The long-term success of a fish stocking pond depends on the relationships established between the fish and the pond habitat. Ensuring a desirable habitat that is conducive to fish “happiness” is imperative. If you paid attention to the pond’s bottom contours in the planning phase, you should have some gradual slopes, and perhaps even some levels or “steps” where you could place pots of aquatic plants, small boulders or structures for fish to hide in, and other aquatic vegetation or natural elements to add interest to the pond and create places for fish to hide.
Fish habitat comprises the structural foundation of the pond, submerged hard surfaces such as trees, rocks or supplementary structures such as ledges or docks, as well as the pond contour and aquatic vegetation.
Some authorities recommend that habitat availability be at least 10 to 15% of the pond’s total surface. You can cater to the needs of the various fish that you use to stock your pond, and ensure that your fish populations will have adequate forage as well as appropriate hiding places at all stages of development.
Habitat Considerations for Your Fish Stocking Pond
The specific habitat conditions that will be best for your fish can vary considerably, depending on the life stage of the fish and the time of year. Not only do seasonal changes affect the pond habitat, but specific habitat needs must be considered in relation to the pond’s size. Habitat needs are the basis of any good pond management plan.
If you understand that an adult bass needs a habitat where it can be partially hidden while it waits to ambush its prey, just as a juvenile fish requires hiding places, you understand the function of pond habitat. Diversity of habitat throughout the pond is vital.
Key principles include:
Be sure to use habitat to create spawning grounds in shallow water near the pond’s shoreline. Some experts recommend a layer of pea gravel in specific areas near the shore, while others recommend the installation of mechanical devices that serve to encourage spawning and offer both some protection for the eggs and a basic food supply such as algae for fry.
At moderate depths, the pond habitat should allow juvenile fish to feed relatively freely, while still providing shelter from their predators.
Finally, your pond’s deep-water habitat should be designed to provide areas where your fish can grow to become the mature adults that anglers love to catch. This is especially important if your goal is to raise trophy-size fish.
Habitat Complexity
When first establishing a fish stocking pond, your attention will be on the physical attributes of the pond itself, including overall size, depth, configuration, drainage and aeration needs, and the types of fish the pond will sustain. Prior to filling the pond with water, you should also seriously consider the type of habitat your pond will have.
There are many different types of natural aquatic vegetation, including brush piles constructed of treetops and smaller shrubbery, lily pads, pondweed and free-floating coontail. Dense habitat creates a safe environment for fry and fingerlings to escape from larger predator fish. The complexity of the habitat typically decreases as water depth increases, meaning that deep water is not devoid of growing things, but that it is less dense at greater depth, typically easier to manage, and longer lasting.
In ponds with large areas of shallow water, controlling the habitat can become more difficult, and the habitat might require more planning and upkeep. Even in the shallows, the habitat should be diverse enough to meet the needs of the various species and, more importantly, the different stages of development of your fish. Fry, juveniles and smaller adults typically inhabit the shallows, and a variety of habitat is vital for their survival.
Habitat Selection and Placement
There are resource materials available to help you plan and design your pond habitat, and there are also habitat consultants with advice that can be invaluable in helping you establish a fish stocking pond.
The overall size, bottom contour, physical location and surrounding vegetation, in addition to prevailing weather patterns, should be considered as you plan your pond habitat. Bear in mind that there is an aesthetic aspect as well as the need to address practical considerations. The scale of the habitat will differ substantially between half-acre ponds and those that occupy five acres or more, but some of the same basic principles apply to both.
Existing trees can often be used to great advantage to provide beneficial shade and shoreline habitat, while grass mats that appear across a small pond’s surface should be controlled to offer only the needed nursery habitat for hatchlings and fry. As your pond fish grow, their habitat needs change. If you have provided the habitat options they require at the different stages of development, they will thrive.
Natural vs. Artificial Habitat
Although it is reasonable to think of an outdoor stock pond as a natural habitat, the fact is that nature can sometimes use a little help to provide the right surroundings, stimuli and protection for a varied population of fish. Whether your pond is used for private pleasure fishing, a multi-purpose pond on agricultural acreage, or a commercial enterprise that is based on the desire to offer a superior fishing experience for anglers, your outcome depends to large extent on the pond habitat you provide.
Old tree trunks, decaying logs, existing rocks or stone outcroppings, aquatic plants, free-floating algae blooms and other organic vegetation are common in ponds and can be appropriate. However, all-natural material will deteriorate and degrade over time, necessitating removal and/or replacement.
Artificial habitat, including “egg stations,” synthetic structures and artificial aquatic plants, can be used to great advantage to improve pond habitat. Such artificial habitat structures support the growth of periphyton communities – the algae, bacteria, microbes and detritus growth that provides nourishment for pond fry and juvenile fish – and are considered beneficial pond additions for that reason.
Artificial structures that meet various needs are available through specialty companies, and they can be used for a variety of applications in ponds of all sizes. Because living aquatic plants often die off during the winter, artificial habitat used in conjunction with natural growth will provide year-round habitat to support your fish population. Fabricated from fish-safe and non-toxic materials, artificial look-alikes can float, much like their natural counterparts, or they may be weighted to sink to the bottom of a pond.
Although some artificial habitat can be expensive, it is worth considering as another tool for pond management and for establishing a long-lasting pond environment that will support fish growth. No matter how you choose to provide the varied pond habitat that your fish require to thrive, understand that maintaining your pond’s habitat throughout the entire water column is crucial to your success.
Optimal Prey and Predator Relationships
To maintain a healthy stock pond, the recommendation is to have a consistent ratio both prey and predator fish. Three prey fish for every predator is typically considered the best ratio and assumes that the prey will find enough food to sustain themselves and reproduce naturally while at the same time providing sufficient food for the predator fish to develop and grow to “catchable” size.
That assumes, of course, that your fish stocking pond will not become a feeding area for other animals or birds that might upset the balance. It is also important that weeds do not interfere with the ability of predator fish to find their prey. Consider the overall ecosystem as you select your fish and introduce them to the pond. Understand the ratio of prey to predator fish, and the reasons for maintaining an environment that permits both to survive and thrive.
