Question about stocking my new pond with fish

kci-mia

I just had a pond dug on my property last weekend.  I needed the dirt to build up the backstop at the shooting range so I can shoot from longer range and as a bonus I have a new pond.  The pond is only about 15' X 30' but 20' deep.  Once it got down to about 10'  water was seeping out of the side wall and as it got deeper the water was seeping out of the bottom too.  By last night it completely filled the pond...thanks to the rain. 
I was thinking about stock the pond with fish in the future.  I was thinking about catfish, tilapia and bullhead minnow but wasn't sure if the pond is large enough to support fish of such size.  Is there any website about stocking fish in ponds where I can learn?
I also have a larger 120' X 200' pond on the property that was dug before I purchased the property that was stocked with LM Bass, catfish, crappie, bluegill and minnows 20+ years ago and they are still alive and thriving (well I think thriving as I see bass and bluegill beds on the side) so I would think I can stock the small pond too,
         
   

zimmy4209

Imo sunfish or bluegill are worst thing to stock in a pond. Takes a matter of a year or 2 before they are overpopulated and no way to get rid of em. I guess it's better than no fish but certainly becomes a headache quick.

bicyclist

zimmy4209 said:

Imo sunfish or bluegill are worst thing to stock in a pond. Takes a matter of a year or 2 before they are overpopulated and no way to get rid of em. I guess it's better than no fish but certainly becomes a headache quick.

large mouth would take care of them if the coons don't get em

AlwaysLearningMore

A fun thing to do would be to stock it with a few bluegill, then hope that somehow a small snook or two mysteriously found their way in there.  Snook grow large and fat when sharing digs with bluegill.  On a separate note, with a bowl-sided pond like that you should probably add an aerator if you are serious about keeping any number of fish alive.  To answer your first question, this would be a good place to look:

https://myfwc.com/conservation/you-conserve/recreation/pond-management/

capt louie

Guess it depends on if you plan on eating the fish.

zimmy4209

bicyclist said:

zimmy4209 said:

Imo sunfish or bluegill are worst thing to stock in a pond. Takes a matter of a year or 2 before they are overpopulated and no way to get rid of em. I guess it's better than no fish but certainly becomes a headache quick.

large mouth would take care of them if the coons don't get em

Only panfish coons ever got out of our ponds were ones we caught and threw on bank for em after dark. Loaded with 5lb largemouth also yet always seemed to be hundreds of quarter size bluegill everywhere. Like coyotes once you got em you ain't getting rid of them

bmoody

You have received a good piece of advice -- consult the FWC pond construction and management booklet.

Why would you consider Tilapia?  Unless you are planning some kind of aquaculture effort, which will require an AQ certificate from DACS, avoid them.

15x30 is a small pond -- it will be difficult to manage; the ecosystem balance it will support is likely to be very fragile.

Catfish are unlikely to do very well absent supplemental feeding.

kci-mia

I didn't know FWC put out information about ponds.  That looks like the place to start.  The big pond is just for kids to fish and they take out bluegills frequently and occasional LM bass or catfish.  I was thinking about stocking the new small pond to grow fish for food for my family...thus tilapia and catfish with minnow to control mesquite larvae.  I just want to try it for fun to see if it will work.   I don't mind supplemental feeding as I can just put a feeder on the side and program it run it once or twice a day.        

Lostconch

Aren't tilapia considered an invasive this requiring a special permit

Jonsredfishin

I wonder if a walleye or a Muskie could survive in a chilled aerated pond or in one of our springs. That’d be cool. 


Ive heard good things about these folks if you need good advice:

CaptDavidGonzalez

15' x 30' is more swimming pool size. I'm in the dirt business and as you said, the hole probably sloughed in, caved in the walls as water seeped in, more so though from the steep slopes of the walls. It isn't 20' deep anymore. You said it filled up after it rained. Will be interesting to see where the water level settles.

I wouldn't think many fish would do well in such a small hole. Water quality, temperature, and oxygen are going to be the biggest foes you'll face. 

I would try a small amount of catfish and minnows first to see if anything will survive. Definitely feed the cats as they won't have anything to eat for a while. 

capt louie

My neighbor has a small pond with cats and tilapia. Guess close to same size maybe 30' across. Has to use an aerator but they do well. Cats are about 8lb average tilapia maybe 3lb.

Cagey

I'm surprised no one mentioned that you don't have to stock any body of water here in Florida. Nature will take care of that for you.

You can dig a hole just about anywhere in Florida and begin fishing it in about 3 years. 2 for smaller fish. Birds, snakes, gators, turtles, and other animals carry fish eggs around with them from water hole to water hole.

So if you try and put only specific species in your pond, you may be surprised one day to find out just about all other species are now in there as well. No stopping it really. If your pond is healthy enough to support fish life, they will come.

ivn

Do natives only, so no tilapia, etc.  Gambusia (mosquito fish), crappie, bass, blue gills, etc. I've seen a similar sized pond thrive... until the trailer park it was in got bought and bulldozed to make a new super Walmart.  

DES51

Does the Federal Wetlands Protection Act even exist in Florida? Seems like construction gets away with an awful lot. 

zimmy4209

Cagey said:

I'm surprised no one mentioned that you don't have to stock any body of water here in Florida. Nature will take care of that for you.

You can dig a hole just about anywhere in Florida and begin fishing it in about 3 years. 2 for smaller fish. Birds, snakes, gators, turtles, and other animals carry fish eggs around with them from water hole to water hole.

So if you try and put only specific species in your pond, you may be surprised one day to find out just about all other species are now in there as well. No stopping it really. If your pond is healthy enough to support fish life, they will come.

Thanks for posting. Never gave that any thought  but very interesting. 

zimmy4209

DES51 said:

Does the Federal Wetlands Protection Act even exist in Florida? Seems like construction gets away with an awful lot. 

Your probably right. Unfortunate but right.  Doesn't matter what gets destroyed as long as someone is making money off it 

MRichardson

Cagey said:

I'm surprised no one mentioned that you don't have to stock any body of water here in Florida. Nature will take care of that for you.

You can dig a hole just about anywhere in Florida and begin fishing it in about 3 years. 2 for smaller fish. Birds, snakes, gators, turtles, and other animals carry fish eggs around with them from water hole to water hole.

How can a snake carry fish eggs to your place?  They ain't got no arms.

Cagey

The eggs can stick to the scaly skin and even remain inside the mouths of snakes, frogs, turtles and especially gators, but the experts also say fish can fly too!

https://www.tallahassee.com/story/sports/2017/04/13/outdoors-wet-might-fish/100426026/

Quote from article:

"Fish, however, don’t just magically appear. They get there via several ways. Some are dropped as eggs that get stuck on fish-eating bird’s feathers. Others (both fish and eggs) are picked up from one body of water by waterspouts, get caught in the clouds, and then drop into other ponds and lakes when it rains. Tales of it raining fish are not some PR person's dream. It really happens."

https://blog.thepondguy.com/2010/08/05/i-didn%E2%80%99t-have-fish-in-my-pond-before-but-they-are-there-now-how-did-they-get-there-%E2%80%93-pond-lake-q-a-%E2%80%93-week-ending-august-7th/

Quote from article"

"In states everywhere people are being shocked and amazed by the random appearance of fish in their ponds. These fish were not added by the owners of the pond but there they swim none-the-less, almost mockingly. What is this strange magic?! Is this some form of prank?! Perhaps it is the work of alien beings?! What is going on?

Unfortunately, I can not weave a tail of some sort of intricate conspiracy against pond owners across the nation. The far less captivating reason is that, by some sort of mistake, either you or Mother Nature, have unwittingly moved these fish into their new home. Fish can be introduced into new ponds in quite a few ways. Eggs or fry can be carried in on the feet or mouths of water foul and other animals, or can be clinging onto some aquatic plants you decided to add to your pond. Sometimes flooding can wash fish from nearby ponds, lakes, and streams into your pond. While you can try to prevent any fish from making it into your pond, it is pretty much inevitable that over time, they will find a way to make your pond a place of their own."

cortr

Get your state wildlife agency to help.  Most have stocking programs and some even pay for this service

MRichardson

LOL at "water foul."
I guess that'd be like a cormorant to us duck hunters.

Lake-Linker

Sterile (diploid or triploid) panfish won't reproduce but will get bigger than average if they're not harvested at eatin' size. The fish farm posted above may have info.

stc1993

cortr said:

Get your state wildlife agency to help.  Most have stocking programs and some even pay for this service

In GA they will stock ponds but you have to agree to letting them use the pond for kid fishing days.  I don't know how many times.