I finally started my pond

[Bob Ha]

Brandi, Sorry for your loss. We built a new 2 acre pond 3 years ago and stocked it 2 years ago. My farm is in Oklahoma along the Red River and the state stocks the ponds for free with a few conditions. If I recall they supply the Channel Cat and Blue gill in February time frame and the Large Mouth bass in the June time frame. We started feeding the catfish about a year ago and wow have they grown. It's time to start harvesting a few to keep the population down. The largest ones are about 3 pounds and act like piranhas during feeding every evening. I had no idea what pleasure it would be to watch them grow and wondering if I'll be able to harvest them. Just not sure but time will tell. Good luck

 

[bindian]

uuummmmm!!!! gold fish. sorry i couldn't resist, sorry that you lost your fishies.

Shane

Shane,
Gold fish.:laughing:
hugs, Brandi

 

[bindian]

Sorry to hear about your loss. I usually like chemicals, but don't want to mess with them and alge. I actually like the look of a little bit of it on my pond. How bad was it on your pond?

What I've found with alge and fighting it is to not even try. Usualy the problem is from feeding fish too much food and adding to the food supply for the alge with fish poo. That's just pure fertilizer for the alge, and by over feeding the fish, you just cause them to create more fertilizer for the alge.

My vote is still for channels. Who did you buy your fish from? My supplier, Tyler Fish Farms, is also a fish biologist and he give advice for free when you go to buy from him. I know Overton Fisheries, or something like that is down your way and they also give out advice for free on what to stock, how much to put in there and when the best times are to do so.

Too many fish is worse then not enough. Stocking them at the wrong time, or in the wrong combination is also a big mistake that can set you back.

Being that it is the middle of summer, I might just buy fathead minnows and coppernose bluegill this year and wait until spring for the cats. Of course, the biologists will know more then me and that really is who you need to talk to.

Good luck,
Eddie

Eddie,
The algae bloom was bad and getting worse. Guess I should have waited and tried Barley straw. I bought the Blue's from Danbury fish farm. Why do you say Channel catfish? I stocked fathead minnows two months before the catfish. They are doing well, along with the Mosquito fish.
hugs, Brandi

 

[bindian]

Brandi, Sorry for your loss. We built a new 2 acre pond 3 years ago and stocked it 2 years ago. My farm is in Oklahoma along the Red River and the state stocks the ponds for free with a few conditions. If I recall they supply the Channel Cat and Blue gill in February time frame and the Large Mouth bass in the June time frame. We started feeding the catfish about a year ago and wow have they grown. It's time to start harvesting a few to keep the population down. The largest ones are about 3 pounds and act like piranhas during feeding every evening. I had no idea what pleasure it would be to watch them grow and wondering if I'll be able to harvest them. Just not sure but time will tell. Good luck

Thanks Bob Ha. It just dawned on me I could have caught my cats before they died and put them elsewhere. Only problem would be where besides the wheelbarrow. Guess that is a good excuse to dig another pond.
hugs, Brandi

 

[weldingisfun]

Sorry to hear about your cats, Brandi.
We have lost ours two years in a row now. Not even going to restock again. Just too darned frustrating.
Good luck to you.

 

[bindian]

Sorry to hear about your cats, Brandi.
We have lost ours two years in a row now. Not even going to restock again. Just too darned frustrating.
Good luck to you.

Lee,
Yes, it is very frustrating. The Mosquito fish and fathead minnows are doing well. They are all I have to watch for now.
hugs, Brandi

 

[jinman]

Sorry about your unfortunate mistake and loss Brandi. Stuff happens and you just have to move on. In high school I had a teacher who always said, "Rise above it!" How long do you have to wait until you can restock?

There is a simple solution to algae in a small pond. I've had some success with just spreading cornmeal on the pond's surface, but this eHow solution might work the best if you want to give it a try.

 

[bindian]

Sorry about your unfortunate mistake and loss Brandi. Stuff happens and you just have to move on. In high school I had a teacher who always said, "Rise above it!" How long do you have to wait until you can restock?

There is a simple solution to algae in a small pond. I've had some success with just spreading cornmeal on the pond's surface, but this eHow solution might work the best if you want to give it a try.

Jim,
Thanks for the heads up with the cornmeal. I will use that next time. I ordered 13 Blue catfish and 12 Channel catfish today. I pick them up August 21st from Danbury Fish Farms down in Danbury. They will be 6-8 inches long. The longest Blue that died and I buried was 11 inches long. So I will be a few months behind, but will feel better with cats in the pond again.

The pond seems to not be as redish clay looking now. More a shade of dark green now. It is way clearer and I can see way deeper when the sun is up high.

I have been checking out aeration online and realized I can make an air diffuser out of coiled up airhose with thousands of small drilled holes in it. I have one at work tywrapped to an aluminum plate that I use as a fresh air blower when I am working in the cockpit or baggage bins and can't find a fan. I will experiment with airhose from my new air compressor in the barn and regulate it down to about 5 psi and work it trial and error. I should have it working right before the cats get here. I will put it in a weighted bucket and see how it works.
hugs, Brandi

 

[bindian]

Life goes on around Lake Marie. I saw a crane feeding today on fathead minnows. I included a photo from last October to show the difference in water color today.
hugs, Brandi

 

[jinman]

Brandi, this is not a story about fish, but this spring, I did a dumb thing when I seeded grass seed in my yard. Because I wanted more than native grasses in a portion of my yard, I took my tiller on my tractor and tilled this section of my yard about 2" deep. Then, I removed rocks and dragged it with a chainlink drag to get it nice and flat. I also hauled in sand for leveling. I went to the local Walmart and bought fertilizer and a mix of fescue and bermuda seed. I guess I spent close to $200 on fertilizer and seed. I got home and spread the fertilizer very evenly over the plot with my pull behind spreader for my lawn tractor. Then, I spread the seed very heavily to be sure I had good coverage. As I was cleaning up and feeling all smug, I happened to notice one of the empty plastic bags of fertilizer said "Weed and Feed." My heart sank! I quickly looked at the other empty bags and they were all the same. It seems that Walmart had regular fertilizer stacked right beside the weed and feed type. The bags were similar and I grabbed four of the wrong bags, never noticing until I had it on the ground with the seed.

I have to give the weed and feed credit. It worked very well. True to form, the seed never germinated despite my watering two or three times per day to keep it wet. Sheesh! About a month later, I went back to Walmart and spent another $200, this time getting the right seed and fertilizer. The picture below shows how successful I was. Sometimes stuff happens.

BTW: The area around your pond and the water are looking good. I didn't see any algae at all.