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Jan 10th, 2023
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I stocked a pound of FHM almost 2 weeks ago, now I have floaters. About 10 percent died due to shock the first go, water temp at 40. I did acclimate them the best I could. 2 weeks later and I have about 10 dead on the shore. Probably more.
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Floaters are never fun, but so long as you don't lose too many, they will make many, many more. Do you have spawning structure in the pond for them?
Fish on!, Noel  
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Yeah I have a small pallet and some cinderblocks. It looks like the last few days I've had new floaters. I'm hoping it's just the weak ones.
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In late winter very early spring stocking fish is more risky for having some mortality compared to waiting until the water is 50F-60F when the fish are more active. Amount of mortality often depends on how the fish were handled and how long they had been held prior to the sale. In Ohio I try not to stock this early.
Last edited by Bill Cody; 03/19/19 01:11 PM.
aka Pond Doctor & Dr. Perca Read Pond Boss Magazine -
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Bill,
I figured that was the case. I did see some swimming today at a faster pace. The ones that were dying moved pretty slow. No floaters today.
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Yes in cold water it often takes several days for the weakest fish to die. After a couple days of mortalities floaters usually stop appearing. When some predator fish are present the predators usually eat all the weak and dying fish thus most are never seen.
aka Pond Doctor & Dr. Perca Read Pond Boss Magazine -
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I'm still seeing slow moving minnows. Some pretty close to dead. Could my water be toxic? I used a pool testing kit and everything looks fine, ph etc. I do have a burn pile that the previous owner left that's uphill near the pond. They burned all sorts of stuff, spray cans, mattress, asphalt and who knows what else. I just finished removing it today with my tractor.
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We had some mortalities with fathead minnows when we bought from a fish truck
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I did put in 10 test rosey reds from the pet shop and surprising I saw one that was still alive. That was when there was ice cover 2 months ago. Goldfish seems to have survived too. Maybe just a bad batch of FHM. Still waiting on the HSB to be delivered.
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I would call the place where you got the FHM and report the moralities. Often they will replace them for free if you have a fairly accurate body count. If they do not offer a suitable replacement I would consider not getting more fish from them.
Last edited by Bill Cody; 03/24/19 07:49 PM.
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It was a local bait shop so I doubt they do refunds. I'm going to Shelby this weekend. I would call the place where you got the FHM and report the moralities. Often they will replace them for free if you have a fairly accurate body count. If they do not offer a suitable replacement I would consider not getting more fish from them.
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Bait shops are a risky place to buy minnows. Sometimes they have held those minnows for weeks in tanks with less than optimal conditions. I bought minnows from Shelby last year with very good success hauling them for 1.5 hours; few if any morts. Ask him how long he has held them and how the mortality rate has been since he got them. I find him to be a honest fish farm manager.
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Bill have you tried Fin Farm near you. Any opinions? Thanks
Fin Farm has decent fish but sort his FHM for sticklebacks mixed in due to wild stock from northern prairie states.
Last edited by Bill Cody; 03/28/19 08:57 AM.
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Bait shops are a risky place to buy minnows. Sometimes they have held those minnows for weeks in tanks with less than optimal conditions. I bought minnows from Shelby last year with very good success hauling them for 1.5 hours; few if any morts. Ask him how long he has held them and how the mortality rate has been since he got them. I find him to be a honest fish farm manager. Shelby has much better prices for minnows too. I almost paid double but it was close by. I saw another one today that was near death. Maybe it's just old age.
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