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editions, but all the points should be considered when 

 choosing a fish to raise. Often popular demand will 

 dictate the kinds which can be raised and sold. The 

 fish preferred for propagation in the Lake States are 

 suckers, northern creek chub, northern red-bellied dace, 

 western golden shiner, northern fat-headed minnow, and 

 blunt-nosed minnow. 



Operation of the minnow pond 



The first and most important step in the operation 

 of a minnow pond is to provide food for the fish. The 

 practical methods of doing this are by fertilization to 

 increase the supply of natural foods and by artificial 

 feeding. 



FERTILIZATION 



The object of fertilization is to produce minnow 

 foods in large quantities at the time they a re needed 

 most by the fish. When manure or commercial fertilizer 

 is added to pond water, a small amount of nitrogen and 

 phosphorus is dissolved in the water. The minute plants 

 (algae) which often give a greenish color to pond waters 

 utilize this nitrogen and phosphorus. When they die and 

 decay, the food stored in them becomes available to the 

 minute animals (protozoa) in the water. Minute animals 

 are the food of the waterfleas and rotifers, which in 

 turn are the main foods of the important bait minnows. 

 For maximum growth of the fishes this food chain should 

 be started early and be maintained throughout the grow- 

 ing season. 



In the spring it is desirable to get the chain 

 started as soon as possible. Barnyard manure is used 

 because it decomposes very rapidly. Manure should be 

 applied at the rate of 400 to 1,000 pounds per acre, 

 depending on the fertility of the pond. Dried sheep 

 manure can be used at half the rate of fresh manure. 

 The proper time of application is 2 weeks before the 

 pond is to be stocked with a dults, so that a heavy 

 bloom is ready for the adults and young of plant-eating 

 (herbivorous) minnows. 



During the growing season the bloom should be 

 maintained by the addition of commercial fertilizer at 

 the rate of about 300 pounds per acre per season. The 

 applications should be at 2-week intervals or as often 

 as needed to keep up the bloom. A rule-of-thumb to 



