PROGRESS IN BIOLOGICAL INQUIRIES, 1929 . 1107 



However, this did not prove to be the case, for the ponds stocked 

 with golden shiners alone produced approximately 8,000 lar<^e- 

 mouth fin^erl'ings per acre, while the ponds stocked with both shiners 

 and blackhead minnows only produced approximately 4,100 lar«!;e- 

 mouth fingerlings per acre. 



Numhei- of foi-a<je p',s/i requn-ed. — Additional infornuition was ob- 

 tained on the number of fora<j:e fish required to <i\\(i the best results 

 in rearing ponds. Each year the number of adult shiners placed 

 in the ponds has been increased since experience has shown that 

 practically all the minnow^s were devoured by the bass before the 

 ponds were drained in the fall. This resulted in cessation of 

 growth and an increase in cannibalism. During the past season the 

 rearing j)onds were stocked Avith about 700 adult shiners to the acre, 

 and this is probably not far from the proper number to use in ponds 

 containing only tinge rling bass. Obviously wdien the ponds contain 

 brood fish in addition to fingerlings the number of forage fish must 

 be correspondingl}' increased. 



Number of hass fry and adults for stocking ponds. — The number 

 of bass fry required to produce the best results has also received 

 attention, and we are noAV stocking the ponds with about 25,000 

 'advanced fry per acre, which is considerably more than have been 

 used in the past. Possibly as a result of increasing the number of 

 frv the maximum production of bass fingerlings was increased from 

 10.000 to 11,500 per acre. 



The total number of bass fingerlings produced at the Fairport 

 station in 1929 was not as great as anticipated, owing to the fact that 

 the bank of the largest rearing pond was washed out shortly after 

 the pond had been stocked for the summer and about 90,000 fry and 

 forage fish escaped into the river. 



The experiments indicate that better results can be obtained when 

 the ponds are not overstocked, and that if the brood fish are in good 

 condition much smaller numbers are required than is usually realized. 

 Overcrowding the fr}^ has a tendency to increase cannibalism, w^ith the 

 result that ordinarily less fingerlings survive the summer than is the 

 case when smaller numbers are present at the beginning of the 

 season. Consequently when the fry are to be reared in the same pond 

 with the brood fish oidy a few pairs of adults are required to the 

 acre. The fecundity of large brood bass is w^ell illustrated by one 

 of the spawning ponds which was stocked wdth 17 large females 

 and 7 males. These females produced an average of over 6,500 fry 

 each. At this rate 4 females would produce enough fry to stock a 

 rearing pond 1 acre in area. It is of interest to note that our 

 records show that these same females averaged at least 5,500 fry 

 in 1928. 



Rearing hass hrood stock. — It has also been shown that it is per- 

 fectly feasible to rear bass to maturity in small hatchery ponds, and 

 additions to the brood stock at Fairport are limited strictly to fish 

 which have been reared in the station ponds. Each year a few of the 

 best fingerlings are reserved for brood stock, and it is believed that 

 in this w^ay it w^ill be possible to get better fish than by the old 

 method of depending on wild fish for propagation purposes. No 

 difficulty has been experienced in rearing these fish, and during the 

 past season fry were obtained from both 2 and 3 year old fish which 



