Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Raising Forage and Bait New species

Had a customer call about some newly appearing ground water with minnows so I went and pulled a seine about 10' and got about 45lbs of these. Looks like good SMB feed to me!
Northern Plains Killifish..

Wikipedia lists several known parasites, would a salt dip or a chemical parasite dip be recommended before stocking. Or are the parasites particular to this one species ? I would love some, if parasites aren't a problem.

Would depend if they are all external. These are very common in NW KS and parasites haven't been an issue.
They do carry white grubs which are fairly common and near impossible to completely eradicate.

Never heard of a killifish. Neat looking animal.

Yes interesting fish the northern plains killifish. Maximum size is around 6". It could be a very good forage fish in some pond habitats. I need to learn more about them; especially the spawn habits and needs. Mouth shape and position suggests they spend a lot of time near the surface .

Credit: Aquarium circle, May 1, 2022

Northern plains killifish is the common name of the killifish species Fundulus kansae of the Fundulidae family. Their populations can be found in the Mississippi River, Colorado River, Rio Grande, and other river systems in North America.

The natural habitats of northern plain killifish are usually shallow river and stream with lower, moderate, and swift, turbid water flows. Sometimes, they can be found in lakes.

They can live in brackish, alkaline, and salty water conditions, better than many local fish varieties. The water temperatures that they can do best are between 20°C and 25°C.

The male of northern plains killifish has wider and darker bars than the female. During the breeding season, most of the fins of the breeding male turn to yellowish-orange coloration, except the back fins. Meanwhile, the fins of the female and immature individuals are plain or yellowish.

They can be found burying the whole body in the substrate while only showing eyes and mouth. This behavior of the northern plains killifish is to respond to stress and may help protect themselves from sunlight, predators, and parasites.

The northern plains killifish is reported to move in schools and with the same size species.

The northern plains killifish eats primarily aquatic insects and other invertebrates mainly located on the water surface near their heads, such as chironomid larvae, copepods, nematodes, and other small animals. Besides the aquatic insects, they sometimes eat aquatic plants.

SPAWNING SEASON
It occurs from April to August and at the water temperature of 27.7°C (80°F)

Additionally, their spawning activity may be stimulated by a change in water temperature or a sudden water freshening, which often occurs when there is moderate or heavy rain in their spawning season.
They typically spawn over a sand or gravel bottom in shallow water with a depth of 6 cm – 10 cm.


Males do not establish territories but become aggressive toward each other while spawning and compete vigorously for the attention of the females; spawning occurs during a brief pairing of a single male and female (Koster 1948).

When the spawning occurs, the males are not territorial but aggressive towards each other and usually have fiery competitive behavior to attract the females. The spawning happens during a short pairing of one male and one female.

I have seined Killifish in my stream about 1/2 a state south of Snipe's location.

They were by far the heaviest minnow in the stream. I would estimate that they weighed at least 500% more than the heaviest Gambusia.

I therefore believe they would be an excellent forage fish in our ponds.

However, I don't read about anybody using them in ponds. I suspect they reproduce much better in streams. I would love the hear anyone's experiences if they know of a pond environment where Killifish have been developed as a significant forage species.

I think it would be a one and done deal Rod.. a snack.
The location we found these in, I could probably seine 1000lbs and use for forage.
After a bit more research I have to wonder about all the potential parasites and how that could affect other things. I also don't think it's normal to find this number of fish in one small location, I believe the floods put them here.

Thanks Snipe!

I think your comment matches my multi-year observations on the population in our creek.

The Killifish would be awesome pond forage, if they were a pond minnow! (And certified parasite free.)

Fortunately, I have an abundant supply of locally acclimated Gambusia to add to any new ponds going in on our farm.

Rod, I wonder if the killifish might do better if you created a current in your pond. Just a thought.

I'm in south central KS and have seined them in streams my whole life. Never seen signs of them in a pond or lake though. I'm guessing t4ying to establish them in a pond would be an upstream battle.

Yep.

I have contemplated building a recirculating "run type" pond that would work for walleye to reproduce, or even my stream minnows like the killifish.

Then I looked at the current electricity prices and decided that I did not want to work an extra job!