# dead fish



## [email protected] (Feb 29, 2008)

Just got our first report of the year of a fish kill under the ice. This customer lost thousands of fish. Hopefully not a sign of things to come for others...


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## Salmonid (Apr 14, 2004)

That is very sad news, I did a pond walkaround the other day and will be checking ice thickness later this afernoon, Ill certainly post if I see any floaters, No news is good news...Just curious, does he aerate? , depth? up north or closer to Cinci, could make a difference in snow coverings. 

Salmonid


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## hang_loose (Apr 2, 2008)

Checking mine as soon as the sun is out... Thanks for the heads up.


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## [email protected] (Feb 29, 2008)

Best indication is an oxygen crash from ice and snow cover; thus lack of sunlight and lack of photosynthesis. No aeration in lake and relatively shallow ~6' max. Dayton area.


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## Salmonid (Apr 14, 2004)

I did a walkaround/checking ice thickness last night and with crystal clear ice,( 3-5") i didnt see any mortality so far, so thats a good thing. Ill definately post with any ice mortaility i see. Thanks for the heads up though!!

Salmonid


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## Rod Hawg (Jan 13, 2011)

Are pond is areated. It gets to be around 12ft. You think their will be a fish kill?


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## MuskieLuv (Oct 29, 2007)

Is there anything you can do to prevent a fish kill? I am really worried about my parents pond. they had a fish kill about ten years ago and this year looks to have the same conditions as back then. The water was really low coming into winter and we have had a lot of freeze.


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## Salmonid (Apr 14, 2004)

actually keeping snow off of it is the best thing you can do, some folks run a water hose to melt the snow but todays rain should clear that up, when you push snow off of it, do it in strips, they say to try to get 20% off the top of it and to do it in the areas with 4-6 feet of water so sunlight can get in to penetrate the ice and get to weeds on the bottom. 

Salmonid


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## [email protected] (Feb 29, 2008)

Good tip Salmonid. 

Also, promoting a healthy ecosystem throughout the year will reduce the potential for a winter time fish kill. This includes aeration to promote nutrient cycling and sound vegetation management. As you go into the winter most of the vegetation in the pond will die back and start to decompose. The more vegetation you have the more decomposition you will have. The decomposition of organic matter releases gasses like hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide with can be toxic to fish. Even if they do not reach toxic levels they cause stress on the fish and the accumulation of stress from cold water, injury, disease, etc. will also cause mortality. We recommend diffused aeration to keep the pond from completely freezing over which allows for sunlight penetration and gas exchange.


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## homerun (Nov 22, 2009)

I've had a big fish kill in my one acre lake. I don't have aeration but cut holes in December. I've only had one other 6 years ago but that was in March after 3 months of ice cover. I have 13" of ice. Many large bluegill, bass and catfish already died.

Check you ponds.


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## Rod Hawg (Jan 13, 2011)

Absolutely no fish kill in both our 3 acre ponds. I was prayin. There are some monster fish in those lakes. Both ponds unfroze and no dead fish on the shore.


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## Salmonid (Apr 14, 2004)

Just checked mine, only 1 bg was found so that is great news, probably an ice fishing mortality, i did aerate until Nov 1st so hopefully that helped, Now ill have to turn the bottom aerator on an hr a day for a while to slowly turn the water over... Lucas, is that what is recommended? 

Salmonid


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## WiseEyes (Apr 7, 2010)

I have a eerie feeling that my pond may be decimated..... Lot of snow on top of slush in early december makes me worry.


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