3 replies to this topic

[NetMax]

Greetings!  Setting up a new pond (zone 5a Ontario), in-ground, 20,000g with a 4' deep, planted end (5,000g), and a 9' deep end with bottom drain (15,000g). I'm an experienced fish-keeper (50 years, with mostly tropical & Koi), so I'm here to learn about the specifics of keeping a Yellow Perch ecosystem.

 

The question I've struggled with is, do Yellow Perch hibernate?  Koi involuntarily enter torpor at between 50 and 42F and stay that way for months at 39F.

 

Part of fish-keeping is managing their food supply, which I can easily   do in the summer months.  I'm planning to establish a self-sustaining live food source in the 5,000g planted end (cray, minnows, etc, open to suggestions).  My concern is in ensuring their needs are met over the long winters we have here.

 

Thanks for any advice!

cheers

[centrarchid]

The perch will be active under the ice and continue feeding although at a greatly reduced rate. There feed intake will go down enough such that is perch abundance is not too high the zooplankton (waterfleas in particular) will build up making so they are easy to consume. Even the bigger perch can consume things like copepods although not likely in amounts to promote growth. If the perch are more than 4", then having minnows like Fatheads breeding in some pond with ensure larger meal sizes for the larger perch.

[NetMax]

The perch will be active under the ice and continue feeding although at a greatly reduced rate. There feed intake will go down enough such that is perch abundance is not too high the zooplankton (waterfleas in particular) will build up making so they are easy to consume. Even the bigger perch can consume things like copepods although not likely in amounts to promote growth. If the perch are more than 4", then having minnows like Fatheads breeding in some pond with ensure larger meal sizes for the larger perch.

 

Thanks for the feedback. Speaking with Smith Creek Fish farm, they had the same suggestion, Fathead minnows.  I'm now researching how I can use the 5,000g planted end as a hatchery for the minnows, without introducing an excess of organic matter to foul the filtration systems.  I'm leaning toward using 2 levels of plastic pallets a few inches off the bottom and covered milk crates 1/2 filled with dried leaf litter on top. I'll give the minnows enough time to establish before introducing the Perch. Cheers!

[centrarchid]

I'd look into establishing some sort of aquatic plants that provide a refuge for the smaller minnows as they convert zooplankton forage more completely into something that goes in the the perch eating the minnows. It's not as good for the perch to consume all the minnows when they are small.