Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Feeding Fish food recommenation?

Feeding newly stocked pellet trained fingerling fish in a 3 ac pond could result in their slow return to eating pellets for a few reasons. 1. size of pond. A larger pond has lots of available space to fish to wander around and find other natural food items. 2. the smaller the pellet trained fish when stocked the less likely it will return to eating pellets because the habituation period is relatively short. The shorter the habituation period the quicker the fish will forgo pellets in place of eating natural foods. 3. Amount of natural foods in the pond influences the more likely the new fish will resort to instinctively eat natural foods. Sometimes as the natural foods become scarce the fish will return to eating pellets.

A new pond with silty murky water has a low amount of natural food base due to turbidity suppressing the food base of plankton growth. Turbid water with reduced natural foods could encourage the small pellet trained fish resume eating pellets. Finding pellets in a 3 ac pond might cause a delay in fish locating the pellet feeding area.

It will be helpful to all members if you return periodically and tell us how your pellet feeding in your new pond is progressing.