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Experiments with Combinations of Largemouth Black Bass, Bluegills, and Minnows in Ponds
Author(s) -
Swingle H. S.
Publication year - 1949
Publication title -
transactions of the american fisheries society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.696
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1548-8659
pISSN - 0002-8487
DOI - 10.1577/1548-8659(1946)76[46:ewcolb]2.0.co;2
Subject(s) - bass (fish) , micropterus , fishery , biology , gizzard shad , dorosoma , zoology , human fertilization , agronomy , fish <actinopterygii>
Various combinations of largemouth bass, bluegills, golden shiners, gizzard shad, and Gambusia were stocked in 0.25‐acre experimental ponds. The ponds were fertilized with inorganic fertilizer. After 1 or 2 years the ponds were drained and the fish counted and weighed. The bluegill proved the most desirable forage fish, although it did not result in the highest bass production in these experiments. It appeared to offer promise of the highest sustained yield of bass over a period of years. Golden shiners gave higher bass production for a 1‐ to 2‐year period, but could not maintain high production over a longer period. Goldfish could not be used with bluegills because the latter ate goldfish eggs and prevented reproduction. Goldfish also were not satisfactory when used with bass only, because many young grew too large for bass to eat and ate their own eggs, thus preventing further reproduction. Gizzard shad produced a high poundage of bass, but the young rapidly grew too large for bass to eat and overcrowded the ponds. As a result, they stopped reproducing and at the same time reduced bluegill production. Gambusia were unsatisfactory as forage fish because bass eliminated them almost entirely from ponds in a few months.