Pond Boss Forums FISH & FISHING Show off your catch Bluegill are dying

Hi folks, it's been a while since I was here last. I tried searching for solutions but did not find any yet. Hoping some of the experts can chime in.

I'm having a problem with my bluegill in my 1/2 acre pond. A couple weeks ago I noticed lots of medium sized BG hovering above a bed of Brittle Naiad. They seemed to be waiting for bugs. Over the past week I have retrieved about 5 dead ones. Today I noticed 2 more dead and about 20 of them hovering above the Naiad like before. This time I noticed some of them had very dark (almost black) bodies. One had pronounced white lips. Fins were almost white. Most were active, some a little sluggish. They were all swimming upright and not sucking air.

To this point they are all medium sized BG. No large BG, bass or catfish problems so far.

Last week I did broadcast about 8# of Hydrothol and sprayed about 8oz. of Reward on the surface of the Naiad. The pond is aerated and the planktonic is a healthy green with at least 3 feet of visibility. No changes there in last 6 weeks.

It could be the Hydrothol. It can be toxic to fish.

Could it be post spawning stress? Are they primarily males?

That is why I use aquathol. Any chance they were spawning over the Naiad ?

I really don't know if they are males. As for spawning, I have never had Naiad like this before. In the past when they spawn I see little depressions along the bank. Not seeing that this season. So, will this decimate the BG population or will I likely loose some more then level out?

I have used Aquathol and Hydrothol in the past and not had this problem. Sounds like the Aquathol may be a safer bet in the future.

Look for small ( < 1 inch) BG. Have any more died? If you have some BG left they will try and fill the void.

There is a mix of 1/4" - 1" bass/BG. Did not see any more dead this morning, just 15-20 hovering on top of the Naiad. They are between 4-7 inches long.

I did see some bass very close to the bank with irregular whitish discoloration on top between the head and fin. They did not swim off until I got right on top of them. One looked like it was trying to "burrow" into the bank. If this is spawning it sure is different than past years. Usually there are depressions/nests. Not this year. I haven't seen this discoloration before either.

Any chance you could post pics ? It sounds like it is running its course whatever it is.

I found 4 more dead ones today. When I scooped them out I saw what looks like red sore disease. Looks like some bass have some dorsal fin damage. They may have it too but none dead so far. Not sure how to proceed from here. The recommended treatments (salt or potassium permanganate) may not be practical. Will this likely run its course before loosing all my fish?

I took some pictures and will try to post later.

Yes it will run it's course from my personal experience and all the literature I have read.

Is there anything stressing your fish that is bringing this about? Most pathogens are ubiquitous to your water (scientific term is facultative), and only rear their ugly head with something is stressing your fish. High water temps, temp swings, low oxygen, herbicide treatment, too many fish, spawning activity, not enough to eat, old fish feed, added fish from another body of water recently etc.?

I'm sure you are right about water being the cause.
1. Water temps? Normal for this time of year. Hot days, cool nights.
2. Oxygen? Maybe but no visible signs this has changed recently.
3. Herbicide? Hydrothol (8# spread over Naiad). Reward (12oz sprayed on Naiad). There were signs of BG "stressing" before the treatment. Certainly could be a contributor though.
4. Could be too many fish. There seems to be a lot for a 1/2 acre pond.
5. Could also be spawning activity. No nests but saw very "fat" bass about a week ago.
6. Food source has not changed. I do not feed them.
7. Could be fish from another body of water. Last runoff was in March.

One difference I have noticed is a lack of filamentous algae so far. More planktonic algae and more Naiad though. Tells me lots of nutrients in the water. Probably runoff from upstream vineyards and pastures.

Keeping my fingers crossed it is not going to be severe. Thank you all for your input.

This is not looking good. Lost the first bass today. Not sure what I can do about it though. Don't want to go in and stir up more nutrients for the algae to feast on.

Please feel free to offer any more ideas or input.

I noticed that you mentioned vineyards upstream... are these commercial vineyards? Is anyone aerial spraying- it is about that time of year to hit the vineyards for mildew...

tecman,

It's just me and I know your said your running air but that bass sure looks like he is in need of some D.O. to me???? Is your air running 24/7? What type of setup do you have??

I haven't seen any aerial spraying.

I run the aerators 24/7 from a 1/4 HP Gasp compressor into 6 diffusers at 4 locations. In addition I run fresh well water every third day for 12hrs. through a 1 1/4" line and a venturi to maintain water level. What are you seeing in the bass that indicates lack of oxygen?

What is your water clarity due to algae bloom? If it's really intense you could have low D.O. just before sunrise due to max respiration of the algae.

I know visibility is at least three feet, probably more. It is of course green but not "thick" looking.

The Naiad keeps spreading like wildfire even though I treated with Hydrothol 10 days ago. Afraid to apply more of any chemical right but also don't want this stuff to cover the whole pond and mechanical removal will just still up more "fertilizer". Oh the joys of small pond management.

Curious why I see so many BG gathered in one spot when there are so many other Naiad beds with none hovering on the top.

Caught 5 bass today 12"-14" long that looked very healthy. No signs of fin or scale damage.

Well the good news is after applying Aquathol Super K the Naiad is dead.

I have only seen two dead BG and one 20" largemouth since the Aqualthol treatment on July 6th. But, the bad news is the BG are still showing Red Sore disease. I can see them through binoculars and about half of the ones I see either have tattered and/or red sores at the base of their fins.

Still a bit mysterious since the water looks fine. A bit of the Chara is coming back and some algae beginning to show up.

Red Sore disease -- caused by stress of some sort including possibly spawning.

I probably lost 60 70 BG and a few bass to the same thing this year. Same sores. It run it's course, and now the fish are fine.

ewest: Yes it could be spawning though I don't see any evidence of that like I usually do.

spinnerbait: Good to hear your situation has corrected itself and your fish are fine now. How long did it take to run its course?

Fish diseases from the archives http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=92438#Post92438

Red Sore disease link -- http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/vm059

Thank you for the links. I read them but still don't know what is causing the stress. Another thing, I haven't seen any BG fry this year. Plenty of bass though. Could it be they are needing more food than they are getting? I do not feed them and with the lack of small BG I wonder if there are too many fish for the food supply. Typically there are 20-25, 5-8 inch BG gathered near the bank in several areas around the pond.

Any recommendations what kind of food to feed them that may help this condition?

Started in May after the first spawn. Most were really nice BG. Probably lasted a couple weeks tops. It really bothered me, but folks on the forum assured me this would work itself out, which it did.

Are there enough LMB in the pond to eat all the YOY BG?

esshup: Don't know what YOY means but I think there is an imbalance or over abundance of midsize fish. Most of the bass are in the 12" range and the BG are in the 7" range. Trying to cull out the bass and the BG in this range seem to be dying off. I just don't want all the BG "breeders" to die leaving me with a bunch of hungry bass. That's why I am considering feeding. Good or bad idea?