Raising Fatheads

[DBspecial]

My father and I are making improvements on his bass pond and decided that adding a forage fish like fathead minnows was a good idea. We already put in 16 dozen but would like to put more like 16,000 in. So, I got a 10 gallon tank and put three clay pots in there with a marble bottom. The fatheads are supposed to mate in the pots and lay a large number of eggs in the pots. The pots are then removed and the little ones are raised away from the parents. If you have done this would you please offer some advice.
DB

[DBspecial]

I love fish tanks!

[DBspecial]

22 out of 27 fatheads are dead........perhaps it was the chlorinated water haha Ooops! Guess Ill have to get a couple more today. I did get one Brook Stickleback in the pail of fatheads that has managed to do well.....they are cool little fish.

[DBspecial]

Went and got another 2 dozen fatheads from a store that I know puts that blue stuff in the water......They are all doing very well but there was one problem.....They werent fatheads they were small shiners! So I had to fish out the 2 dozen shiners and go buy 2 dozen actual fatheads from the other store. Now that the water in my tank is tinted light blue I feel confident that these minnows will do much better. I beleive the blue stuff has minerals and substances that take the chlorine and other harmful substances from the treatment plant like, Al 3+, out of faucet water. This would explain why my fish arent dying.

[DBspecial]

So I finally got a good bunch of fish to survive and now have at least 4 breeding pairs in my 10g tank. The male fatheads are hilarious to watch as they defend their caves to the death! They turn all black except for two vertical bars that are a 1/4 in. thick and silvery white interrupting the black body. I am having a problem keeping the tank water clear. Ive replaced half the tank water 3 times since Friday and it still has a light cloudly hue. I know this isnt a forum on how to start aquariums just thought a couple of you would get a kick out of it. PS...I dont use these guys for trout fishing this is a project to propagate the little guys in a bass pond.

[DBspecial]

Ok so I got sick of waiting for the damn fish to do it and bought 5lbs of fatheads instead. $10.00 a pound with a 5lb minimum. 250-300 per pound!

[Rtifs]

DB,
In short, fatheads are a one-time snack for your fish. They are not fast enough to escape predatory fish, so there is no chance of them getting established in your pond. I doubt an aquarium will produce the kind of numbers you’re interested in. It would be better to setup an outdoor production pond. Fatheads apparently reproduce like rabbits when they have space, food and no predators. There is a good site for pond management with an active forum. Pondboss.com

[Chris Smorul]

DB
I once had a tank with sunfish in it. I had a problem with cloudy water as well. I first thought something was wrong with the filter but upon closer inspection I discovered that it wasn't debris clouding the water, it was freshly hatched sunfish fry.