Stocking my pond

[featherbaiter]

I've been stocking my pond with rainbows for the last five years, but a lot of them die in the summer even though my pond is about 25' deep. I either need to come up with a way to keep them alive or come up with a different fish. Is there a hatchery in southern NH/northern Ma that sells them?

[Jimi]

Lack of dissolved oxygen and or lack of prey to complete the food chain. Introduction of a baitsish species that are known to be disease free would be a start. ph could be a problem as well. if fertilizer is used on the property in summer this could have an effect on ph or the nitrogen cycle of the pond. What is the bottom composition? Overcrowding could also be a prob.... Good Luck

[Jim Miller]

maybe a fountain/airator?
Also I think brown trout would be more tolerant to changes in oxygen/ temperature ...... brookies less so.
good luck!

[Ken Catch]

I'll second Jim. We had browns in our farm pond in N.J. Some spring fed and some runoff fed water in the pond that was about 15 feet and an acre in size. We caught and released and added about 100 fish every 2-3 years.

[teflon_jones]

I went through a pond building last spring so I can probably help you out a bit!

A few important questions:
How is the pond fed?
What is the water clarity like? Easiest way to answer this is probably how deep is the water before you lose sight of the bottom?
What color is the water (i.e. mostly clear, slightly brownish, slightly greenish, very brown, etc)?
What other kinds of fish are in the pond?
Is the pond shaded at all?
How big is the pond? (dimensions and/or acreage)
Are the banks sharply sloped all around, on one side, two sides, etc?

This is a good start, though this will lead to other questions.

[featherbaiter]

I went through a pond building last spring so I can probably help you out a bit!

A few important questions:
How is the pond fed? - Mostly springs, though there is some seasonal runoff in the spring

What is the water clarity like? Easiest way to answer this is probably how deep is the water before you lose sight of the bottom? - You can see down about six feet.

What color is the water (i.e. mostly clear, slightly brownish, slightly greenish, very brown, etc)? - Slightly brown

What other kinds of fish are in the pond? - Rainbows, shiners, 1 bluegill, about 5 largemouth bass.

Is the pond shaded at all? - No shade.

How big is the pond? (dimensions and/or acreage) - 120'x180'x25'deep

Are the banks sharply sloped all around, on one side, two sides, etc? - The bank is very steep on one side, and flatter on the other.


This is a good start, though this will lead to other questions.


At this time, I don't have any aeration, but will be adding soon.

[teflon_jones]

Thanks for all the responses. I'll give my take on what you need to do to keep those trout alive. I'm no expert, but I did talk to some hatcheries about this and did a lot of research before stocking my own pond.

A few important questions:
How is the pond fed? - Mostly springs, though there is some seasonal runoff in the spring
This is good for keeping trout. Ponds fed only by streams and/or runoff tend to get too hot in the summer.

What is the water clarity like? Easiest way to answer this is probably how deep is the water before you lose sight of the bottom? - You can see down about six feet.
Sounds like good clarity for trout.

What color is the water (i.e. mostly clear, slightly brownish, slightly greenish, very brown, etc)? - Slightly brown
Good color for trout.

What other kinds of fish are in the pond? - Rainbows, shiners, 1 bluegill, about 5 largemouth bass.
Sounds like you need some other baitfish to provide a forage base for the trout. Shiners are too big. Talk to a hatchery about getting some other kinds of smaller minnows. Also, don't put in any more bluegill! They compete too much with the trout for food. Even the shiners will compete somewhat.

Is the pond shaded at all? - No shade.
This is one of your biggest problems. The sun is going to heat up the water too much to hold over trout. You need at least 40' depth with no shade. Plant some trees on the south side of the pond.

How big is the pond? (dimensions and/or acreage) - 120'x180'x25'deep
Again, with no shade and only this small size, it's going to heat up too much in the summer to hold trout.

Are the banks sharply sloped all around, on one side, two sides, etc? - The bank is very steep on one side, and flatter on the other.
Having at least one steep side is important to keep the water cooler.

At this time, I don't have any aeration, but will be adding soon.
This is a biggie. You can get solar powered aeration systems.