SOME IMPORTANT BAIT FISHES 



for each surface acre of water. In 

 ponds where fry removal is planned 

 (intensive culture), the stockinfr 

 rate of breeders should be 4,000 to 

 8,000 adults per surface acre of 

 water. In Minnesota n a t u r a 1 

 ponds, the stocking of 500 adults to 

 the acre has proved satisfactory. 



Spawning 



In Missouri, the golden shiner 

 starts spawning activity when the 

 temperature of the pond water rises 

 above 70° F. If the temperature 

 exceeds 80° F., spawning ceases. 

 In this State, the spawning activity 

 of the golden shiner starts during 

 the latter part of April or the fore- 

 part of May, and usually terminates 

 in early June. During this period, 

 at least 4 or 5 distinct spawning 

 cycles have been observed. The 

 cycles are separated by periods of 

 about 4 or 5 days. During the 

 summer months w^hen the water 

 temperature in the brood ponds ex- 

 ceeds 80° F., there is no spa.wning 

 activity unless a cool rain reduces 

 the water temperature sufficiently 

 to shock the fish into further spawn- 

 ing activity. 



The spawning act usually starts 

 early in the morning and terminates 

 before noon. The females deposit 

 their eggs on any type of sub- 

 merged debris. With a water tem- 

 perature ranging between 75° and 

 80° F., the fertilized eggs will hatch 

 within 4 days after deposit. 



A few days after the eggs are 

 fertilized very small fry can be ob- 

 served swimming in schools near 

 the surface along the shore margin 



of the pond. At this stage of de- 

 velopment, an operator can collect 

 these small fish with a fine-mesh 

 net and transfer them to the grow- 

 ing ponds. By transferring the fry 

 to other ponds, he can realize about 

 twice the production of those ponds 

 where the adults and fry are left to- 

 gether. The reason for this in- 

 creased production is due to the 

 fact that the adults prey on the 

 smaller fish throughout the season, 

 thus reducing the total population. 

 If the minnow producer decides to 

 transfer the golden-shiner fry to 

 growing ponds, the recommended 

 rate is from 200,000 to 800,000 for 

 each acre of water. Undeo" this 

 progi'am, a successful propagator 

 can realize a production of 75,000 

 to 150,000 salable fish per acre of 

 water. In ponds w here the fry re- 

 main with the adults, 60,000 salable 

 minnows for each acre of water is 

 considered good production. 



Artificial feeding 



Golden-shiner production ponds 

 that contain only small fish intro- 

 duced at the prescribed stocking 

 rate (see above) can be fed daily a 

 diet of 8 parts of gray shorts, 1 part 

 of cottonseed meal, and 1 part of 

 tankage or meat scraps. In ponds 

 where there is no incoming fresh 

 water, the daily feeding, regardless 

 of the number of fish within the 

 pond, should not exceed 10 pounds 

 of food for each acre of water. At 

 this rate, the operator should not 

 feed more than 4 days each week. 

 In ponds supplied with an incoming 

 flow of fresh water, a daily food 



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