NANFA-- Ponds 2001 ( pretty darn long and I tried to be short about it)
R. W. Wolff (choupiqu_at_wctc.net)
Thu, 1 Nov 2001 00:29:49 -0600
First off I hope to have the work on my ponds on the web site by mid winter.
Nothing has changed with the small ponds ( other than some new plants
added), the killifish pond, and the elassoma ( pygmy sunfish) farm.
However, the gar pond is now truly the gar river. I added on an upper
level, and a 2400 gph pump. These are now in a skimmer, and PVC line is
buried from there to the outlets. This is a total of 4200 gph and really
moves the water through the system, which was built ( remember the AC
article) to resemble a mix of different parts of the Mississippi River. It
now has a fall line, a spring run, and a cobble rock rip rap area, as well
as the original sandstone bluff, dolomite point, and channels run the length
of it. Think of it as a large C with the bottom part bigger and wider. I
have not formerly measured the entire unit now, but guessing off the known
size of the original part, and paceing it out. i would say the "C" is some
50 plus feet tall, and 30 some feet wide. The width of the top section of
the C is about six feet. The top of the vertical part is five feet wide.
Then the fall line into what was there from last year. The bottom of the
vertical part is about four feet wide, then narrows to a foot wide foot deep
channel " cut through sandstone bluff" into the main pond which was in the
article in the AC. That part was also deepened last year by some six or a
bit less inches by lifting the south side with some landscape timbers since
that was the low side, flooding up some of the sandstone bluffs and making
more crevices to hide in.
This pond had some successes with spawning. Some unknown sunfish did very
well, but they are too small to tell. Bluespotted sunfish, elassoma zonatum,
dwarf crawfish, johnny darter, and eastern mudminnow all spawned profusely.
Many other species spawned with varied success.
In the killi pond chrysotus, cingulatus, sciadicus, ( fundulus'), bluefin
killi, swamp killi, flagfish, dwarf crawfish and another location of e.
zonatum all spawned heavily. F. confluentus had a few babies found. Other
species spawned but I did not find any babies this fall. Out of the small
ponds the dollar sunfish did well, having two distinct spawns doing well,
with nickle sized and dime sized fish found. The other smaller pond success
was rivulus cryptocallus. In the elassoma farm I had not only elassomas,
but some non native killis and badis. The non natives did poorly, since
until this year, azolla did well for me not taking over. This year after
eliminating duckweed, salvini and other nasty floating plants. the azolla
choked itself to death polluting the water. Now my only floaters I will use
are frogbit, hyacinth, and water sheild in the pygmy farm. I will probably
find one of these to be a problem in 2002. In the smaller tubs with the
pymgies it was a 50/50 venture. Many locations producing many young, and
others disappearing all together were the extremes. I had my first luck
with okeefenokee outdoors. Oakatie also did well. Having done this for
several years, I have learned alot of neat things keeping them like this.
The elassoma farm was originally on my parents land in the woods. It was
put there in 95. When I moved here it came along and took over the back of
the vegatable garden in 98.
I don't want to run too long, so I will leave it at this very basic
outline of this years happenings. Hopefully I can get some more details on
the web site, and an article for the AC.
Ray
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