12 replies to this topic

[mattknepley]

My first stab at a pond has been largely a failure. It's a kiddie pool with dirt bottom. No plants seem to grow in it, only gambusia survive in it, and honestly, between its dilapidated state and green summer water, it's ugly as anything. But those rotten gambusia loooooove it. The hotter it gets, the happier they are. I started out with a handful of them two summers ago. Now there's a few dozen of what have to be the most inbred fish in SC. They froze near solid two winters ago but survived. Last spring I tossed in a couple very young sunfish to try to knock back their numbers. No dice, sunfish died. Gambusia thrived. The pond must've been 99% frozen this past winter, and still the gambusia lived.

Then today, I saw this...

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Could it be?! A little snooping around turned up this handsome fellow-

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Look at the operculum on that little stud! Not only has he survived freezin', and roastin', all the neighborhood kids and cats and raccoons, he was growing and maturing into quite the specimen. A specimen lookin' for a lady, at that!

The happy ending, best part? Mrs. Fish Nerd said, "Maybe you should get him a girl." Guess what I'm doing Sunday evening!

[Michael Wolfe]

congratulations... never doubt the toughness of our natives.  I mean, how sure are you that you caught every fish in that kiddie pool?  I netted one of mine for 30 minutes and the next spring there were still Flag Fish in it.  Couldn't get rid of them without totally emptying the thing and washing it out with peroxide.  He might have a little girlfriend in there.

[mattknepley]

You have a point Michael. But I am still thinking he's a bachelor.

Now, I know this fella is just a stunted redbreast, but he's my stunted redbreast, so I wanna do him right. This guy came from a tiny little stream that drains, well, a mall parking lot. There's a new development going in streamside, but I don't reckon it'll have too much impact on the fishes that are managing to thrive in it- rosyface chubs, stunted bluegills, greens, redbreasts, and H-words; madtoms and some of the biggest bullfrog tads ever. These guys have been dealing just fine with human encroachment so far. Fantastic numbers of sunnies and at times the rosyfaces actually seem to prefer the concrete drainage channels that encircle half the mall. Even at very low flows.

But just a mile downstream or so, this stream is dead; even though it looks to flow through friendlier habitat. Considering this, I want to keep this little fellas convoluted, stunted genes alive and get him a girl from his hometown. I have a 100 gallon pond I can grow the fry out in when they outgrow their kiddie pool.

I'm rereading the books and threads, but for further info- for you who are kiddie-pool enabled- how would you go about turning this dude's man cave into the Love Shack?

[Sean Phillips]

Well, if you're going to try to breed this guy in that pond. The first thing I'd do would be take him out for a few hours and put him in a holding tank. Then, get a Hydrogen bomb and see how many Gambusia that kills, if there's still a lot left then keep trying until they're all gone . Then, put your guy back in when the radiation wears off along with some females and watch for action.

[littlen]

In your first pic, at the top of the pool, there appears to be a bare spot.  Did you do that while catching him, or I wonder if he cleared that spot and made a nest.  Survival of the fittest, my friend.  Now we can add Lepomis to the list of creatures that will survive the end of the world with roaches and mosquito fish.

[Michael Wolfe]

I would sit a milk crate in it (upside down) and sit a plant of some sort on top of the milk crate.  This will provide a structure that a female could hide in around whatever, and the plant might provide some shade to keep the water a little cooler.  I might also drape some hornwort through the railing of the milk crate too... this will eat up nutrients and maybe keep the water clear enough for your stud to see his harem.

 

If it is really shallow, I might also get some big pots and sit in there with something that likes to grow "with its feet wet" (pitcher plants, pickerel weed, anything emergent).

[mattknepley]

Nick- that bare spot is what tipped me off he was there. One day it wasn't there, then it was. In real life it looks just like the sunfish nest it turned out to be. Roaches, skeeter fish, and Lepomis, oh my!

I like the milk crate idea, Michael. I had a bunch of busted bricks piled up in the middle for a while to provide cover and a haul-out for any tadpoles that may have showed up, but removed them last fall. I would love a Sarracenia or two in there as well.

[mattknepley]

The lucky (?) lady (?)...

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[Michael Wolfe]

Did you really find her in there!  Or is this an old picture?

 

Maybe he wasn't cleaning out a nest for nothin!

[mattknepley]

No, that's a new girl from his home stream that Erin and I collected today. (At least, I'm thinking/hoping it is.) The place was crawling with yoy and just-slightly-bigger'n-yoy sized Lepomis. She was the only one of any size at all. She's a bit smaller than the male, but I think she represents a reproducing specimen from that particular population.

I'm afraid we may have stressed the daddy out a little yesterday. We messed up his nest a little, despite trying to avoid doing so. He hasn't done any repair/housekeeping since. Hopefully this really is a girl and it encourages him to do so. Put some broken up concrete block in there, the milk crate stuck up too high, would definitely attract unwanted attention from neighborhood mischief makers.

[smbass]

Are you able to dig a hole in your yard and put in an in ground pond? Would help a lot with your temp problem. I even have a liner I would make you a very good deal on...

 

I have bred every Lepomis species in outdoor ponds and there really is nothing difficult about getting them to breed but getting the fry to live and grow is where the challenge lies. Like Michael I wonder about the temp getting to warm for the adults in summer, your probably fine for now. Cover of some kind and shade of some kind later in the summer will become much more important. I try to put some gravel in for them usually to spawn on. Sometimes they use it but sometimes they just spawn on the bare rubber bottom. I like putting a big clump of iris roots near the nest so as soon as the parents decide it is time for the fry to go and become food they have a hiding place. In a larger situation the gambusia might not be a threat but in a small pool like that they might be a problem for the fry.

 

And yes I think you found a girl to go with him. She might need some hiding places too or even removed once your sure they have spawned. Again this is something taken care of with a little more space and cover.

[gzeiger]

How are the gambusia not eradicated by that guy?

[mattknepley]

Brian, the pond is located in one of two places in my yard that have protection from southern and western summer sun that has easy access to water. Which means it sits right on top of some stuff I shouldn't dig up. Otherwise, I love the idea of sinking it. That was actually my original plan, until I started hitting grounding wire and other stuff I couldn't identify. I will squirrel that liner offer away for future reference, though.

I wonder about temps, too. That "pond" is 8" deep at most. It's waaaay hot in summer and I thought sure it froze solid at least twice this winter. But there he is. Will try finding some more emergent type plants to put in pots or just as root balls as you and Michael suggested. Aquatic plants didn't take last year. If duckweed, hornwort, and Java moss won't grow in there, no aquatic plant will...

Mike, given the respectable growing he's done since he went in there last spring, he must be eating a bunch of them. And given their numbers, I suspect little Gambusia are the main diet of bigger Gambusia! They just keep pumpin' out new ones faster than they can get eaten, I guess...