Where to buy bluegill in Austin, TX

[David Slimp]

Hello!

I'm new to this site, but looks like y'all have some GREAT info!

I've got 2 backyard ponds (small by most y'alls size) of

about 1500 gallons each (about 17' x 20' ).

I'm interested in raising some bluegill (or something that will

survive easily here in Austin, TX) .. and I hear bluegill would be

great for the "small" sized ponds I have.

From what I've read so far, it seems like I might be able to get

about 50 of them in 1200 gallons without much of an issue.

Does that sound about right?

However, I've spent ALL day calling pet and feed stores around

here and no one seems to have any for sale!  Does anyone know

a good source for them in Austin?  Or perhaps have a pond of

their own I could draw from to put in mine?

Thanks,

David

[chris kowaleski]

I'm new to the austin area, but through my travels i have seen two fish hatcheries in San Marcos. They could possibly be the ones to call. One of them is Staples Fish Hatchery, and i don't know theother one but it's right off of I-35.  Do your ponds not have any fish in them?

[David Slimp]

Chris,

I could not find any place called Staples via Google.

Do you have an address, phone number, or more info?

I did find one place in San Marcos called "Old Fish Hatchery Comm Building"
However, because of the "Comm Building"... I can't tell if it's really a fish hatchery

or a communications building. ;)  .. I'll call on Monday, but if you or someone else
has other ideas to try.. that would be fantastic.. (and I would prefer in Austin if possible)

thanks!

David

[Walt Foreman]

David, bluegill are an awful choice for a pond that small unless you stock only one sex.  If you stock both sexes, which is standard practice when buying from a hatchery, they will overpopulate very badly within a year or less to the point that you have hundreds or even thousands, and none of them will grow at all due to overeating their food supply.  Within two years or less they'll exceed the carrying capacity of those ponds so badly that there won't be enough oxygen to go around and when that happens there will be a massive fish kill - and in a pond that small you would almost certainly lose every fish from a kill.  

If you can find a hatchery that sells bluegill 6" or larger, and that will also agree to sell you males only, that would work much better.  Even then, don't stock more than ten or twenty males per pond if you want them to grow at all.  If you're going to feed them you could bump it up to forty or fifty.  

[David Slimp]

Well, I'm no expert for sure... but just how fast WILL they multiply?
Again, my goal is to be eating these fish!  -- Probably a few a week!

So I think I really do want fast breeders, and mixed sexes, right?

I'd love to find a person or hatchery that has 6" (or larger) for sale

right off the bat!  Dunn's Fish Farm only sells 1-3" Coppernose.

Does anyone know other sources? -- I've got cash if someone has fish :)

thanks,

David

[Walt Foreman]

Overton Fisheries is only 175 miles from you and they have some of the best coppernose in the country.  And they sell them up to 8".  They're good people and would probably separate out some males for you though they might charge you a few cents extra per fish (more work).  

Trust me - you don't want bluegill breeding in ponds that small.  I have a pond management company and have been managing ponds for fourteen years and I wouldn't even try that.  One - as in (1) - female bluegill can lay up to 50,000 eggs at a time.  And they spawn several times a year.  In a pond that small, in your climate, they would be far, far out of control in less than a year, so much so that you would never get them back under control short of poisoning the pond and starting over.  

[Tony Livingston]

David, a pond that size simply won't provide a self-sustaining population of Bluegill that are big enough to eat.....at least, not without herculean efforts on the part of the pond owner to maintain adequate water quality. If you're going to use the pond simply as storage for the fish, with no desire to breed them,( as in all males,) I would consider Hybrid Bluegill. They grow much faster than regular BG, and will reach harvestable size quicker. They are also 90-95% male, will readily consume their own offspring, and take pelleted food right from the hatchery. (you will need to provide supplemental feed for this to work).

However, I still don't think it would work for very long, as adequate water quality would be nearly impossible to maintain, and the fish would suffer for it. I'm sure it would if the population was constantly increasing through reproduction. (Coppernose Bluegill).

I'm not saying it's impossible, only that it would take a concerted effort, and probably pretty deep pockets to do it.

How big was the pond again? According to my math, a 17' x 20' pond that contained only 1500 gallons would be approx. 7" deep.

[David Slimp]

Ahh... I'm beginning to see the problem. with 50,000 offspring, they would poison the water before they got big enough to eat.

Well, sounds like I might need to start a new thread then...

Keep this one JUST on topic for where to buy here around the Austin area.

(Thanks Walt for the tip on Overton! -- I will give them a call tomorrow)

So, my next challenge will indeed be to breed some of these guys (or maybe

another type of fish) .. in the pond(s) that I have (actually 2200 gallons, but

I have a lot of plants in them as well so said 1500 gal which is a guess on the

actual amount of water... they are about 2.5-3 ft deep.)
Anyway.. perhaps there is already another thread on the site which talks about

how best to keep a sustainable pond of that size going?  If so, can someone

point me to it?  Or I'll start a new thread with some ideas on a solution.

thanks!

David

[Tony Livingston]

David, we don't focus too much on management here at BBG, have you tried PondBoss??  Those guys are pond management gurus, and they are friendly to boot... some of us frequent both forums....... drop in, introduce yourself, and tell em' we sent you!  http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php

[Walt Foreman]

Some of us here at BBG (moi) do focus on pond management.  I'll put my bluegill management skills up against anyone.  Just sayin':)

[Tony Livingston]

Absolutely Walt! Not trying to slight you at all, just wanted to make sure David was aware of the PondBoss resource.

[Walt Foreman]

No harm done, Tony!  We're all friends here.  I just enjoy helping people with their ponds.  

[George]

Don't give up on the idea - keep reading.  Suggest you research aquaponics.