Do you love big bluegill?

my pond

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Comment by Walt Foreman on March 28, 2011 at 7:41pm: No question the dye makes for prettier water - I just prefer catching giant bluegill:) Keep us updated on how the pond and the fish are coming along - nothing like those coppernose!

Comment by C Barb on March 28, 2011 at 7:35pm: Thanks David! And thank you Walt. I understand and respect all that you say, but it does look good! As it wears away I will fertilize again throughout this year im sure. Although the pond is my hobby and passion it also it part of my home so beautifying it is a big part of that. Installing an aerator is next

Comment by Walt Foreman on March 28, 2011 at 8:24am: If the pond had a green tint before you dyed it, and visibility of only four inches, that sounds like a good plankton bloom. Especially if you fertilized all last year, which would make the pond more responsive to nutrients from the food this year even without fertilizing. I would just encourage you to do whatever you need to do to maintain a plankton bloom, which could be as simple as just feeding, or might require fertilizing like you did last year though you might not need to do it more than once or twice a year. But the dye will definitely slow their growth.

Comment by Walt Foreman on March 28, 2011 at 8:20am: You can still fertilize when feeding if you live in the South - warnings against fertilization are mainly for northern ponds that run the risk of winterkill under the ice, and of course you probably don't get mjuch if any ice. You wouldn't need to fertilize if the pond was maintaining a natural bloom just from the waste products of the fish - which there will be more of when they're fed - but if your water stays clear without fertilization, fertilizing is just a way to add to the pond's food chain rather than slicing it. Your fish are still growing better than they would in an unfed environment, but I've seen photos of bluegill grown at comparable latitudes to yours that made it to nearly ten inches and over a pound in little over a year's time from stocking as fingerlings. I definitely didn't mean your fish are growing slowly by the standards of an unmanaged pond - just that they could be significantly bigger, based on where you live and your growing season, if all factors were maximized.

The feeding is great, and that's why your bluegill are still bigger than they would be in a pond that wasn't managed in any way. I was just trying to help you get the maximum potential out of them.

Comment by David, aka, "McScruff" on March 28, 2011 at 7:47am: A giant aquarium! I am soooo jealous.

Comment by C Barb on March 27, 2011 at 9:08pm: No it doesnt clear the water, but not really sure, my water was clear before I used it. But before my grass grew to filter the runoff from the soil the dye colored water hid the murkyness really well, but no it didnt clear it any

Comment by C Barb on March 27, 2011 at 9:05pm: From what my understanding is, the pond didnt need to be fertilized. I fertilized it all last year during the warm months. And actually Everyone says that my fish are growing really fast. They are only 17 months old at this point and of the original fish I stocked I believe they are all bigger than my hand from what I caught last year before it got cold and have been with the biggest that I've caught so far being 8.5". They were only 3/4 of an inch to 1 inch. Everything that I read says they are well ahead of their natural growing rate minus feeding , fertilization and aeration. And I do understand the importance of fertilization. But my research found that when commercial fed fertilization was not needed. And before I dyed the water it had a blueish green tint with a visibility depth of about 4 inches. I am told that pond did not need fertilization anymore. Now that may change with the dyeing of the water but as I said they are fed also 4 times a day by auto feeder. As the dye wheres offI will continue to observe the water condition and manage what is needed. Its only a 36% protein feed but thats all i have found near me at the present. But I do appreciate the knowledge, thats what I come hear for. I do all that I do based on research

Comment by Walt Foreman on March 27, 2011 at 4:44pm: Dye kills plankton, just to clarify. Whereas fertilizer feeds plankton, and the plankton serves the function of shutting out the sunlight while also feeding your fish, whereas the dye shuts out the sunlight while starving your fish.

Comment by Walt Foreman on March 27, 2011 at 4:42pm: Hey Cardell, have you tried fertilizing instead of dyeing? I wondered why your bluegill weren't bigger than they are if you've been feeding, and the dye would certainly explain it - that stuff cuts your food chain off at the knees. Fertilizing will control weeds just as effectively as dye, as long as you don't have extensive areas shallower than two feet; but the big difference is, fertilizer works by creating a plankton bloom, which shuts out the sunlight and prevents weedgrowth just as effectively as dye but with the huge difference that plankton are the foundation of your food chain and eaten heavily by bluegill in particular. Your bluegill will grow three to four times faster in a fertilized pond than they would in a dyed one. At least.

Comment by 10.5" RES Sharon on March 27, 2011 at 1:14pm: Does it help clear the water? Does your pond have a overflow like mine so the blue stuff goes out of the pond?