IMO the shiners should survive well over time because you have you have submerged vegetation that you think is coontail or maybe it is Myriophyllum (water milfoil). Those plants spread. As Sunil says the shiners will get a good head start and establishment prior to the new SMB. As long as it is present, the underwater vegetation will provide ample cover and later maybe even too much cover for the shiners and SMB as predators. My concern is the sunfish and SMB combination.
SMB are not very good predators to adequately control sunfish populations specially when underwater weeds are common in the pond.
What fish in the existing pond do you think has controlled the population of sunfish young to 9" long??? . There surely has been some form of population control to allow the sunfish numbers to develop all sizes present and a 'normal' population structure. Do you know the specie of sunfish????. Is it green sunfish, pumpkinseed, bluegill or some form of mixture and hybrids?
Last edited by Bill Cody; 07/28/22 11:05 AM.
