Farm pond followup

I stocked fifty 4"-6" Channel cats in May of this year.
I did not expect to see them taking feed until spring 2019. That was the pattern for my first initial fingerling catfish stocking (last spring.)
Ladder method, now in the 2nd summer.

These new CC fingerlings had the benefit of whole pond aeration, daily feed and a higher water quality due to a heavy application of Ag lime.

It really is amazing how much a healthy water quality and daily feed increases the fish growth and health. These fish are several months ahead of the last batch.

I plan to harvest most of these fish around 2 lbs for tablefare, leaving last year's fish for trophies and to assist the LMB in forage population control. Of course I won't be able to catch them all, so some will continue to grow.

I expect these fingerlings will be ready for harvest around July of 2019 rather than Sept 2019 as originally planned.

Side note, experienced catfish growers all recommend never putting a catfish back once it has been caught on rod & reel.
They advise cats are the most hook smart fish off all the warm water species and will be near impossible to hook after 1-2 catch and release occurances.
 
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I was asleep at the switch and left aeration on from 9pm-5am 7x a week.
This caused my pond to cool off more than it should. As a result, my fish have not been feeding aggressively.
In other words, I've been wasting food and adding unnecessary nitrogen to the water.

I changed the aeration schedule to 11am-5pm in an effort to warm the water back up.

Not the end of the world, but definitely a novice mistake.

As a side note, my tilapia are slowing down due to the temps. I may dip net them soon.
They are 3-4lb fish and I look forward to releasing them into the broiler.
 
Slacker said:
Caught a few of these green sunfish for bass chow today.

Eta: I have been told it's a bluegill not a green sunfish. That's good news.

Green sunnies spawn way too much for such a small pond (3x per year) and are near impossible to remove once established.
Also, the size of their mouth allows them to compete with the juvenile bass for forage fish. Definitely not good for trophy large mouth growing.
They also eat lots of bluegill fry, so it's a double wammy to the large mouth.
Bluegill spawn 1x per year, so you can see how the green sunfish can easily overtake a small pond and upset the balance of predator/prey.

Pulled this pic of a green sunfish off the web. Much more bass-like mouth and the dorsal fin has a shark like upswing at it's rear. Body shape is also very different.
View attachment 63203
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I'm originally from Iowa, and back there they call those Rock Bass. I know that's not their technical name (a real rock bass is a different critter), but that's what everyone calls them. We stocked them (green sunfish) in a pond one year after it had frozen and killed everything. We were putting whatever we could catch from other areas in to t he pond. Their population EXPLODED. We were really worried the first couple of years that we had made a major mistake, but after about 4 or 5 years, there were barely any green sunfish left, and the bass and crappies were much larger than expected in that time frame. The only thing we could figure was there wasnt enough cover for them once the bass got bigger than them, and then they became a buffet.
 
Catfish are taking feed. This is the earliest I've seen them feeding. Water temps are still cool. Bluegill are not active yet.

I started aeration this week, 4 hrs a day (1pm - 4pm) in an attempt to warm the water up a little faster.
I also added 700lbs of Ag lime. Need another 1000lbs or more. 50lb bags are a PITA but it needs to be done.
 
Adding lime, you trying to keep the pH up? And how goes the battle for water clarity?
 
JimB said:
Adding lime, you trying to keep the pH up? And how goes the battle for water clarity?
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Adding lime for multiple reasons.

1. Ph buffer and stability
2. Increased total desolved solids
(Magnesium etc)
3. Water Clarity
4. Promoting shoreline plant growth
5. Decreased nitrogen levels
5. All of the above contribute to overall fish health and growth rates.

It can be summarized:

Take good care of the water.
Everything else will be fine.
 
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I am making plans to regenerate a pond on our farm... was thinking of using an aquaculture approach, with a nitration reactor on a continuous loop. We want to use some of the water high in Nitrates to fertilize fruit trees. It will 'blow down' the pond, meaning remove Nitrates with the water, and incoming water will dilute the concentration. We have a lot of water coming into the pond.

We're going to do the same thing with fish in tanks... blow down to fertilize the seedlings at the beginning of each planting (4 per year).
 
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MacEntyre said:
I am making plans to regenerate a pond on our farm... was thinking of using an aquaculture approach, with a nitration reactor on a continuous loop. We want to use some of the water high in Nitrates to fertilize fruit trees. It will 'blow down' the pond, meaning remove Nitrates with the water, and incoming water will dilute the concentration. We have a lot of water coming into the pond.

We're going to do the same thing with fish in tanks... blow down to fertilize the seedlings at the beginning of each planting (4 per year).
Click to expand...

Neat idea.
For nitrogen production, channel cats are hard to beat. No matter the species, you will need to feed them heavily to get enough nitrogen to make it worthwhile.
Channel cats do fine on grain based (cheap) food.

Also keep on mind that as the water temps get below 65ish, NC fish basically stop eating (and producing waste).

Your useable nitrogen level will be seasonal, I suspect.
 
Daughters school developed a closed-loop system, deployed it in Haiti. It takes a surprising amount of plant growth to extract sufficient nitrates to minimize algae blooms. I wanted to incorporate UV sterilization or ozone, but they needed something that would work in the wild.
 
I caught a blowout deal on 80lbs of bigstrike floating fish food, so that's what they will get for the next three weeks.
TSC Multi species (36%) & TSC Floating catfish feed (32%) are all they have ever seen.

One thing I dont like about the Southern states (made by Cargill) is the bag. Its double thick paper, very easy to tear a hole in. The TSC bag is a plastic material, much stronger. I store the food in a non climate controlled shed and the paper seems like it will readily absorb moisture from the air. After loading the feeder, I like to tape the bag closed and roll the top, then tape it again.
The paper bags will just tear apart when I remove the tape to use more of it.
Feed is very prone to mold, so moisture control is important.

I will use what I have but wont pay full price for it based on my experience so far.

FWIW, the catfish ate it with no complaints but it did sink quickly, so the Hoover vacume action was short lived.
I like to watch the large cats Hoover up the feed. They have giant heads.


Cargill paper bag:
20190608_100251.jpg


TSC bag. Plastic material much preferred.
20190608_100304.jpg


20190608_104151.jpg 20190608_104132.jpg
 
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Check out the difference in the suspended clay content in the inlet water vs existing water.
If I did not add Gypsum on a yearly basis, the entire pond would be the milky looking color. 20190613_120606.jpg
 
I did not realize that the clay would not finally settle and that you need to add gypsum every year. I have enjoyed this thread and find it very interesting.
 
ECNC said:
I did not realize that the clay would not finally settle and that you need to add gypsum every year. I have enjoyed this thread and find it very interesting.
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The clay particles are so small, they never settle. I tested this in a glass pickle jar sitting on a shelf for a couple weeks.
I then added a teaspoon of gypsum and 4 days later, it had all settled to the bottom.
Check out the water color- pre gypsum 2019. I add it in the spring, preferably after the spring rains.20190202_134254.jpg
 
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Will it be less and less as time goes on and some vegetation grows around the edge of the pond?
 
ECNC said:
Will it be less and less as time goes on and some vegetation grows around the edge of the pond?
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The water inflow that feeds the pond has the suspended clay in it.
See the cloudy area in the pic?
That's fresh water coming in, carrying the clay with it.
Vegetation around the edge isn't going to do anything in this case.
20190613_120606.jpg
 
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You know your pond is well stocked when a Heron becomes a frequent visitor. Sadly a Heron will eat a lot quickly. Beautiful birds to see in flight, until you see them spear a Bass.
 
DogFather said:
You know your pond is well stocked when a Heron becomes a frequent visitor. Sadly a Heron will eat a lot quickly. Beautiful birds to see in flight, until you see them spear a Bass.
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USING WINGS TO LAND WITHIN SLACKERS POND IS A SHORT ROAD TO DEATH.
 
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