Ahhhhh!!! Thanks for the explanation on the cool temp effect in the water during winter time aeration. I live in a warm climate, and aerators are not used in the mountain areas. So, winter time aeration to me is a new concept. I had a suspicion from reading the "fish death" with "winter time", but was not confirmed until now. I notice most ponds are in the 10ft and shallower, with the winter temperature below surface ranges roughly 5 to 7°F from surface. Some fish are not cold hardy, so, they'll belly up. So much info to acquire from the cold part of the country that is extremely in tune with the fish. Wish I have a teleporter just to jump to you guys to do close monitoring.
During the prior winters with adequate DO for ponds 1 and 2, were the ice caps generated by the cold weathers and were the diffusers running at optimal conditions as well (assuming that they were)? What were the DO level monitored, if there was any info on it. I'm curious between the DO between non-aerated level vs aerated level during winters before intro of RBT and HSB. It's incredible that they consume that much DO in the water over the GSF existing population. Just like our bodies, larger body require more oxygen for respiration purposes. So, the reserved DO may not be enough when larger bodies go introduced into the larger pond.
By the way, to continue with the #4 as you provide more insights, was the DO in pond #3 remained higher than ponds 1 and 2 throughout the winter with, or without, the intro of HSB and RBT? As researches indicated the HSB is a harder group of survivors down to 1mg/L of DO. Not so much with RBT.
Looks like there may be a bacteria or pathogenic element in the mix. Could you capture a few of the species for a quick observation to see if there is red sore disease (red spots and irritation sores on their bodies)? I will make note to prep some dye detectors for bacterial and pathogenic materials coming from the soil sample you're sending.
Truly Scott, you're making my day. So much fun entails in this discussion.
