I just picked up some RES and HSB and am concerned some of the HSB look diseased. Their tails have a fuzzy appearance and are partially missing. I separated one and tried to get pictures. Is there anything I can do to treat them? I don't know if it is safe to put them in my pond?
I just picked up some RES and HSB and am concerned some of the HSB look diseased. Their tails have a fuzzy appearance and are partially missing. I separated one and tried to get pictures. Is there anything I can do to treat them? I don't know if it is safe to put them in my pond?
Any Help would be appreciated.
ECD, your HSB appear to be about 4-5 inches and are obvious stunted last year spawn. Very likely overwintered in raceways causing "fuzzy tails". Year old HSB in grow-out ponds on feed should be 10+ inches and weigh ~1 lb. by this time/ Fall stocking is best unless you are fortunate to have a supplier that "grows out" his fish for spring sstocking.
I recently stocked 8-10+ inch HSB that were less than one year old.
N.E. Texas 2 acre and 1/4 acre ponds Original george #173 (22 June 2002)
Fungus is an opportunist pathogen due to handling in cold water where the fish has lost some of it's protecting mucous layer and the immune system isn't up to par due to less than optimum temps. In a pond situation the only thing you can do is get them on feed ASAP and hope pond temps increase. When I used to get bass really early in the spring and put them in cages I would feed they hydrated feed as they had no interest in the dry feed in the cold water. I knew I needed to get them on feed ASAP and the hydrated feed did the trick.
It's been colder than normal in the Midwest. Even Bill Cody has been having some fungus problems in his cages from fish he recently purchased, due to the cold water temps. You'll probably lose a few fish, but most of them will recover if there isn't too much fungus.
It looks like temps will moderate for all of us in the coming week!
Last edited by Cecil Baird1; 04/23/1111:20 AM.
If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.
BTW not disagreeing with George. He knows a lot more about HSB than I do. But the cold water, handling, and fungus pathogen principals are still the same. If the fish were held in a raceway in winter they were subject to colder and less stable conditions than if it had been a different time of year. More stress too, which is a contributing factor to the susceptibility of fish to pathogens.
I am soooo glad I produce my own fish now. You really don't know what you're getting when you buy fish unless you do your homework. I'm seeing some questionable things done even with the best suppliers.
Last edited by Cecil Baird1; 04/23/1111:24 AM.
If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.
Thanks George and Cecil for the prompt info. I feel much more at ease now and will get these new guys in the pond and hopefully improve their condition.
Yeah your best bet is to get them into the pond ASAP and get them feeding. They should be less stressed in the pond.
There is a treatment with formalin you can do for fungus if you have a large aerated tank, but the Catch-22 is depending on how weakened they are you can actually just stress them more. Of course it's not really practical for the typical recreational pond owner.
If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.
ECG, listen to Cecil's advice because his experience is with northern ponds and mine from southern - he and Cody are the pros (read experts) I learned the hard way about February stocking 4 inch stunted fungus laden springtime fish - most HSB dead and floating the next morning.
Bought them from Overton and most of his fish died as well. He tried to reimburse me but I would not accept the money because I "pushed" him to purchase from an Arkansas supplier. No "shooters” in that bunch –
We built a 1/4 acre "grow out pond" to be able to grow them out to 8-10 inches before transfer to main pond. It proved successful and Overton began his HSB successful grow out program.
“Lessons earned are lessons learned.”
N.E. Texas 2 acre and 1/4 acre ponds Original george #173 (22 June 2002)
George, Keo Fish Farm in Keo Arkansas IS the original place that crosses all our HSB....Everyone buys from them in one way or another when it comes to HSB...Farms buy small and grow them out on site due to the simple economics.
George, Keo Fish Farm in Keo Arkansas IS the original place that crosses all our HSB....Everyone buys from them in one way or another when it comes to HSB...Farms buy small and grow them out on site due to the simple economics.
Rex, with all due respect, I have been dealing with HSB folks since 2002. Keo is the hatchery and from there go through many hands including fish haulers, growers and suppliers - some good - some?? Been there - done that!
As you know, you have to know and have confidence in your supplier. Keo is only the first link in the chain. Cheers ...
N.E. Texas 2 acre and 1/4 acre ponds Original george #173 (22 June 2002)
Thanks George and Cecil for the prompt info. I feel much more at ease now and will get these new guys in the pond and hopefully improve their condition.
ECD, you have received some good advise and I wish you good luck with your HSB – they are fabulous game fish and good table fare to boot.
For other folks considering stocking HSB, I stand on my record - avoid ~4-5 inch HSB for spring stockers - they are stunted fish and subject to problems previously mentioned.
I don't give advice, only share mistakes I have made, hopefully to help others avoid the same. I normally stock 8-10 inch HSB in the fall but this year elected to stock some 10 month old super grade 1 lb HSB that Cecil calls "shooters" - and that they are!
Overton is the only grower/supplier in our area that I know of that provides this size and quality HSB
N.E. Texas 2 acre and 1/4 acre ponds Original george #173 (22 June 2002)
I was just adding that all HSB are created and originate at Keo Fish farms...there are no other producers.
Thanks for that info Rex - ... thought most HSB folks already knew that .... I had personal communication with them at least ten year ago when I was researching HSB feasibility ... good folks! Cheers ...
N.E. Texas 2 acre and 1/4 acre ponds Original george #173 (22 June 2002)
In my experience, any of the fish with fuzzy and/or missing tails are doomed, you may as well try to get replacements for those. Wait for the weather to warm in your location before you get more HSBs, there should be less fungus issues.
We did get the weeds under control then we seined the pond and only got a few LCS. Those that we did get were emaciated and aren't doing well. The LCS fingerlings were doing well when this pond held a plankton bloom. You could see lots of them schooling around at the surface feeding on plankton. However, we got busy last spring and let the weeds grow out of control, and then the LCS started to starve and started dying, and to top it off we could not harvest them with the weeds present. So to sum it up, there will be no LCS.
All, I've been a little sidetracked with Holiday enjoyment, sorry for the slow response. The info and encouragement have been great. I'm really struck with how much there is to all this pond/fish "stuff" - that is to do it right!
I think its fantastic to be able to get such timely and learned advice from people who have been there and done it and are willing to take the time to share!!
They will need a new name if they are going to sell in my TX market. LOL. I think I'll move on to something else...something bigger...and with a better name.
15 pound bass growing sucker? Maybe that would turn some heads... Well, we all appreciate you going out on a limb and trying something new! Freshwater drum? How's that for a challenge in a hatchery setting? A fish whose eggs float! Everything out there eats freshwater drum and they get awful darn big... And unlike LCS, they can actually be an additional game fish.
Drum? That would be an interesting thought, I actually plan to do that and have for the past year. I just hate that I did not get them stocked last year so maybe they would try to spawn this year.
I may still have time if I can harvest some but would like to try this out jus to see if they can indeed spawn in a pond.
I think they would be a good experiment as well to see if they could add to the niche of RES, and help with the snails.
I plan to add 1 maybe 2 to my fishing pond just to see how they react to the pond, FA, Feed, Snails, ETC.