# Advice for dredging a pond & saving fish?



## ohiotuber (Apr 15, 2004)

I fish a great pond that is loaded with 9"+ bluegill but is also extremely shallow. My best guess is that the "deepest" part of this pond is only 6-8'. It is only about 1/2 acre in size. The pond owner has asked me to try to find out HOW/IF he can save the existing stock while going through the dredging process. I told him there is some expert advice available here, so any response is appreciated.
Mike


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## [email protected] (Feb 29, 2008)

It is hard to save the fish if doing a complete dredge. You have to net out the fish and hold them in a tank or another pond. Tank space is an issue for the homeowner; you could potentially have 1000-1500 lbs of fish in that 1/2 acre which requires a lot of space and good water quality. Doing a partial dredge, draining the pond 1/2 way and digging out what the backhoe can reach, is practical but you could still have issues with mortality because of the density of fish in the remaining water and poor water quality because what the dredging process will do to that water. There is a couple ways to remove muck without draining the pond. 

Bio-dredging is a combination of three bacterial products that have shown in case studies to reduce sludge by as much as 12" per year. Your pond may not respond that well but then again it may. We do not recommend using bacteria unless your pond is aerated. Bio-dredging generally costs about $3000.00 per acre per season until the sludge is at acceptable levels. Let me know if you are interested in bio-dredging and I can supply a detailed quote. 

Another option is to suck the sludge out of the pond. There is a company called the MuckSuckers. They will dive to the bottom of the pond with a special vacuum system and suck the sludge out. Their contact info is below.

Mucksuckers / SRS of Ohio
P.O. Box 311
Wapakoneta, OH 45895

Tel: 1-877-772-MUCK (6825)
[email protected]


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## M.Magis (Apr 5, 2004)

Being a small pond, how about a track hoe with a long arm just doing a small section at a time? You would end up with a hump in the middle, but that can&#8217;t hurt anything. Of course, you would have to find someone willing to spread the job out over a period of time. Maybe it wouldn&#8217;t work well, just a thought


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## ohiotuber (Apr 15, 2004)

You two really nailed it as far as helpful answers & options I can suggest to the pond owner. I will print your replies & take them to him. Fortunately, I have earned his trust (by treating the pond & his property as if it were my own) & he asked me to see what I could find out. He just told me he figured I might know where to find the right answers.
One more question...IF he opts to move the fish during a dredging, how would he determine when to re introduce the fish to the reconfigured water?
Thanks,
Mike


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## [email protected] (Feb 29, 2008)

We recommend doing a water test before stocking and having a minimum of 4-5 feet of water. Our water testing costs $45.00 and it will be tested for pH, ammonia, alkalinity, hardness, carbon dioxide, and nitrites.


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