2 cups seems like a bit much for a few pounds of FHM's. I would feed them gradually over a 15 minute period trying not to feed them so fast that they can't keep up with eating it all. If they stop feeding before the 15 minutes is up...stop feeding. You could do this twice a day if you wanted to, but once is fine too. I am thinking that a 1/2 cup per feeding is more like it, but that all depends on their appetite, size, numbers, and other available natural foods.

Definitely put in some egg laying structure for them. Anything flat and horizontal will work. They need a flat surface to lay eggs on the under side. Some have used sheets of plywood, foam board insulation, cinder blocks, buckets, barrels, lengths of pvc pipe, etc. Here is a pic of one of my FHM spawning structures that has worked very well now for a few years. I have 6 of these in my 1/4 acre pond...some 2 pallets, some stacked 3 high..Use more than the weight of one cinder block per pallet in the stack. 2 blocks per pallet would be a safe approach..don't ask how I learned that lesson...

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If you go the bass only route, I recommend the HSB or a single sex LMB stocking with my preference being the HSB. Do your research on the HSB, Texas waters get hot and HSB may not be the best choice. Here's a short testimony on the growth of my HSB the first season...

https://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Main=38025&Number=494998#Post494998


Fish on!,
Noel