Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Upon the property that the bank lets me live upon, I've a relatively small pond, ~1/3 of an acre, ~14' deep at most, majority in the 8' range. Since moved here a few years ago, this has been my aquatic "Zen garden", my life-sized aquarium. Can't state how many (hundreds?) of hours I've spent in and around this small body of water, pulling weeds, feeding the fish, resculpturing the shoreline by hand & shovel, etc. Being the goofy scientist/engineer, I've kept track of how many fish, what species, what sizes are in there, what I've stocked, what has been removed for dinner. Previous/original owner used chemicals, mainly Copper Sulphate and AquaShade/etc., to keep the pond to their liking - however, since I've owned it, no chemicals have been added. I even let some cattails grow abit more here and there, and by manually pulling up this and that kind of plants, have modified the types and amounts of plant life too [cattails, btw, are supposedly good at removing excess nutrients, etc.].
Anyhow, with that background laid out, this past summer I let the number of catfish exceed slightly the number I desired - was wanting to remove ~6 more, as their numbers had reached ~28. The bass had gone up to ~15, and a fair number of minnows and bluegills made up balance. Some of the cat reached up to ~30", majority though in the 15-22" range, w/ the bass also smaller, ~12-16". Some panfish reached ~8", made for goooood eating. And with the non-use of chemicals and other small management that did to the shoreline areas, the number of frogs increased dramatically - went from maybe 3, to easily over a dozen this past fall.
Well, with the severe cold weather, in both its duration and the drop in temps., had ice up to 9" thick, w/ coverage lasting for over 2 months. Even though had chopped a few small holes, and had uncovered the snow on a couple occasions, the Oxygen level decreased to levels that killed the majority of the fish. So, with the thaw over the past few weeks, have removed 5 buckets full of once beautiful life... wasted because I was not diligent enough in keeping snow removed from the ice surface [for sunlight to penetrate when possible to help plants emit Oxygen], and enough uncovered water visible to the air for Oxygen to diffuse into the water. Was a sight, hate to admit, if anyone saw ice being chopped and water splattered, just so some dumb fish could live... But, like said, this is my retreat - nothing like eating dinner, partaking a cool drink, relaxing alongside this small body of water, watching the denizens of the deep play and live, listening to the sounds of splashing and of the frogs calling.
Anyhow, main point of this rambling post is to share with anyone else that has such ponds, and cares for their fish/life within, to be aware of Winter Kill, Summer Kill, and other harmful occurrences that can damage your investment, and kill the life of the pond.
PS: it was not until this past weekend that I was able to smile about my pond... as indicated above, I was under the belief that all, and I mean all, life had been lost, due to the severity of the ice coverage and the numbers of fish/frogs that were removed. However, with the slowly warming temps, as was doing some yard work, sighted lo and behold 4 bass! And then a small handful of bluegill! And to utmost surprise, just doing it to see what what happen, when tossed a handful of catfish food upon the surface, ~6 cats actually came up after a bit and started 'trolling' for the nuggets! Sounds goofy, but heart and soul were lit up like a kid at Christmas... there was life still in there! Have even spotted a few frogs, and coolest of all, a couple tadpoles...
I would go out to Pond Boss Magazine Home Page! and look through the Ask The Boss forums for info on how to prevent winter kill next year. Also subscribe to the magazine, it is great. I've seen a lot of articles on winter kill.
Glad to hear that some of the fish survived.
I get a pair of geese every year that want to nest and have found that an RC boat runs them off quite nicely.
HappyTexan - yea, as a naturalist type, am quite aware of nature's fury and beauty... however, here, as I am managing, or I guess assisting ma nature, the pond and its flora and fauna, it's my responsibility to help ensure that what I put into these waters are properly taken care of - and here in this case, I didn't get the snow off enough, didn't have large enough non-ice surface area, and let the Oxygen get too low. Its not just a pond out in the woods, free to live and breath and die at nature's whim,,, here its my obligation, where the fish [ok, this next sounds goofy ] have their trust in what I do to help ensure a healthy environment. And, nope, no snappers here either - just some painted and similar versions.
oh jetgraphics - they are weapons of mass droppings,,, btw, proper term is Canada, not Canadian,,, There must be a Galena ore deposit on my land, as for some reason, those the venture upon here seem to acquire Lead poisoning [no, I am not fan of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act as it pertains to this breed - seriously needs to be revised to reflect current/modern situation - was good back in 1918 for their needs, but not now].
Bad joke follows:
One goose says to another "so, what do you do when lonely?"
His buddy replies "oh, I just gander about"
Back on topic, will check that link, thanks Caddyshack... always on lookout for additional info and knowledge.
Upon the property that the bank lets me live upon, I've a relatively small pond, ~1/3 of an acre, ~14' deep at most, majority in the 8' range. Since moved here a few years ago, this has been my aquatic "Zen garden", my life-sized aquarium. Can't state how many (hundreds?) of hours I've spent in and around this small body of water, pulling weeds, feeding the fish, resculpturing the shoreline by hand & shovel, etc. Being the goofy scientist/engineer, I've kept track of how many fish, what species, what sizes are in there, what I've stocked, what has been removed for dinner. Previous/original owner used chemicals, mainly Copper Sulphate and AquaShade/etc., to keep the pond to their liking - however, since I've owned it, no chemicals have been added. I even let some cattails grow abit more here and there, and by manually pulling up this and that kind of plants, have modified the types and amounts of plant life too [cattails, btw, are supposedly good at removing excess nutrients, etc.].
Anyhow, with that background laid out, this past summer I let the number of catfish exceed slightly the number I desired - was wanting to remove ~6 more, as their numbers had reached ~28. The bass had gone up to ~15, and a fair number of minnows and bluegills made up balance. Some of the cat reached up to ~30", majority though in the 15-22" range, w/ the bass also smaller, ~12-16". Some panfish reached ~8", made for goooood eating. And with the non-use of chemicals and other small management that did to the shoreline areas, the number of frogs increased dramatically - went from maybe 3, to easily over a dozen this past fall.
Well, with the severe cold weather, in both its duration and the drop in temps., had ice up to 9" thick, w/ coverage lasting for over 2 months. Even though had chopped a few small holes, and had uncovered the snow on a couple occasions, the Oxygen level decreased to levels that killed the majority of the fish. So, with the thaw over the past few weeks, have removed 5 buckets full of once beautiful life... wasted because I was not diligent enough in keeping snow removed from the ice surface [for sunlight to penetrate when possible to help plants emit Oxygen], and enough uncovered water visible to the air for Oxygen to diffuse into the water. Was a sight, hate to admit, if anyone saw ice being chopped and water splattered, just so some dumb fish could live... But, like said, this is my retreat - nothing like eating dinner, partaking a cool drink, relaxing alongside this small body of water, watching the denizens of the deep play and live, listening to the sounds of splashing and of the frogs calling.
Anyhow, main point of this rambling post is to share with anyone else that has such ponds, and cares for their fish/life within, to be aware of Winter Kill, Summer Kill, and other harmful occurrences that can damage your investment, and kill the life of the pond.
PS: it was not until this past weekend that I was able to smile about my pond... as indicated above, I was under the belief that all, and I mean all, life had been lost, due to the severity of the ice coverage and the numbers of fish/frogs that were removed. However, with the slowly warming temps, as was doing some yard work, sighted lo and behold 4 bass! And then a small handful of bluegill! And to utmost surprise, just doing it to see what what happen, when tossed a handful of catfish food upon the surface, ~6 cats actually came up after a bit and started 'trolling' for the nuggets! Sounds goofy, but heart and soul were lit up like a kid at Christmas... there was life still in there! Have even spotted a few frogs, and coolest of all, a couple tadpoles...
Run a extension cord if you do not have a close power source.
Next winter may I suggest a heater even a floater one. I use to have a pond I used a round trough heater for my pond it kept a hole in the water and the fish liked to stay underneath it. Gases will build up and kill the fish if the water does not have a escape for the gasses.
Sorry to hear about your dead fish. I am glad some survived.
One raccoon and you will be missing a bunch of fish and frogs.
I wonder how bullfrogs would work for control. We used to have plenty here but I have not heard a bullfrog at night for over 30 years. We used to go hunting them in the summer. Last time we went we did not even put the canoe in the water. My brother did not understand why we were not trying to find any, we told him they were gone. The state has done a lot of aerial pest repellent spraying in the last 25 years, killed off a lot of animals that depended on small insects to survive.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
But, like said, this is my retreat - nothing like eating dinner, partaking a cool drink, relaxing alongside this small body of water, watching the denizens of the deep play and live, listening to the sounds of splashing and of the frogs calling.
] have their trust in what I do to help ensure a healthy environment. And, nope, no snappers here either - just some painted and similar versions.
[no, I am not fan of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act as it pertains to this breed - seriously needs to be revised to reflect current/modern situation - was good back in 1918 for their needs, but not now].
