Just stocked 2000 FHM, 1000 rosey reds and 200 shiners. What are you guys feeding them? I have an acre pond 10ft deep. Pulled about 100 stunted large mouth out this summer and around 200 giant bluegill before the stocking. Also in the pond is some giant catfish. I also stocked 100 YP, 100 crappie, 100 channel cats, 100 bullheads, all fingerlings. I put in 3 daphnia cultures with feeding stations but I don't think they survived the trip. Just wondering what to feed. Afraid of starving all the little guys. The minnows all school up and are swimming the edges of the pond. I smashed up some regular fish feed real fine. They seem to eat it some but they are not going crazy over it yet. Any help would be great. Thanks

Ground up feed, even powder sized. Some soak it in water to make it easier. With lots of fish in the pond, the best thing you can do for them is give them protection and a quiet/safe place to eat & breed. My minnows are quite happy to eat feed primarily for larger fish. I take extra for them up to the top end shallows where big fish don't go much. Truly, minnows eat stuff that will be in the water already. They don't NEED feed, but it will help growth.

WELCOME!!! The experts will chime in...but mine hit on the optimal I feed. They aren't going to eat much but crumbling it will help. They are at the bottom of the food chain fish wise.

Look up these things if you want to do a little studying.

secchi disk
phytoplankton bloom
water clarity
zooplankton

Being on the bottom of the food chain those FHM and such need a good "bloom" to start the food chain. If you have a good bloom they will have plenty to eat. It may take a few weeks for any of your fish to really get going on feed also. They'll sit around the edges for a good while. As said already...protection...pallets are a GREAT place to start!

Again...welcome!

Hordes of my FHM pick up some of my catfish pellets and AM 400 pellets and take them almost up on the bank and peck at them until they are gone. They go right out with the catfish and BG to get them.

Welcome to the forum. No expert here, but I can share my experience.

If you have LMB and adult BG still in the pond, they likely will not last long. If you have enough cover they stand a better chance.

When I started I fed mashed up 32% catfish food and they went after it with gusto once they got used to being fed.

Unless you have some very shallow water with a lot of cover so they can avoid predation (like a grassy area or water primrose or some other thick cover) the YOY LMB and even BG are going to hammer them.

I have some in my sediment pond where there are no LMB and the BG still keep a bunch of the young ones crowded up in the shallow inlet area.

Thanks for the input guys. I did put a good bit of man made structure in and have a good bit of lilly pads but the minnows are still staying in around the edges. They do seem to be staying away from the bass for the most part but Im sure they are getting some. Only seems to be a couple bass left in the pond. Blue gills did great this year. Seeing thousands of them around the dock and structures. I like the pallet idea. May have to try that and hopefully they will spawn some too. This is an awesome forum by the way.