Safe Steps For Summer Stocking

Peak summer months are the least desirable time to stock a pond.  If circumstances leave no options, please consider these steps.

Delivery trucks transport fish in hatchery well water typically around the upper sixty to lower seventy-degree range.  This time of year, temps in destination ponds may be 15-degrees warmer.  Carefully equalizing truck and pond temps is critical to fish survival.  This process is called “tempering”.  Truck and pond temps MUST be within five-degrees before safely unloading fragile fish.

Our biologists complete this task by gradually draining truck tanks and replacing it with pond water.  After a brief period, they measure the water temp, and repeat as often as necessary to achieve required temp levels.  There is “zero tolerance” in this procedure.  Failure to comply will shock the fish with fatal consequences.

If you purchase fish from a farm and ranch store source, you MUST follow the same process.  There are no shortcuts!  The dealer will deliver your fish in an oxygen-filled bag.  Be sure to transport them in a container that will prevent damage to the bag.  Transportation is stressful for small fish; so don’t delay reaching the pond.  On arrival, place the bag in your pond for approximately 20 minutes while water temps equalize.  Gather all the kids around, pop the rubber band, let pond water flow into the bag, and allow fish to gently swim out.

Congratulations!  You’re a pond manager!  Go to www.pondboss.com and subscribe to our favorite magazine.  We’ll help you grow those two-inch fish into exciting memories you didn’t think possible.  We’ll introduce you to neighbors who share your fascination for this exciting experience we call—pond management.