Recovery from Heron Attack???

Bullheads like murky water and thrive
in it.
They are considered a game fish
(not sure why, they don't look very tasty ;-)
I'm curious, where did the bullheads come from?
Does the pond have an inlet from a creek or stream?
In Oregon (right next door to us) I read an article about 'bucket biologists'.
People who decide to 'stock' their favorite lake with an exotic or illegal fish
for all sorts of different reasons. They dump in the fish and 10-20 years later
the lake has a huge problem with the introduced fish changing the ecological
balance.

Another option for you is to contact your fish and wildlife office. It is in
their best interest to keep all lakes in the state healthy. They might have
reasons for you and suggestion about the algae bloom. Not sure about the
bullheads since they are listed as a game fish.


kathy :-)
A HREF="http://www.onceuponapond.com/"Once upon a pond/A

Our pond is right at the edge of a 50 acre wetland. There is no stream
inlet or outlet. When we had the pond dug the excavator said it was
spring fed and you see two areas at the bottom that remained clear for
years. The pond filled in a couple days and the level varies very
little, even in the dry summer months. We bought the bluegills and bass
from a fish hatchery and put in no bullheads. And didn't see any for 20
years or more.

Fish eggs can be transported via animals or birds.
The eggs 'stick' to the fur or scaled feet of the critters and end up falling
off in a new pond or water source. The eggs can also travel attached to
vegetation which in turn is transported in animal coats or in their paws or
feet.
Ornamental ponders are always accidently sending off fish eggs in plants
exchanges. Clams, mussels, insect larvae, tube worms, snails, leeches and
amphibian eggs have also traveled via this method.
This is probably what happened with your pond.
A wildlife fish biologist could probably tell you if bullheads would out
compete your bluegill and bass for food resources in your pond. I did find that
small fish make up a small part of the bullhead diet. They make good use of
varied food sources
which makes them successful in turbid ponds. And two other significant facts
One, they have few predators.:
Black bullheads have large, sharp spines at the front of their dorsal (top)
and pectoral (side) fins. When bothered, they lock them in a straight-out
position making them very hard to swallow. These spines and the fishes'
preference for eating mostly at night make black bullheads an uncommon prey for
other fish.
and as for algae and lack of clarity in your water right now,
It is a hardy fish that tolerates turbid (muddy) water, warm temperatures,
and low oxygen concentrations. The black bullhead can tolerate conditions many
other types of fish cannot.
Your pond's natural predilection is to fill in. It is mother nature's way of
providing for fertile fields. Your pond has been following this path for 20
years now and its becoming more of a habitat that bullheads enjoy. It may be
time to do some more excavating.

A really good book dealhe book on maintenance and renewal of older ponds. Some
starting as 'old' as ten years into the ponds life. Your pond at 20 years may
be a candidate for this.




Our pond is right at the edge of a 50 acre wetland. There is no stream
inlet or outlet. When we had the pond dug the excavator said it was
spring fed and you see two areas at the bottom that remained clear for
years. The pond filled in a couple days and the level varies very
little, even in the dry summer months. We bought the bluegills and bass
from a fish hatchery and put in no bullheads. And didn't see any for 20
years or more.
kathy :-)
A HREF="http://www.onceuponapond.com/"Once upon a pond/A

Edit alert!!
I was supposed to write
A really good book to read is:
EARTH PONDS SOURCE BOOK
by
Tim Matson.
It has a section that deals with maintenance and renewal of older ponds. Some
starting as 'old' as ten years into the ponds life. Your pond at 20 years may
be a candidate for this.

Sorry about that!


kathy :-)
A HREF="http://www.onceuponapond.com/"Once upon a pond/A

"steve evans" wrote in message
...
Our pond is right at the edge of a 50 acre wetland. There is no stream
inlet or outlet. When we had the pond dug the excavator said it was
spring fed and you see two areas at the bottom that remained clear for
years. The pond filled in a couple days and the level varies very
little, even in the dry summer months. We bought the bluegills and bass
from a fish hatchery and put in no bullheads. And didn't see any for 20
years or more.


Do you live in a karst area (cave country)? You said you have marl at the
bottom. Is it solid, fractured, or does it have crevaces and/or possibly a cave
passage at the bottom? The reason why I asked is that if the opening is large
enough, or has enlarged over the last year, your fish may now be swimming
somewhere else, or else found themselves lost in an underground bedrock channel,
and couldn't find their way back. In that case, they probably starved. I know
this sounds goofy, but I am a geologist and live in Kentucky where we have lots
of caves and cave springs. It is not unusual for ponds in certain areas of the
state to suddenly loose all of the fish. I actually saw a sinkhole open up in
the bottom of a pond once, and drain the entire pond, fish and all, in about 10
minutes. That obviously didn't happen to you, but if there is a submerged
passage (the spring water has to be coming from somewhere, possibly the marsh),
it won't drain the pond, but actually feed water to it, as you've said that it
does. If there are openings in the bottom large enough for fish to enter, they
generally will.

Well.. George, so your a geologist! Exactly what I have wanted
to be all my life. Your post was music to my ears ...

Nedra
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pines/4836
http://community.webshots.com/user/nedra118

"George" wrote in message
.. .

"steve evans" wrote in message
...
Our pond is right at the edge of a 50 acre wetland. There is no stream
inlet or outlet. When we had the pond dug the excavator said it was
spring fed and you see two areas at the bottom that remained clear for
years. The pond filled in a couple days and the level varies very
little, even in the dry summer months. We bought the bluegills and bass
from a fish hatchery and put in no bullheads. And didn't see any for 20
years or more.


Do you live in a karst area (cave country)? You said you have marl at the
bottom. Is it solid, fractured, or does it have crevaces and/or possibly
a cave
passage at the bottom? The reason why I asked is that if the opening is
large
enough, or has enlarged over the last year, your fish may now be swimming
somewhere else, or else found themselves lost in an underground bedrock
channel,
and couldn't find their way back. In that case, they probably starved. I
know
this sounds goofy, but I am a geologist and live in Kentucky where we have
lots
of caves and cave springs. It is not unusual for ponds in certain areas
of the
state to suddenly loose all of the fish. I actually saw a sinkhole open
up in
the bottom of a pond once, and drain the entire pond, fish and all, in
about 10
minutes. That obviously didn't happen to you, but if there is a submerged
passage (the spring water has to be coming from somewhere, possibly the
marsh),
it won't drain the pond, but actually feed water to it, as you've said
that it
does. If there are openings in the bottom large enough for fish to enter,
they
generally will.

"Nedra" wrote in message
nk.net...
Well.. George, so your a geologist! Exactly what I have wanted
to be all my life. Your post was music to my ears ...

Well, it is certainly not for everyone. I have enjoyed it. It has allowed me
to see things and go places a lot of people don't get to experience. But the
work can be rather tedious at times. And the paperwork sucks. But then, what
paperwork doesn't?

Nedra
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pines/4836
http://community.webshots.com/user/nedra118

"George" wrote in message
.. .

"steve evans" wrote in message
...
Our pond is right at the edge of a 50 acre wetland. There is no stream
inlet or outlet. When we had the pond dug the excavator said it was
spring fed and you see two areas at the bottom that remained clear for
years. The pond filled in a couple days and the level varies very
little, even in the dry summer months. We bought the bluegills and bass
from a fish hatchery and put in no bullheads. And didn't see any for 20
years or more.


Do you live in a karst area (cave country)? You said you have marl at the
bottom. Is it solid, fractured, or does it have crevaces and/or possibly
a cave
passage at the bottom? The reason why I asked is that if the opening is
large
enough, or has enlarged over the last year, your fish may now be swimming
somewhere else, or else found themselves lost in an underground bedrock
channel,
and couldn't find their way back. In that case, they probably starved. I
know
this sounds goofy, but I am a geologist and live in Kentucky where we have
lots
of caves and cave springs. It is not unusual for ponds in certain areas
of the
state to suddenly loose all of the fish. I actually saw a sinkhole open
up in
the bottom of a pond once, and drain the entire pond, fish and all, in
about 10
minutes. That obviously didn't happen to you, but if there is a submerged
passage (the spring water has to be coming from somewhere, possibly the
marsh),
it won't drain the pond, but actually feed water to it, as you've said
that it
does. If there are openings in the bottom large enough for fish to enter,
they
generally will.

Speaking of paperwork ... whilst dreaming dreams of being
a geolgist ... I was working for Dept of Army - paperwork?? OMG

Nedra
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pines/4836
http://community.webshots.com/user/nedra118

"George" wrote in message
.. .

"Nedra" wrote in message
nk.net...
Well.. George, so your a geologist! Exactly what I have wanted
to be all my life. Your post was music to my ears ...

Well, it is certainly not for everyone. I have enjoyed it. It has
allowed me
to see things and go places a lot of people don't get to experience. But
the
work can be rather tedious at times. And the paperwork sucks. But then,
what
paperwork doesn't?

Nedra
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pines/4836
http://community.webshots.com/user/nedra118

"George" wrote in message
.. .

"steve evans" wrote in message
...
Our pond is right at the edge of a 50 acre wetland. There is no
stream
inlet or outlet. When we had the pond dug the excavator said it was
spring fed and you see two areas at the bottom that remained clear
for
years. The pond filled in a couple days and the level varies very
little, even in the dry summer months. We bought the bluegills and
bass
from a fish hatchery and put in no bullheads. And didn't see any for
20
years or more.


Do you live in a karst area (cave country)? You said you have marl at
the
bottom. Is it solid, fractured, or does it have crevaces and/or
possibly
a cave
passage at the bottom? The reason why I asked is that if the opening
is
large
enough, or has enlarged over the last year, your fish may now be
swimming
somewhere else, or else found themselves lost in an underground bedrock
channel,
and couldn't find their way back. In that case, they probably starved.
I
know
this sounds goofy, but I am a geologist and live in Kentucky where we
have
lots
of caves and cave springs. It is not unusual for ponds in certain
areas
of the
state to suddenly loose all of the fish. I actually saw a sinkhole
open
up in
the bottom of a pond once, and drain the entire pond, fish and all, in
about 10
minutes. That obviously didn't happen to you, but if there is a
submerged
passage (the spring water has to be coming from somewhere, possibly the
marsh),
it won't drain the pond, but actually feed water to it, as you've said
that it
does. If there are openings in the bottom large enough for fish to
enter,
they
generally will.

"Nedra" wrote in message
nk.net...
Speaking of paperwork ... whilst dreaming dreams of being
a geolgist ... I was working for Dept of Army - paperwork?? OMG

Nedra

My wife is the environmental coordinator for the Kentucky Bureau of Military
Affairs, so I can understand about the paperwork. She complains about it all
the time.

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pines/4836
http://community.webshots.com/user/nedra118

"George" wrote in message
.. .

"Nedra" wrote in message
nk.net...
Well.. George, so your a geologist! Exactly what I have wanted
to be all my life. Your post was music to my ears ...

Well, it is certainly not for everyone. I have enjoyed it. It has
allowed me
to see things and go places a lot of people don't get to experience. But
the
work can be rather tedious at times. And the paperwork sucks. But then,
what
paperwork doesn't?

Nedra
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pines/4836
http://community.webshots.com/user/nedra118

"George" wrote in message
.. .

"steve evans" wrote in message
...
Our pond is right at the edge of a 50 acre wetland. There is no
stream
inlet or outlet. When we had the pond dug the excavator said it was
spring fed and you see two areas at the bottom that remained clear
for
years. The pond filled in a couple days and the level varies very
little, even in the dry summer months. We bought the bluegills and
bass
from a fish hatchery and put in no bullheads. And didn't see any for
20
years or more.


Do you live in a karst area (cave country)? You said you have marl at
the
bottom. Is it solid, fractured, or does it have crevaces and/or
possibly
a cave
passage at the bottom? The reason why I asked is that if the opening
is
large
enough, or has enlarged over the last year, your fish may now be
swimming
somewhere else, or else found themselves lost in an underground bedrock
channel,
and couldn't find their way back. In that case, they probably starved.
I
know
this sounds goofy, but I am a geologist and live in Kentucky where we
have
lots
of caves and cave springs. It is not unusual for ponds in certain
areas
of the
state to suddenly loose all of the fish. I actually saw a sinkhole
open
up in
the bottom of a pond once, and drain the entire pond, fish and all, in
about 10
minutes. That obviously didn't happen to you, but if there is a
submerged
passage (the spring water has to be coming from somewhere, possibly the
marsh),
it won't drain the pond, but actually feed water to it, as you've said
that it
does. If there are openings in the bottom large enough for fish to
enter,
they
generally will.