I have a new pond that is 65'x100' and 7' deep. I did an initial stocking of a pound and a half of fat head minnows and added about 150 1"-3" HBG and 30 2"-4" HSB about three weeks ago. A week after that I decided that it would be neat to have some catfish in there and went with 10 2"-3" albino CC so that they would really stand out at feeding time.

I now have loads of fatheads spawning in the rock piles and plants all over the pond and the HBG and HSB are gobbling down the Optimal starter food at every feeding and are growing like crazy. They still aren't big enough to eat the fatheads but they are getting there fast.

The visibility is great in the pond and I can clearly see to 3' deep or so. I saw one of the catfish the afternoon that I put them in but have not had so much of a glimpse of one ever since. I'm out there several times a day, every day, and no dead ones have shown up. The only fish in the pond are the ones I put in, which are too small to have eaten them. I also have not seen any herons or other predators along the shore yet so I have to think that they are all still in there.

Two questions:

#1: Is this unusual?

#2 How long will it take for them to start showing up to the feeding area? The Optimal starter is a sinking pellet but I can see well enough to the bottom that a white catfish couldn't be missed.

Thanks