After taking some time to plan out a small pond or pool idea to raise minnows for forage, I'm beginning to really warm up to the idea of doing an in pond cage instead of a pool.
If I do it that way, I won't have to bother with aeration and hoses as well as figuring out how I will power my pump. I would also have to build a sturdy platform to keep it level, as well as pay for all of this stuff and keep a pool operating. If the young minnows can freely exit the cage, that will save me the hassle of having to do it myself.
I can put the cage under the dock but extend a portion out to where I can put a door on the top so I can access the cage and sprinkle feed in it without having to drag the entire thing out from under the dock. I will still make it where I can pull the whole thing out as well. I'll make a wood frame and use wire mesh. Does 1/4" mesh sound right? I'll need to affix floats to it too.
My walkway is pretty much the only place I will be able to put it. There is too much obstruction to under the main dock. So if my walkway is 4' wide, I can make the cage 6' x 6' and up to 3' deep. I hope that's a big enough space for this to be worthwhile. I have no idea how many adult minnows it can hold and I don't know how I would have any idea of how many fry are being produced and swimming out the mesh and into the pond. That's one big downside as I don't know if I can judge whether the system is working well. Also, hopefully there's enough fry being produced that they have some chance to grow a little before being gobbled up so they can at least make a difference as forage.
This would be an awesome way to supplement feeding for a pond if it will work and produce at least a meaningful amount of self replenishing forage.
