TECHNIQUES OF FISHPOND MANAGEMENT 9 
The weight of fish that a given area of water can support is de- 
pendent upon the kind of fish and the amount of food (24). With a 
given combination of fish species and water fertility a pond will 
support an almost definite poundage of fish, regardless of the num- 
ber of individuals. This fish-carrying capacity of a pond can be 
altered by changing either the species of fish or the fertility of the 
water. The size to which the fish will grow depends upon the com- 
bination of fish species, the number of fish, and the amount of food. 
Therefore, pond management is mainly the manipulation of two 
factors, (1) fish population and (2) water fertility. 
STOCKING 
Experiments have been conducted with the stocking, in various 
species combinations, of bluegill, white crappie, large-mouth black 
bass, top minnows (Gambusia sp.), and golden shiner (22). Blue- 
oill alone did not do well because they quickly overpopulated the pond 
without producing many large fish. Combinations of bluegill and 
white crappie were unsuccessful because the ponds became over- 
stocked with bluegill and crappie that were too small for the pan 
but too large for the older crappie to eat. Combinations of bluegill, 
golden shiner, and large-mouth bass gave good bass production, but 
poor bluegill production. The best results were obtained from a 
combination of bluegill and large-mouth bass, for the bass reduced 
both the bluegill and their own young to the number that the pond 
could support. It is desirable to have a large proportion of the 
weight of bluegill in pan-size fish. The bass help to accomplish this 
by eating most of the small bluegill, thus removing them as competi- 
tors for food. Those that remain can then obtain enough food to 
grow large. 
The conclusion reached from these experiments was that to obtain 
best results in the Southeast, all ponds should contain a balanced 
population of bluegill and large-mouth black bass. AII these experi- 
ments were conducted with fingerling planting stock; the use of adult 
stock resulted in overcrowding of some species and failure of others. 
In successful ponds, ranging in age from 1 to 3 years, the ratio 
of weight of carnivorous to weight of forage fish ran from 1:2 to 
1:3.5. On the average, one-third of the total weight of fish in the 
pond will be composed of carnivorous fish, and two-thirds of forage 
fish. In a pond that can support 150 pounds of fish there would be, 
therefore, about 50 pounds of bass and 100 pounds of bluegill. In 
order for the bluegill to reach quarter-pound size, 4 fish are stocked for 
each pound of forage fish that the pond can support. In order for 
the bass to reach a maximum of 2-pound size, 1 fish is stocked for 
each 2 pounds of carnivorous fish that the pond can support, and 
usually a few are added. Thus the pond that will support 150 pounds 
of fish is stocked with approximately 400 bluegill and 80 bass. A 
fertilized pond of 1 acre may support 500 to 600 pounds of fish and, 
hence, would be stocked with approximately 1,500 bluegill and 100 
bass (23). If desired, approximately one-fourth of the bass may be 
substituted with an equal number of crappie, or one-fourth of the 
bluegill with bullhead at the ratio of 25 bullhead for 100 bluegill. 
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