MNFish2 says: "My ponds and the ones I work with are very small and have well established fish populations.(less than 2 acres with most around 1/2 acre). Minnows don't have much of a chance to establish."
You already know this but for others, Almost always for minnows to stay established it takes LOTS of good habitat or a noticeably low number of predators. As the amount of habitat increases the predator number can increase. Minnows and small fish need 'dense' rather than 'fluffy' refuge areas to survive a specific amount of predation. Some small fish are better at escaping predation than other species.
I once saw a 0.25 ac pond where they were growing lots of mosquito fish for use by the metroparks for restocking the mosquito fish for mosquito control in wetland areas. There was one bass, healthy and fat in the pond.
Last edited by Bill Cody; 03/04/17 11:00 AM.
