anthonyk
Gold Member
How does the gypsum in sheetrock scrap help clear up a pond??
That's a first for me, but would sure like to try it.
Anthony
That's a first for me, but would sure like to try it.
Anthony
Stocking my little pond
- Thread starter EddieWalker
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EddieWalker
Epic Contributor
I'll probably get this backwards, but it's either one way or the other.
The reason my water is always muddy looking is from the electrical charge of the water. I think it's a positive charge, but like I said, it could be the other way too.
The electrical charge, or polarity of the water actually holds the silt particles in the water. Suspends them.
The gypsum neutralized the electrical charge and allows the silt particles to drop. The result is clear water.
When my pond was real low last summer, I did this with the scraps from my house. The results were obvious in just one day. If I had gypsum powder and spread it out, it would have been even better. From what I've read, the best way to do this is to through the powder off a boat and drive through it with an outboard motor.
This is something I really wanted to do at one time, but now that I know that the muddy water stops plant growth, allows the minnows the ability to escape and doesn't hurt the fish any, I'm inclined to leave it as is.
www.pondboss.com is a website similar to this one, but focused on ponds. The amount of information there is overwhelming, and very helpful. Allot of the members on that site are also here since pond owners are usually tractor owners too.
Eddie
The reason my water is always muddy looking is from the electrical charge of the water. I think it's a positive charge, but like I said, it could be the other way too.
The electrical charge, or polarity of the water actually holds the silt particles in the water. Suspends them.
The gypsum neutralized the electrical charge and allows the silt particles to drop. The result is clear water.
When my pond was real low last summer, I did this with the scraps from my house. The results were obvious in just one day. If I had gypsum powder and spread it out, it would have been even better. From what I've read, the best way to do this is to through the powder off a boat and drive through it with an outboard motor.
This is something I really wanted to do at one time, but now that I know that the muddy water stops plant growth, allows the minnows the ability to escape and doesn't hurt the fish any, I'm inclined to leave it as is.
www.pondboss.com is a website similar to this one, but focused on ponds. The amount of information there is overwhelming, and very helpful. Allot of the members on that site are also here since pond owners are usually tractor owners too.
Eddie
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EddieWalker
Epic Contributor
I'll probably get this backwards, but it's either one way or the other.
The reason my water is always muddy looking is from the electrical charge of the water. I think it's a positive charge, but like I said, it could be the other way too.
The electrical charge, or polarity of the water actually holds the silt particles in the water. Suspends them.
The gypsum neutralized the electrical charge and allows the silt particles to drop. The result is clear water.
When my pond was real low last summer, I did this with the scraps from my house. The results were obvious in just one day. If I had gypsum powder and spread it out, it would have been even better. From what I've read, the best way to do this is to through the powder off a boat and drive through it with an outboard motor.
This is something I really wanted to do at one time, but now that I know that the muddy water stops plant growth, allows the minnows the ability to escape and doesn't hurt the fish any, I'm inclined to leave it as is.
www.pondboss.com is a website similar to this one, but focused on ponds. The amount of information there is overwhelming, and very helpful. Allot of the members on that site are also here since pond owners are usually tractor owners too.
Eddie
The reason my water is always muddy looking is from the electrical charge of the water. I think it's a positive charge, but like I said, it could be the other way too.
The electrical charge, or polarity of the water actually holds the silt particles in the water. Suspends them.
The gypsum neutralized the electrical charge and allows the silt particles to drop. The result is clear water.
When my pond was real low last summer, I did this with the scraps from my house. The results were obvious in just one day. If I had gypsum powder and spread it out, it would have been even better. From what I've read, the best way to do this is to through the powder off a boat and drive through it with an outboard motor.
This is something I really wanted to do at one time, but now that I know that the muddy water stops plant growth, allows the minnows the ability to escape and doesn't hurt the fish any, I'm inclined to leave it as is.
www.pondboss.com is a website similar to this one, but focused on ponds. The amount of information there is overwhelming, and very helpful. Allot of the members on that site are also here since pond owners are usually tractor owners too.
Eddie
OP
EddieWalker
Epic Contributor
Thought some of you might like to see how the fish are doing. The minnows have spawned at least three times. There are big ones, medium ones and small ones in there now.
The bluegill are in there, but we haven't seen any sign of them except when I go swimming. Then they like to bite me on my back. Same spot every time.
The channel catfish are the really interesting ones. We feed them almost every evening when Steph and the kids get home. It's our big family event. The kids each get a cup of fish food and dump it off the dock, then we sit down and watch the catfish feed. It's amazing how much fun it is to watch.
They have been growing rather quickly, so Steph bought a net yesterday. Just you basic fishing net to pick up a fish you might have caught while out fishing. We cought three fish with the net. Two were a pound each, then the third one was quite a bit bigger. That's the one in the picture.
From the size of there mouths when eating, there are several that are even bigger!!! We're very impressed with the speed of there growth. That fish in the picture was under 6 inches long five months ago!!!!!
Eddie
The bluegill are in there, but we haven't seen any sign of them except when I go swimming. Then they like to bite me on my back. Same spot every time.
The channel catfish are the really interesting ones. We feed them almost every evening when Steph and the kids get home. It's our big family event. The kids each get a cup of fish food and dump it off the dock, then we sit down and watch the catfish feed. It's amazing how much fun it is to watch.
They have been growing rather quickly, so Steph bought a net yesterday. Just you basic fishing net to pick up a fish you might have caught while out fishing. We cought three fish with the net. Two were a pound each, then the third one was quite a bit bigger. That's the one in the picture.
From the size of there mouths when eating, there are several that are even bigger!!! We're very impressed with the speed of there growth. That fish in the picture was under 6 inches long five months ago!!!!!
Eddie
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jinman
Rest in Peace
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EddieWalker said:
Keep feedin' 'em Eddie, and soon you'll have to use your backhoe to open their mouths rather than just a pair of pliers.
PineRidge
Super Member
Nice pictures Eddie. Our cats were the same size when we put them in the pond 7 years ago. We feed them the floating fish food that you buy in bags like dog food. Some are now 10+ pounds and are a blast to catch. We do the catch and release thing so theres always fish to catch for the kids. They'll grow quick in your area.
gsganzer
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EddieWalker said:
Eddie,
Someone told me that catfish farming has one of the best protein in feed vs. weight on stock ratio's. I can believe it when you see how fast they grow.
We have some cat's that about 10 lbs in our tank. They've already taken the fishing poles of two unsuspecting anglers. I have a float on Kaylie's pole, just in case she loses her grip and the pole goes in the water. The catfish are already owners of a colorful "Scooby Doo" pole and reel.
OP
EddieWalker
Epic Contributor
The kids have been wanting to fish the small pond ever since they got there own poles and tackle boxes for Christmas. Today seemed like a good day.
Just to recap, I put 200 Channel Catfish in there last April. They were from 2 to 4 inches long. We fed them every evening until the water temps cooled, the stopped. We've been giving the ducks some food every day, but just a little bit. So far the catfish have not been eating the fish food, but the minnows are getting more and more aggresive.
We first tried hotdogs for bait without any hits. Then we switched to cheese. I had the first bit and it broke the 4 lb line on my pole. Peyton pulled the first fish out. I don't have a scale, but guess it to be over 2 lbs. It really suprised us on how big it was!!!
Alissa caught the next one about ten minutes later. It wasn't as big, but was still just as exciting!!!! I cought the third one, and the smallest.
Eddie
Just to recap, I put 200 Channel Catfish in there last April. They were from 2 to 4 inches long. We fed them every evening until the water temps cooled, the stopped. We've been giving the ducks some food every day, but just a little bit. So far the catfish have not been eating the fish food, but the minnows are getting more and more aggresive.
We first tried hotdogs for bait without any hits. Then we switched to cheese. I had the first bit and it broke the 4 lb line on my pole. Peyton pulled the first fish out. I don't have a scale, but guess it to be over 2 lbs. It really suprised us on how big it was!!!
Alissa caught the next one about ten minutes later. It wasn't as big, but was still just as exciting!!!! I cought the third one, and the smallest.
Eddie
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MossRoad
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Hey, those are real keepers... and so are the fish!
Nice lookin' kids Fishing is a great thing to get a kid into.
Nice lookin' kids
Fishing is a great thing to get a kid into.
OP
EddieWalker
Epic Contributor
Here's a little update on the fish in my small pond.
We had a party here yesterday, (Saturday) and had just over 30 people show up. It was a good excuse for a fish fry!!!
Last year, Steph cought several catfish over 3 pounds with the biggest at 3.5 pounds. We were expecting them to be bigger, but were suprised that they were not. The biggest fish caught yesterday weighed 2.75 pounds.
I'm thinking that they lost weight over winter. I'm not sure as it could be that of the 17 catfish that were cought, none of them were as big as what we were catching last fall. Any thoughts?
Here's a few pictures.
Eddie
We had a party here yesterday, (Saturday) and had just over 30 people show up. It was a good excuse for a fish fry!!!
Last year, Steph cought several catfish over 3 pounds with the biggest at 3.5 pounds. We were expecting them to be bigger, but were suprised that they were not. The biggest fish caught yesterday weighed 2.75 pounds.
I'm thinking that they lost weight over winter. I'm not sure as it could be that of the 17 catfish that were cought, none of them were as big as what we were catching last fall. Any thoughts?
Here's a few pictures.
Eddie
Attachments
-
He's just 3 years old, but he already loves the outdoors!!!.jpg -
Having fun fishing and playing in the mud..jpg -
Casey with his sister Katey, who caught the biggest fish of the day. 2.75 pounds..jpg -
BIL Mat with the stringer of Channel Cat's.jpg -
Lindsey with the smallest fish of the day..jpg -
Pastor Mat with one of the bigger fish.jpg -
Peyton with a fair Channel Cat.jpg -
Steph with some of her family.jpg -
Steph's Dad and Step Mom wiht one of the fish he caught..jpg -
The small pier gets crowded.jpg
PineRidge
Super Member
EddieWalker said:
Hi Eddie!
Feed those puppies. We use the floating fish food made by Purina. I believe the bags weigh 50 pounds each. Within the 1st couple of years the cats in our pond put on lots of weight as a result of regular feeding. The pond is now 8 years old and most of the cats are in the 10 pound range with a few bigger. The water boils every time they are fed.
Feed them daily, and at about the same time of the day if you can. We started by slapping the water after we threw the food to get their attention. We only needed to do that for bout 2 months. Pretty soon they'll know you're coming and be waiting for the chow.
meadowlarkponds
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Eddie,
Those are nice eating size cats. I'm not surprised they lost weight over the winter. They just don't eat much. You can throw food out there all day and they won't eat a bite at lower water temps.
I overwintered some Pacu this winter and the largest one dropped from 7 to 6.5 pounds even in a heated pool.
Did the water ever clear up in the small pond? That can affect the weights on sight feeding fish like bass, but not the cats so much.
Those are nice eating size cats. I'm not surprised they lost weight over the winter. They just don't eat much. You can throw food out there all day and they won't eat a bite at lower water temps.
I overwintered some Pacu this winter and the largest one dropped from 7 to 6.5 pounds even in a heated pool.
Did the water ever clear up in the small pond? That can affect the weights on sight feeding fish like bass, but not the cats so much.
Tororider
Veteran Member
I don't know about cats, but I know with bass you can slot them out in a small pond. If you get a bunch of one size, they can crowd out the smaller ones and reduce food source for them and the larger ones, not allowing them to grow to the next larger slot. Also, could your big ones have gotten hook-wise?
MossRoad
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I was always taught that a body of water can only support X many pounds of fish depending on the nutrients available that come from within the body of water and/or the watershed that feeds it.
For example: lets say you have a 1 acre pond that can support 1000 pounds of fish. That could be:
100 ten pound fish
or
1000 one pound fish
or
10,000 one/tenth pound fish
or
a mix of different sized fish, all adding up to 1000 pounds of fish.
Maybe while your big cats were shrinking, your small cats were growing. Most likely they will even out in size eventually, and, if they are reproducing or more are added to the pond, they may all eventually get smaller.
If that is the case, the only ways to get bigger fish is to either supply more food for them or remove lots of the smaller ones. Have more fish fry's with the sandwich size ones.
For example: lets say you have a 1 acre pond that can support 1000 pounds of fish. That could be:
100 ten pound fish
or
1000 one pound fish
or
10,000 one/tenth pound fish
or
a mix of different sized fish, all adding up to 1000 pounds of fish.
Maybe while your big cats were shrinking, your small cats were growing. Most likely they will even out in size eventually, and, if they are reproducing or more are added to the pond, they may all eventually get smaller.
If that is the case, the only ways to get bigger fish is to either supply more food for them or remove lots of the smaller ones. Have more fish fry's with the sandwich size ones.
Tororider
Veteran Member
MossRoad said more eloquently what I was trying to say, but add that once a certain segment of the population gets to a certain size, that segment can be stunted because of the lack of nutrients/food that MossRoad was talking about.
