So over the weekend I found a few bass dead in this years crop. But only in one pond. They had GBH stabs so I thought that was it. Well I was wrong it turns out that the rapid increase of temp got the bacteria going and the bass fanning which caused a crash in water quality. DO levels dropped and bass started dying at the rate of four an hour. Luckily I figured it out and got emergency measures activated limiting death tolls. I only lost 120 of the 700 in that pond. Thank goodness I will still be able to sell some from this pond.
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f306/Ahs3486/image_zpsdgvevl6j.jpghttp://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f306/Ahs3486/image_zpsilas8jue.jpgI wear a 12 in shoe
Nice save ! How many lbs per acre of fish ?
How low, or how big of a swing did your measured DO change with 'fanning'? I was unaware that fish fanning could lower DO.
About 6000# per acre.
There was only a problem because 200 males started fanning at the same time.
Do they fan when they sense oxygen debt, meaning that the O2 goes low FIRST and then they fan, or do they sense bacteria somehow, then fan to get rid of bacteria, then the particles they fan up kills them?
Sorry to hear, Cray.
What were the 'emergency measures?'
They started fanning because the water temp triggered spawning. The temp also triggered speed up of waste breakdown. This worked together to wreck water quality.
Sorry to hear, Cray.
What were the 'emergency measures?'
Two trash pumps aerating water. 100 gpm freshwater inflow. And prayer!
you should sell all those Male "Black Bass" to a seafood distributor up in NY. I bet you have more demand for the girls for ponds....
I bet they would pay pretty penny for them.
glad you averted total disaster. are you leaving the freshwater inflow running a smaller steady rate to try and keep WQ at a certain level during the "fanning" season?
That's scary!
If it's bad now, I can't imagine what it will be like when the temps rise another 10 degrees.
I'd be tempted to medicate their feed for the next ten days after that scare.
Bobby, I am leaving water on for one more day. I am looking into selling the smaller male bass for meat. As I am realy only interested in the biggest fastest growers.
Bob I am going to try to not medicate. However 2 tons of salt is waiting for the well to turn off.
Guys up here that raise LMB for the restaurant trade stock fingerlings so that when the LMB are at 1.5#-2# each they are carrying 5,000 pounds per acre. Ponds are no more than 10' deep, and they use both bottom diffusion and paddle wheel agitators to keep the O2 levels up.
I guess this time of year is pretty much when you can separate the sexes...Seine them up and squeeze to look for eggs or milt...sounds labor intensive, But doesn't it all ....:-)
To do that you have to have good water quality and use aquaculture procedures. If not you get disaster.