Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Pond Boss Using Rotenone to change fish pond to swim hole

I am using Rotenone in my swim hole to kill the fish in there because the catfish are biting my horses. I wanted to know how long after using the Rotenone can I resume putting my horses in the water? What is a safe time period to keep horses out of water after using Rotenone?

Hi 339feed, I've never used any Rotenone, but have been an equine veterinarian for 33 years and can honestly say I've never seen any horses bitten by catfish..that I know of...to answer your question, there should be label precautions that specifically address how long livestock should be kept away from the water after treatment..du

Catfish biting horses? Never heard of it either...

Thanks for the help Doc...I really meant that the catfish are stinging them not biting..sorry

I haven't heard of catfish stinging horses, either. Are we talking cats native to North America (Channels, Blues, Flatheads, Bullheads)?

However, rotenone kills fish by interfering with gill function. IIRC it has no affect on lung breathers. You should not have to wait to resume equine swimming.

For aesthetic reasons, you might want to wait long enough to remove the carcasses.

339 -- if you use the rotenone at levels indicated on the label (e.g., 3 ppm), the only mammals about which you should be concerned are pigs.

If 339 feed has enough catfish or bullheads in the pond they could bump into the horses legs, which is what he may mean when he says they are "stinging" his horses. I wouldn't want to be bumped by one of those spines either.

One summer I worked as a biologist aide. My hands were really tore up removing channel cats from gills nets! That was the summer I learned that catfish are not necessarily on the bottom. These cats were suspended chasing schools of gizzard shad.