# personal stocked pond?



## UUmom2many (Apr 21, 2009)

does anyone have experience with this? i came across the outdoor aquarium how to in Back To Basics book. We eat a lot of fish, well at least enough to justify a stocked pond. We're not boat people though and don't want to have to leave our land to go find a place to fish. The land we bought has a low lying area which they considered a "pond" though it dries up for part of the year. it woudl have to be dug out to make it appropriate for fish but i'm wondering how difficult it would be to stock the pond with fish we like to eat. 

We do have some fishing restrictions here, trout have to be over 15" not sure if I grow my own if they still apply though i'm sure i'd want the ones i pull out to be quite mature. 

i've seen some microbial pond clarifyer and pond pads which woudl be safe to use with fish and non-toxic to humans.


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## Prickle (May 9, 2009)

I have a tiny pond with gold fish 

But from being on pond forums I know that some folks stock their large ponds with perch and trout.

Definitely something to look into.

http://www.livingthecountrylife.com/ponds/management/stocking-your-pond-with-trout/


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## Chuck R. (Apr 24, 2008)

We have a 9 acre pond stocked with bass, bluegill and crappie. As far as the state's concerned we own the fish, so there's no license and no limits.

Here's a pretty good source for stocking information:

http://arkansaspondstockers.com/index_files/page0002.htm


Chuck


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## cowcreekgeeks (Mar 5, 2009)

This is a good resource to learn about personal ponds and lakes. I'm sure you'll find all your questions answered.


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## PinkBat (Jul 15, 2006)

We stocked a pond with catfish. They got huge in a hurry and don't taste that great anymore. We wouldn't do it again.


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## hillbillly (Jun 28, 2009)

i have 3 ponds,
one i left un-touched,
another got 50 channel catfidsh and a pair of grass carp,
the other pond got 50 channel csts .
caught a few so far [threw back], growing nice.
been thinning out one pond,
full of crappie and bluegill.
so far, so good.
next year more catfish, some minnows and bass too.


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

I'd be surprised if you could raise trout in FL unless they have a different name but channel cats or tilapia should do well. You shouldn't need any pond clarifier.

Do some searches on the RAC (regional aquaculture center) sites. Probably S(outhern)RAC would be a good one for you or AquaNic for info on managing sportfish ponds.


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## tinknocker66 (Jul 15, 2009)

Talapia although they grow fast and may taste good are not a good fish to eat. Good fish is high in Omega-3 and Talapia is High in Omega-5 which is bad for you. You might as well eat a hamburger.


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## garfish (Feb 21, 2007)

I don't have a pond, but I've consulted with several different conpanies in my area on projects I've worked on, and these folks are by far the best I've worked with. Maybe not completely applicable to your climate/area, but good info...

http://www.ibnature.com/


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## ||Downhome|| (Jan 12, 2009)

tilapia may also be on the invasive species list in florida might want to check
if it is there are requirements to raise them that must be met.

if it was spring fed and deep you could do trout they need cold,clean, oxygen rich water.

otherwise panfish and cats and bass are your best bet. 

when stocking though you need a ratio to balance every species out.

panfish and minnows to feed the predator species and enough of them to keep the prey population from overpopulating and stunting.

panfish are your top water species, bass would be midwater and cats bottom water.

panfish I would stock are perch,bluegills,sunfish,crappy

largemouth bass though if the waters on the warm side smallmouth would be better 

and for the cats channel cats. 

I would also make sure you had the proper spawning areas so you dont need to keep restocking. 

when harvesting try not to over fish the predators or you will end up with small stunted fish of all species.
I would leave the big ones for breeders and population control and try to harvest the ones that are of edible size.
as for the pan fish you can fish them a little harder and I would take the bigger ones there.

heres a good resource http://www.aquanic.org/


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## UUmom2many (Apr 21, 2009)

hmmm, we might have to nix this idea as we only have 5 acres, some wooded and really don't have the space requirements many of these breeds we currently eat seem to need. We are practically underwater here so maybe we can just find a good fishing spot...


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