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Looking for a good predatory fish for my 2500 gallon pond in Kentucky

Started by Guest_jasonm0928_* , Jun 25 2009 04:53 PM

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22 replies to this topic

#1 Guest_jasonm0928_*

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Posted 25 June 2009 - 04:53 PM

Hey guys, I'm not sure if you can help me but I'm not sure which local fish to put in my pond for population control of my goldfish/koi. From reading around on this forum I see that bluegill are pretty aggressive. On the other hand bass will be able to take down quite large fish after they get bigger. What I'm wanting is something that will winter in my pond and preys on small fish say no larger than 1.5". And of course not bring harm to my larger koi and goldfish in the pond. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks..

Edited by jasonm0928, 25 June 2009 - 04:54 PM.

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#2 Guest_PhilipKukulski_*

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Posted 25 June 2009 - 07:12 PM

Part of NANFA is teaching people that there are other fish than Bass and Bream.

Listed small to bigger.
Mudminnow
Stoneroller
Madtom
Common or Striped Shiner
(Creek) Chub
Stonecat
Pickerel
Bowfin

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#3 Guest_Uland_*

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Posted 25 June 2009 - 08:02 PM

Tell us more about the pond...especially where it's located. Not all fish can overwinter in the same area.

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#4 Guest_jasonm0928_*

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Posted 26 June 2009 - 06:32 AM

Tell us more about the pond...especially where it's located. Not all fish can overwinter in the same area.

2500 gallons pond approx, 12'x12' and from 1.5' - 3.0' deep. Heavily planted.

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#5 Guest_Uland_*

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Posted 26 June 2009 - 06:45 AM

Alaska? Florida?

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#6 Guest_fundulus_*

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Posted 26 June 2009 - 06:51 AM

It's a pond in Kentucky. Although I see Uland's point, discussion on the forum is smoother if everyone has a geographic reference in their profile that shows up to the left of entries.

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#7 Guest_Uland_*

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Posted 26 June 2009 - 07:47 AM

Pretty typical of me Bruce....miss the bold type in the title of the topic :blush:

Sorry about that Jason.

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#8 Guest_jasonm0928_*

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Posted 26 June 2009 - 10:06 AM

Pretty typical of me Bruce....miss the bold type in the title of the topic
Sorry about that Jason.

No problem at all, I have done it myself... I have updated my profile now. So does anyone have any suggestions on the best fish for my purpose. I surely want something that can take over wintering in the pond so I don't have to remove it every year. I'm not stuck on it being a bass or sunfish by any means but with my limited knowledge of native fish they are they only two I can think of that are good hunters and would possibly fit the bill. Thanks again for any direction you may have for me.

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#9 Guest_hmt321_*

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Posted 26 June 2009 - 10:44 AM

bullhead cats, would work they may eat fish slightly larger than 2" but not two much bigger, yellow bullheads get about 16" or so and they would probably do a great job hunting down koi and gold fish fry, they would also eat floating pellets, so you would see them. There is a possibility they would not spawn in a pond that size but it depends on the bottom conditions (i think they need deep mud) which may be a plus.

pirate perch would possibly work, they ate some of my sailfin shiners a few years back they were about 1.5"-2" long, you would never see them. dont know if they will spawn or not

a redfin pickerel or 2 may be interesting, they would do a good job hunting fry.

green sunfish, and warmouth will probably not eat koi much bigger than about 3" or so, but if they are present in numbers they will spawn and you will have tons of sunfish fry. but with single fish you should be fine

bowfin get huge

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#10 Guest_JohnO_*

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Posted 26 June 2009 - 10:49 AM

Well, I found an 18" longnose gar wintering in a pool just off of the KY river near Richmond. That would take care of goldfish nicely. Of course, it would probably take care of all of them. Pretty cool looking critter, though.

You might try a longear sunfish, they're easy to find in central KY, and are much prettier than a bluegill. Not as aggressive as a bass, so they might leave the larger fish alone. Problem you face is, when a predator finds that the shiny, slow moving small goldfish are tasty, they may start nibbling on the larger ones. I was thinking bullhead catfish as well, but they like to keep on growing, and can get larger. As I found when I was a boy, mixing bullheads and goldfish too big to swallow whole - the bullheads will chew on their fins. If the cats start spawning, you'll have a pond full of them very quickly.

Edited by JohnO, 26 June 2009 - 10:52 AM.

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#11 Guest_jasonm0928_*

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Posted 26 June 2009 - 11:28 AM

Thanks much this is great. I have specific interest in the redfin pickerel. Do you know what max size fish they can eat as they grow? How is their aggression towards other larger fish? Also where can I get a hold of one or two? Thanks again guys, you all are a huge help...

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#12 Guest_CATfishTONY_*

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Posted 26 June 2009 - 12:26 PM

Do you heat this pond?
or just do the basketballin the pool thing like some do for winter.
i would look into orangespotted sunfish (Lepomis humilis)
the only reason i say this is i do have some and they are the least aggressive sunfish i keep.
they stay small as sunfish go and love live foods and will take goldfish pellets after some time to adjust
well mine have.we do have member that keep Esox americanus vermiculatus - Grass Pickerel
DR. R Rice emailed a web site to me some time ago and they are very nice folks.
http://www.aquacultu...om/fwverts.html
and i think smallbass has some, look in our vendor section and see if he still has them.
http://forum.nanfa.o...?showtopic=1948
but if it were me i would go with the OS L Humilis.

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#13 Guest_jasonm0928_*

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Posted 26 June 2009 - 12:42 PM

Thanks for the reply. I don't heat the entire pond but I do have a floating pond heater that keeps an area about the size of a basketball from freezing for gas exchange. Thanks.

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#14 Guest_jasonm0928_*

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Posted 26 June 2009 - 01:17 PM

I decided on the pickerel. Talked to Brian at the link you gave me and he was very helpful so I ordered a couple. I just hope everything works out. Thanks again for all the information, you guys have been a great help....

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#15 Guest_panfisherteen_*

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Posted 26 June 2009 - 01:19 PM

redfins can reach 12", 14" being the biggest, so they would be good at keeping the fry numbers low if you get a couple redfins :cool2:

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#16 Guest_jasonm0928_*

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Posted 26 June 2009 - 03:12 PM

redfins can reach 12", 14" being the biggest, so they would be good at keeping the fry numbers low if you get a couple redfins

All he had was the Grass Pickerel so I got a couple of those. He said they will be very effective and said they get between 10-12". I just hope it all works out or I will be putting two of them up for adoption on here lol...

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#17 Guest_smbass_*

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Posted 26 June 2009 - 03:16 PM

Thanks for calling Jason... We talked this out and there were some concerns about using sunfish because of both their aggression and because they too may begin reproducing adding to the excess fish that he is trying to get rid of. I don't think the pickerel are likely to reproduce and only the smallest goldfish would be targets for quite a while. Long term grass pickerel are a little smaller than the eastern form (the redfin pickerel) I have never seen one here in Ohio over 11" and they are typically more like 8 or 9. We talked about how the more robust forms of golfish are highly unlikely to become pickerel targets and that everything he intends to keep are significantly larger than what my pickerel are now. Hopefully this works out well for you and I'm sure we will all be interested in hearing an update in a few months as to wether or not the pickerel really are able to keep up with the reproduction of the goldfish in that size of a pond. I don't think I have had anyone ask this type of question before and it would be good to follow up on for future reference.

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#18 Guest_jasonm0928_*

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Posted 26 June 2009 - 03:45 PM

I will surely give you an update on the status. I believe the goldfish have breed about 10 times at least already this year so their should be plenty of fry in there for them to munch on. We will see, thanks again Brian, and everybody else that contributed advice...

Edited by jasonm0928, 26 June 2009 - 03:49 PM.

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#19 Guest_panfisherteen_*

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Posted 26 June 2009 - 04:10 PM

I don't think the pickerel are likely to reproduce

I would think they could, but Im sure the bigger goldfish would do the same thing to the pickerel fry (or eggs) as the pickerel do to the goldfish fry :laugh: