NANFA-- Pond Update - Madtoms

Jeffrey Fullerton (tcmajorr_at_westol.com)
Thu, 04 May 2000 11:34:43 -0400

I finally got around to drawling down my pond yesterday.
This morning I had the water area reduced to a small central pool where
I could sample and cull my fish population.
I also had the dubious misfortune to get jabbed by a small tadpole
madtom in my left thumb. Surprisingly it didn't hurt as bad as expected.
I was at least expecting something as intense as the bite of a waterbug
- it didn't even come close to a bee sting! More like a pin prick though
I still feel a dull throbbing sensation an hour afterward.

Maybe it was like what those working with venomous snakes would call a
dry bite - in this case sting. Perhaps a combination of profuse bleeding
and small size of the fish has spared me the horrid pain that others
have reported. Then again maybe the full effect is yet to come.

I have started to refill the pond. Once again I am in too big a hurry to
put everything back. Especially this late in the season when the plants
and fish are more vulnerable to drying out. Still I get a pretty good
idea what's in there. Will report more indepth later.

Jeff

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