Browse through some of our most frequently asked questions to find possible solutions to your unique situation. If you can’t find the answer here, send your question to drdave@fwfarms.com. 

So, You Are Interested in Fish Farming?
This is our most frequently asked question. We have quite a few inquiries from people that would like to know how to start their own fish farm. Here at Freshwater Farms of Ohio, we offer consulting services. Unfortunately, our services don’t really come into play until your new fish farm is at the commercial level. First, you will need a feasability study to assess your specific situation, resources and help in finding the economical approach that is right for your particular needs. We recommend that you do a lot of research and join some associations that will help align you with the resources to get you started.

Here are some important resources:
1) www.aquanic.org (Aquaculture Network Information Center)
2) Contact aquaculture extension personnel, Dr. Laura G. Tiu, at Ohio State University: tiu.2@osu.edu
3) Contact and join the Ohio Aquaculture Association (based out of Ohio State University) for informative workshops and networking.
4) Become a member of the Ohio Aquaculture Association.
For a membership application, go to http://southcenters.osu.edu/oaa and click on Membership Brochure or contact: Julie Strawser, Informative Associate at OSU South Centers
1864 Shyville Rd., Piketown, OH, 45661
740-289-2071 ext. 223 or 800-297-2072 ext 223 (Ohio only)
strawser.35@osu.edu

Hi Dr. Dave,
We installed our 1HP fountain earlier this summer and it works great.  As winter approaches, the question is whether we need to or should leave the unit running year round?
 
We have a 1/2 acre pond with about a 15′ maximum depth.  The tube was added to draw from the bottom and it has run nonstop since June.  Our preference would be to turn it off but we would want to leave it in the water.  Is there any possibility for damage to the pump or the float if it freezes?

Thanks,
Steve

Yes, if it is not to be run, you should remove it and store it in a bucket of water inside of a plastic bag to keep the seals moist.  The biggest problems happen when they are stored overwinter under dry conditions, so the manufacturer has recommended wet storage.
—Dr. Dave

Dear Dr. Dave,
My friend and I bought some grass carp for his pond last year.  My problem is Filamentous algae. Is is presently covering 50% of my one acre+ stocked pond. What do you suggest for getting rid of it?  I would prefer something I could pour directly into the pond rather than spraying onto the algae surface. Then what do you suggest I use to counter the oxygen depletion of the decaying algae. I have bluegill, bass, channel cat, and a few perch and crappies.
 
I have emailed several companies that I found on line but you have an impeccable reputation and we were most impressed with our visit. That is why I would prefer your advice and products.  JOHN AND LUCINDA

The most preferred method would be heavier stocking of the white amur (grass carp) to achieve a rate of 30 per surface acre.  We do carry some fish safe chemicals, but these are usually used for surface spot treatments.

I would much rather use natural control rather than polluting with chemicals that nature never intended. Would they clean up the algae and then the “excess” carp die?  I really can’t imagine 30 4′ carp…grandkids would love it I guess.  Would it help the carp if I raked the surface of the pond first? Would I still need 30?  I figure it is going to probably be the same expense either way; therefore I would really like to use the carp if you think they will do the job.

Yes, you can always help them catch up by physically removing some of the algae if you want.  We have never seen amur die from starvation with these normal stocking densities (10-30 per acre), and their growth is regulated by the amount of algae available for grazing.

I was going to come and buy the carp but then I read that they really do not like to eat the algae and will only do so after they have exhausted all other vegetation. Is that true? 

This is not only true, but it is the main reason they were first used 40 years ago down south.  You have to have a higher density of them to do this, not the 5 fish /acre some of the “experts” out there suggest.  They do prefer other vegetation, but when you have filamentous algae, it is also an indication of high fertility in the pond, and it takes a good number of amur to keep up with it, and they will if properly stocked.  —Dr. Dave

 

Dear Dr. Dave,
I have a pond near Salt Fork near Cambrige, Ohio. How large of an order do I need to get free delivery?? 
Tom

We offer lower prices for our stocking fish instead of “free” delivery.  However, you have two options.  You can come to our fish farm and see what you are purchasing, and we can box them in oxygen-filled bags in 14″ cube containers at a charge of $2/box.  Boxing for most fish is sufficient for 5-6 hours travel time, or 3-4 hours for rainbow trout, but that can be extended by reducing the number of fish per box.  You can also schedule a delivery with our transport trucks that can deliver for $0.50-1.00 per mile depending on the size of the truck required (up to 1500#).  Our fish prices are posted on our website at fwfarms.com.  —Dr. Dave

Dear Dr. Dave,
We started our new 1/4 ac pond 8-04 with:
1/2 gal minnows
120 hybrid blue gill
25 channel cat fish
2 white amur
In April 2005 we put in 25 bass and 25 yellow perch and 2 white amur. I have three questions:

1. Do we need to add more fat head minnows or do the replenishthemselves?
If you have the spawning habitat in place (water lillies, floating boards, wooden pallets under the water near the pond edge), they should be spawning throughout the summer.

2. When we feed the 1/8th freedom feeds pellet fish food the cat fish donot come up and eat. Do we need to get a special food for them?
They may just not be trained to come to the surface, or you may want to try a new brand of feed we carry that is a richer in the fishmeal and oils.

3. We are enjoying the pond, fish and the aerator. The pond isn’t real clear. It has little patches of foam on top.
Make sure you are not over-feeding the pond, since extra floating feed will leach proteins over time and create the foam you describe. Nothing serious, but too much feed will also make the pond murky. Try feeding half as much as you have been.
—Dr. Dave.

 Dear Dr. Dave,
I am writing the expert for a answer regarding salmon. I was listening to a food expert that said you should only eat wild salmon and not farm raised because it is much healthier for you. I went to the grocery for wild salmon and they couldn’t tell me if it was wild or not so could you explain it to me in laymans terms.
Beth

Well, Beth, he may be an expert on food, but certainly not on fish! The marketing war the wild-caught fishery industry has waged on aquaculture (since salmon farming has taken over 50% of their market share) has produced an enormous amount of misinformation heaped on the general public. An anti-aquaculture group gave 2 million dollars to some researchers a few years ago, and they included more money for a public relations campaign than most scientists get for a whole grant. So when in 2004 they announced their results of sampling environmental contaminants (pcb’s) of wild and farmed salmon, they hit the media in an unprecedented campaign that left the public food agencies (from the FDA to the American Heart Assn.) unable to counter the nonsense of their “conclusions”. They proclaimed that farmed salmon had “dangerously higher” levels of contaminants, when in fact both were healthly and 200x lower than the safety standards set by the FDA. The only reason that any minute traces of contaminants were found in the farmed salmon, is that they are raised in pens along the coast, and they pick up these traces from the open environment (unlike our inland fish, which have no detectable levels!) The biggest boondoggle of all is the way in which that “research” was conducted and how they chose their sample locations. The highest levels were found in Europe, where persistent industrial contamination is worse, and not in Canadian or Chilean farmed-salmon, but had they sampled the wild Copper River salmon (which they did not), they could have found levels 10x higher than the safety limits in what is considered the most premium wild-caught salmon. In fact, the level of pcb’s in this salmon increases as it migrates up its home stream, since the contaminants are stored in fatty tissues, and becomes more concentrated as they lose muscle mass on their journey. It is already a concern in environmental science circles that migrating wild salmon are acting as pcb-pumps and transporting coastal pcb’s into the upper mountain streams, and as the contamination increases, this may be one of the reasons for the poor survival of the salmon eggs and fry that are extremely sensitive to any form of pollution.Health professional are greatly concerned about the damage that this misinformation may have on public health because of people fearing one of the most healthy foods available to them (one of the top 10 “super foods” along with whole grains and berries). Recent research has also shown dramatic health and cognitive improvements in children whose mothers ate weekly amounts of oily fish like salmon and trout.In all, it has been very frustrating for aquaculturists who are trying to produce a wholesome product for the market place, although I am confident that the truth will come out in the end.—Dr. Dave.
 

Dear Dr. Dave,
I have a 1/2 acre pond that is very stocked with Bass and blue gill and as I’ve read, the blue gill starts to over take the pond which seems to be happening to mine. Is there a way to thin out the blue gill by adding a predator fish that won’t affect the bass? And is having to many blue gills going to starve the bass? Thanks for any help you can give.
 
This has been a very common problem in pond management for the last sixty years, and yet many publications still recommend bluegill as the food base for bass. That approach requires that 50 bluegill are removed for every bass that is taken from the pond, but sometimes that is not nearly enough. We have seen much greater success with using the native fathead minnow as the primary feeder fish for bass and other desirable pond predators. It is always a preferred food item for bass, even at the adult stage. In your pond, you need to get the stunted bluegill population under control before switching to fathead minnows. The reduction of cover is the first step in thinning out the smaller bluegill (less than 3″) and this can be done by stocking white amur at 10-15 per acre to consume pond vegetation (some older ponds require twice that number) . With an adequate bass population, this can be very effective, and 100 bass per acre is usually enough. The second step in bluegill reduction is to stock rainbow trout in October when pond temperatures are below 70 degrees at the surface. Trout at least 10-12″ in length are stocked at 25-50 per acre, and they are very effective predators on the small fish during the winter, and can be fished out in April and May (usually 1 to 1 1/2 pounds by then). The trout will start to die out in June when water temperatures rise above 70 degrees, and will not survive the summer in most Ohio ponds (the exception being springwater-overflowing ponds). At this point, the fathead minnows are introduced at 1500-4500 per acre (1-3 gallons), and artificial substrate is added for sanctuary from the bass. Evergreen brush piles are preferred, although other tree branches will work for a few seasons, and large groupings (10-20 feet around) in 3-4 feet of water are the most effective.If you are fortunate to be able to stock a pond from scratch, the bluegill are often not included, since many of their problems can be avoided (including nuisance swimmer bites). For those pond owners that still want to fish for bluegill (and not swim), we recommend the fatheads as the feeder base and stocking hybrid bluegill at a gamefish-stocking rate of 100 per acre to avoid overpopulation and to achieve increased size (often 1-2 pounds each!). —Dr. Dave.
 
 
Dear Dr. Dave,
Last summer i had a pond put in approx. 1\8 acre. i would like tostock it with yellow perch and a bait fish such as black headminnows only. could you please advise me on this .my pond is innorthern ohio and every body has bass, bluegill and catfish intheir ponds but i would like to stick with perch only. your advicewould greatly be appreciated.thank you.
 
That is not a problem to stock a pond using only fathead minnows andperch (with you as the top predator). We have stocked many ponds this wayover the last 15 years, and it works well. A few Christmas trees placedunder the water around the edge of the pond is the best way to keep theperch spawing and populating the pond. Another option is to supplement thepond with a high quality fish feed for the perch, and stocking densitiescan be increased from 100 per acre to 1000 or more. Many of our customersno longer stock bluegill in their ponds because of their tendency tooverpopulate and become stunted, as well as their aggressive nature towardswimmers in the spawning season over nests. —Dr. Dave.
  
 
Dear Dr. Dave,
In the past I have used a pump to pump air to the bottom of the pond,but last year the pump failed and now sits in my garage. Do you service this equipment or canyou tell me where I might get it fixed?
  
If the motor is running, but no air is produced, it probably needs a new rubber diaphragm and / or reeds that cost between $13 and $34 for parts. This a normal maintenance item after several years of operation. If the motor is not running, we have replacement pumps that sell for $165-$250, assuming you have the other accessories from the original one (fittings, air filter, etc.). We can take a look at it, if you like, and determine what can or cannot be repaired. —Dr. Dave.
 
 
Dear Dr. Dave,
I have a small pond. Less then ¼ acre. It is also in a wooded area soit does not get much sun or wind action. I am having problems with a plant that I call “duck weed”. Small plant that floats on the surface of the pond and has taken over. What do you suggest to remove this?
  
If you truly have duckweed (2-4mm in diameter) on the pond, and not watermeal (0.5-1mm in diameter), then it is controllable by stocking white amur, the algae-eating fish. However, the watermeal type is too small for them to eat normally, and it is extremely resistant to chemical treatment as well. There are no good control measures available for it besides physical removal (especially after wind blows it to one side, but in your case that may be a rare occurrence). —Dr. Dave.
  
 
Dear Dr. Dave,
Is the sturgeon aboundant in the great lakes?
  
The sturgeon is currently on the endangered species list in Lake Erie due to overfishing. At Freshwater farms, we raise sturgeons in our hatchery. More about the sturgeon. —Dr. Dave.
 
 
Dear Dr. Dave,
Is We just moved to a house with a pond that is probably 10 X 8 and maybe 2 feet or just under 3 feet deep. Should I let the filter/waterfall run all winter or turn it off? It’s been running 24/7 and currently has about a 24 in radius free of ice. I haven’t really done anything with it other than try to keep the leaves out and cut some plants back. There’s maybe 25-40 goldfish/koi of varying colors ranging in size from an inch to one that might be 7 ft. In pots we have miniature cattail, an Iris and lilies that bloom, white, yellow and pink.
 
You should be able to keep the pump running, as long as the water level is maintained as ice forms. However, the pond should be deep enough to overwinter the fish without the pump running. This also depends on the tank bottom being mostly cleared of debris and organic matter. A bottom-pond heater would also be extra insurance for overwintering the fish. —Dr. Dave.
Dear Dr. Dave,
We have a 1 1/4 to 1/2 acre pond which we are looking at aeration. We have been told November/December may be a better time to put them in than spring. I would like to know what you have available and price range.
Our diffusion aeration systems range in pricing from $699 to $1150 (with all the extras, including a lockable sound-proofed steel cabinet). We also offer a unique alternative that is more efficient…a floating fountain that has a draw-tube extension to bring up bottom water and vigorously aerate…something the diffusers do not do well. That is why they recommend starting diffusers after pond inversion season in the fall. I have attached some other info that you may find helpful. Our new style of fountains start at $699 for a 3/4 hp unit. —Dr. Dave.
Dear Dr. Dave,
We keep our aerators running 24/7 from April through October to keep temperature stratification from occurring in the first place. We have surface “agitators”, which keep sufficient vertical water current to homogenize the temperature in our small culture ponds. Maybe it’s overkill from a power usage standpoint, but I regard it as an insurance policy. Also, taking a clue from our lake and reservoir sampling experience over the years, deep water temperature and oxygen readings in July and August once in a while would give you a clue if you need to be worried when fall comes around. If there’s a huge gradient in temp and oxygen from bottom to surface, oxygen “debt” may be accumulating down deep.

I don’t know, but I wonder how much vertical water current you would generate from a paddlewheel? Seems as though it would depend on the depth/dimensions of the pond.If the ponds are over 6-8 feet deep, surface agitators/aerators or paddlewheels are not effective at de-stratification, and bottom diffusion stones can de-stratify, but do a poor job of oxygen transfer. This is the principle reason we started manufacturing surface aerator/fountains that use draw-tubes to accomplish both tasks, without resorting to “overkill from a power usage standpoint”. A very important consideration indeed. —Dr. Dave.

Dear Dr. Dave,
Do you sell crawfish? If not, do you know where we might be able to purchase some. We are planning a crawfish boil for a family gathering.

We do not, although one farmer sold some at the Ohio Fish & Shrimp Festival last year. Call Calala Water Haven to see if they will again this year (Sept. 18-19). Their number is 216-789-0866. —Dr. Dave.

Dear Dr. Dave,
I’ve been a customer of yours for a number of years now and I’ve got a few questions I hope you can answer for me and steer me in the right direction.

The last time I was there, I asked about building some sort of minnow nesting structure and was told to use pallets by stacking 4 or 5 of them on top of each other, tying them together, wrapping them with 1″ mesh, and sinking them in about 5 feet of water. I’ve tried this but am having problems sinking them. Is there a trick to weighting them down or anchoring them somehow? I’ve tried concrete blocks piled on top of them, but they always flip over before I get enough blocks on them to hold them down.Secondly, I seem to be losing bluegill. I don’t mean they are getting eaten because the ones I seem to be losing are the larger females. I used to have a beach area that was filled with nesting females. Now I have about a dozen or so and that’s it, and there aren’t any fish large enough to be eating them. There are a couple of herons that show up from time to time but I can’t believe they would be eating that many of them.I also want to purchase more fathead minnows. Are these in stock now and can I pick them up anytime? I live in Fostoria and it’s a fairly long drive to your place. What about bluegill?We have plenty of minnows in stock. We have some new recommendations on habitat structure for them, and I suggest using the pallets singly in a shallow area of the pond and weighing them down. New pallets are incredibly buoyant until they have time to soak up water. —Dr. Dave.

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