not until they pulled off a few spawns. Then you can decide if you want to additional nutrients to your water.

But back to the amount. A BG could eat as much at 3% of its body weight per day ... which for the fish you just stocked (at their current size) is about 5 oz per day. Ideally you only want to supplement their diet. The pond foods are better for them than the artificial feed and until you get a good standing crop of BG going they are going to have plenty to eat.
Posted By: esshup Re: Stocked 150 4-5" BG - how much do I feed? - 06/12/21 04:12 AM
I'd cut back to 1 second burst on the TH feeder.
Me too
Posted By: ewest Re: Stocked 150 4-5" BG - how much do I feed? - 06/14/21 03:29 PM
Agree on 1 second twice a day. You should have a spawn quickly if not already.
Made the change to 1s. Also, saw the BG spawning about 2 weeks ago.
Ideally you should be adding feed by hand until you see the BG eating the pellets that have been tossed out. Uneaten food floats to shore, decomposes into nutrients and usually grows excess filamentous algae. When you see the new BG are readily eating the added hand tossed pellets then you can safely and confidently operate the automatic feeder knowing all pellets are going into fish not algae.
The BG are have been eating the pellets since near day one. Any excess at this point would be more about over feeding versus not trained.
Keep an eye on it. After they finish off the feed, toss out a handful or 2 to see what happens. At some time, their demand will change.
As always, thanks for all the good advice. To tie a few threads together, this is my first summer with the pond and it has not been touched (near as I can tell) in 20+ years. I don't yet know what "normal" is for the pond and I'm leaning towards a lighter touch- to include adding nutrients. That said, I do want to keep the hatchery BG pellet trained and hopefully teach the youngsters.
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