Forums36
Topics40,962
Posts557,959
Members18,500
|
Most Online3,612 Jan 10th, 2023
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 122
Lunker
|
OP
Lunker
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 122 |
Do catfish or any other pond critters eat some of the decaying leafs that collect in ponds after the autumn fall off?
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 2,365
Lunker
|
Lunker
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 2,365 |
Not likely. Most dead (tree) leaves are pretty much inedible by higher creatures. They're partially consumed by bacteria and protozoans,and can be found mostly intact years later.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 686
Lunker
|
Lunker
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 686 |
Would tilapia be the exception to this? I seem to remember reading somewhere that leaves from certain trees were actually fed to tilapia. Ill try to check.
Get out and fish.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 15,146 Likes: 488
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
|
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 15,146 Likes: 488 |
If anything processes the leaf litter it is aquatic dwelling invertebrates primarily immature insect larvae and nymphs. They are called shredders. If catfish ate organic debris on the bottom ponds with a fair number of catfish would be pretty clean and they are not especially those with trees nearby.
Last edited by Bill Cody; 02/03/09 07:32 PM.
aka Pond Doctor & Dr. Perca Read Pond Boss Magazine - America's Journal of Pond Management
|
|
|
|
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 13,973 Likes: 276
Moderator Lunker
|
Moderator Lunker
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 13,973 Likes: 276 |
Are any crayfish detrivores?
"Live like you'll die tomorrow, but manage your grass like you'll live forever." -S. M. Stirling
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 10,458 Likes: 2
Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
|
Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 10,458 Likes: 2 |
I remember reading they are, but I cannot remember for sure. I have found some crazy things in catfish stomachs in the past. You seriously wonder why the heck they swallowed it!
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 122
Lunker
|
OP
Lunker
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 122 |
I have a young pond and want to keep the leaf litter to a minimum...any advice? (besides cutting down the nearby trees) In 15 years, I don't want a pond with 18 inches of leaf muck resting on the bottom.
Last edited by portable ladder; 02/04/09 03:26 PM.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 13,748 Likes: 295
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
|
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 13,748 Likes: 295 |
Aeration and possibly the addition of certain types of microbes should help keep bottom muck in check.
(Be advised that I know nothing about either topic so someone else should jump in)
Excerpt from Robert Crais' "The Monkey's Raincoat:" "She took another microscopic bite of her sandwich, then pushed it away. Maybe she absorbed nutrients from her surroundings."
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 7,099 Likes: 23
Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
|
Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 7,099 Likes: 23 |
Tilapia will eat leaves but it is way down the list of prferred foods.
Aeration is the best thing which provides for the creation of huge colonies of aerobic bacteria to break down the detritus.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 20,043 Likes: 1
Hall of Fame Lunker
|
Hall of Fame Lunker
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 20,043 Likes: 1 |
Are any crayfish detrivores? I don't know but I used to wade out and pick up clumps of rotting leaves and throw them the bank when I was a kid. In no time crayfish would flip up to the surface which we used for bait. There were also dragonfly and damselfly nymphs.
If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.
|
|
|
Moderated by Bill Cody, Bruce Condello, catmandoo, Chris Steelman, Dave Davidson1, esshup, ewest, FireIsHot, Omaha, Sunil, teehjaeh57
|
|