Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose Stocking a new pond with RES, YP and SMB

When buying fish it is important to look at the fish before buying them. Look for any fungus and/or marks on the fish. Ask to see them feed on pellets in their tank. Stressed fish do not eat pellets very well. Fish farms remove all dead fish from tanks before customers show up. Fish sold late in the spring when water temps are above 75F could possibly be under holding stress. Buyer always beware.
Remlingers do have a replacement policy, but don't get replacement fish now. Get a credit voucher and use it this fall or next spring when water is less than 72F.

Jones were out of perch for the season. I was thinking of going to Shelby fish farm for the fish, but last minute got them from Remlingers.

I had a feeling I should pass on the fish and wish I would have now. Lesson learned...

Bill what's your guess on the remainder fish? I've found 40 or so of 300 dead and am finding a few more every time I walk the bank. Think a decent share of those will recover and eventually be healthy? I'm not really sure how many dead ones would have sank out of sight, any guesses?

If you don't have bass able to eat the weakened and dying newly stocked YP, you should eventually see at the surface most of the ones that die. If the surviving fish are able to get lots of food and do eat, many of them will survive. Buying and hauling fish is science and art. Every body kills fish when the deal with them for various reasons; that is how we learn the most - the hard way.

I talked to Mark at Remlingers and he offered to replace the whole order of YP and even deliver the fish for free this fall. That's great customer service! I really should have called him before posting about the fish loss. I was more concerned about how many fish may have survived vs. died and didn't really know what to say as far as numbers I'd lost, so I was holding off.

At any rate they are standing behind they're product 100% at this point and for that I'd strongly recommend them to anyone. Seems like it's getting hard to find businesses that do that these days.

That is the kind of business you want to advertise to others.

JamieE,

I wonder if they sell in Illinois? That's the kind of people I want to do business with. Do you have any contact info you could PM me?

PM sent Bill D.

Son and I did a little more fishing today. We caught probably 20+ perch and 3 SMB. Several perch were in the 8" range and the biggest Smallie was slightly under 9" already and fat! Caught him on light tackle and boy did he fight! Awesome fish to catch! Can't wait til they are 14" or so... Pics of fish below.

http://i1065.photobucket.com/albums/u392/JamieE38/68caacdc79f239513eef1a9a9c6599da.jpg

http://i1065.photobucket.com/albums/u392/JamieE38/57e83358556736f1666061888728556b.jpg

I have quite a mat of submerged water plants all around my "newish" pond. I am guessing its due to nitrogen that came in from the neighbors field from all the rain. I am hoping that it will help any smaller fish hide and speed the population of the pond with forage so that I can add the SMB sooner. I will not add GC unless the weeds hang around at this density for a few more years. My water lilies and emergent plants have not yet populated like I expect they will, so the nutrient balance should change over time. I also have plans to install a water control box and raise the water level 1 foot over a 3 year period once the edges of the pond are fully populated with emergent plants, so that will change things too. I love watching wildlife habitat develop!

Jamie, I don't think ya did wrong in postin the first report about the fish dying, that just set the stage for your latest report. Bill is correct, every body loses fish now and then and it's good to here other folks experiences.
You'll probably get a pm from me soon, waiting for an update on some info.

Rah, your sure showing a lot of patients on your pond!

My pond is staying fairly free from weeds so far. There's a couple small spots of cat tails and algae and that's about it. I'm thinking pretty serious about starting some lillies and maybe a few other water plants. I may be climbing a steep hill doing it because Im beginning to see a pretty strong crayfish population.

I'm like you I get a lot of enjoyment seeing the wildlife benefit from my efforts.

Pics look good. My YP must be getting a little larger. I haven't actually seen one. They hit the feed when the feeder goes off, but it's so quick I can't really tell fish size. The splash seems bigger. SMB this fall, if I can find some. Rainman says he will have to go to MN to get them..

My son caught a perch off the pier while I was feeding the fish last night. We noticed something hanging out of its butt and my first thought was a parisite. As the fish flopped around on the deck it popped out and upon further inspection I couldn't believe my eyes. It turned out to be the pincers of baby crayfish.

Pretty cool to see and also reinforce the that we indeed had a decent hatch of crayfish this spring and the fish are utilizing them for forage. The wildlife in the pond and the food web that's developing is really cool to witness.

http://i1065.photobucket.com/albums/u392/JamieE38/e88880e540e1e16107c4c11e16ae8abc.jpg

I'm a little concerned... I've been losing a hand full of fish for the last couple of weeks. About every other day I find a dead fish or 2 laying at the beach. Until today they have all been perch, but today I found of my Smallies floating.

I'm wondering if the problem could be low DO? I have yet to install my aeration system and have very little plant life in the pond. Also the water clarity has been much more cloudy the last few weeks. Clarity seems to be improving over the last few days, but I'm really worried as the fish have been doing really great until recent weeks. Some of the SMB are 11" already, which is double their original size in only 10 months.

Any guesses as to what's going on? Should I stop feeding pellets?

http://i1065.photobucket.com/albums/u392/JamieE38/221e4966eaa4b79b4dc1f7f4228550ce.jpg

Jamie, as you know I'm not real knowledgeable but I'm a big fan of aeration. Is it possible that the "cloudy water" is a bloom? Why don't you contact Bill Cody and see if ya could take/send him a water sample and have him analyze it.

I've been following this post all along and am very impressed with your success, congrats.

Questions on adding a small number of SMB this fall vs. later. I have a pond with FHM, RES, GSH, and YP. I added 25 7-9" YP last fall with no apparent spawn this spring (no fertilized egg masses), and I added 100 2" YP this spring. I also added 12, 3" LCS this spring. I was considering adding 5 or 10 SMB this fall. Is this a good idea or should I wait for a YP spawn and for the LCS to grow? If I do add SMB this fall, what size is best? If its best to wait, I am I+OK with that, but I though starting with a small number of small SMB now might be more economical.

Just moving back to first page in hopes of getting opinions -

Questions on adding a small number of SMB this fall vs. later. I have a 1-acre pond with FHM, RES, GSH, and YP. I added 25 7-9" YP last fall with no apparent spawn this spring (no fertilized egg masses), and I added 100 2" YP this spring. I also added 12, 3" LCS this spring. I was considering adding 5 or 10 SMB this fall. Is this a good idea or should I wait for a YP spawn and for the LCS to grow? If I do add SMB this fall, what size is best? If its best to wait, then I am OK with that, but I though starting with a small number of small SMB now might be more economical.

RAH, do you know what the male/female ratio was for the 25 7-9" YP was? I'm surprised they didn't pull a spawn. I stocked nearly the same number (30, 12 female/18 male) and their offspring are all over the place.

What has been the general consensus on the LCS's survival chances? Such a small number and some larger YP could potentially take some(1/3rd size of predator). I'm not sure you'll ever know for sure if the LCS successfully survive. I know some who have them have had trouble seeing/sampling them except when spawning.

Regarding SMB stocking, the YP population should be just fine, with those 100 recently stocked fish and the others likely spawning this coming spring. If you want to give your LCS the best chance of surviving, probably could hold off, though. Wouldn't stock tiny SMB with those few bigger YP in there. I know they're only a few, but SMB aren't cheap, no matter what size you purchase them at.

I am guessing the large YP were all females based on the lack of fertilized eggs, but I do not know. Thanks for the SMB advice. I would be worried about the LCS with added predators. Maybe I will add next fall. If I added now, I think that I should add at least 3-4" fish to avoid the mature YP eating them.

RAH, have you tried to find a supplier that has SMB this Fall? You might have no choice but to wait until next Fall.........

I would check with Clear Creek if folks saw an advantage to stocking now. My thought was that 5 to 10 3-4" SMB might get the population going at the right time to benefit from the forage peaking.

Based on the lack of encouragement for stocking a few SMB now, I will likely hold off till next fall, or the following spring.

Hey RAH,

IMHO I would go ahead and stock some small SMB this fall if you can. I think I saw Keystone will have them in a month or two but would be a 3 hour or so drive for you. My reasoning is you should have enough small minnows to keep the small SMB happy.

Are you adding some 4 to 6 inch YP to get the male population up?

Keystone won't sell fish for stocking into an Indiana pond. If you have an Indiana phone number you will be lucky if they pick up the phone.

I added 100 2" YP this past spring. I'll see if Clear Creek has any SMB this fall. I think that I'll just add 6 or 7.