This entire thread has been placed in the Fish Foods & All About Feeding Fish topic of the Forum Archives: Common Pond Q & A
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=400108#Post400108For producing fish a pond that relies solely on natural production:
Start with the basics. The pic below shows a basic food chain. To have more without any feeding you have to enhance the food chain. The basic building block is the plankton shown in the circle inset. You can by adding to any level increase the next level above (like adding pk shrimp to help the next level up). You need some basic info on your ponds fertility to start.
PK shrimp, scuds, and crayfish are both predators, shredders, and detritivores who help break down organic material and also serve as good fish food. Adding detritivors to a pond ecosystem can enhance the overall pond system.
Common foods are detritus, coarse and fine particulate organic matter, filamentous algae, diatoms, animal matter, its own species, and zooplankton such as Daphnia spp. Smaller individuals feed on detritus more frequently.
Detritivors also known as detrivores, detritophages, detritus feeders, or detritus eaters, are heterotrophs that obtain nutrients by consuming detritus (decomposing plant and animal parts as well as feces). There are many kinds of invertebrates, vertebrates and plants that carry out coprophagy. By doing so, all these detritivores contribute to decomposition and the nutrient cycles.
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