![[logo]](../graphics/smallmdc.gif){kind=small}
Return
to the Landowner Tips PageReturn
to MDC Home PageURL http://www.mdc.mo.gov/manag/aqggrass.html
Last Revision Date: 01/16/97
Fathead minnows are often stocked in new ponds and lakes as a forage fish, before stocking the waters with a typical bass- bluegill-channel catfish combination.
Although the bass-bluegill-channel catfish combination usually does well on its own, minnow stocking helps get the fish population off to a good start, providing the newly-introduced bass with an immediate food source.
The fathead minnow is principally a river species, common to the Prairie Region of Missouri. Its diet consists mainly of algae and other plant material, but it also consumes aquatic insects. Fathead minnows are easy to propagate and are hardy in a bait bucket, making them one of the most commonly used bait minnows in North America.
Many anglers call these minnows blackhead minnows, because during the spawning season breeding males assume a very dark color about the head and may have dark vertical bands on the body. The males also develop pointed knobs on their snouts and chins called tubercles, which are used to butt unwelcome visitors from their nests.
Fathead minnows make ideal forage fish, because even adult fish are small enough (adults reach only 1.5-3.5 inches) to be eaten by predator fish.
Under terms of the Missouri Conservation Department's Pond Stocking Program, minnows are the only fish permitted in a body of water prior to the stocking of fingerling largemouth bass, bluegill, and channel catfish.
Fathead minnows should be stocked at a rate of 200-500 fish per surface acre. Hauling and handling instructions can be obtained from vendors of the fish.
To maximize their value as forage in new ponds and lakes, fatheads should be stocked one growing season (May-Sept.) before bass are introduced. This gives the minnows a chance to reproduce before the introduction of their main predator.
For example, if you were enrolled in the Conservation Department's Pond Stocking Program, you would receive fingerling bluegill and channel catfish in the fall of the year, and fingerling largemouth bass the following June. In this case, it would be best to stock fatheads sometime during the spring or summer of the year you receive your bluegill and catfish.
Although this stocking sequence offers the best results, some benefit can be achieved by stocking the minnows anytime before or even simultaneously with the bass fingerlings.
Stocking minnows in ponds that already contain established fish populations is not generally recommended as an answer to a slow- growing fish population. The minnows would likely be eaten by resident fish immediately after stocking, and thus would serve only as short-lived, expensive fish food.
If fathead minnows are stocked before other fish are introduced, their spawning success depends on three factors:
l. The availability of appropriate spawning habitat.
2. The timing of the stocking.
3. The ratio of males to females.
Fathead minnow females will fashion nests on the underside of rocks, twigs, boards or tile and deposit their eggs on submerged objects. Males remain with the eggs until they hatch.
If you wish, you can improve spawning success by providing the minnows with good nesting habitat, such as cedar shingles. These shingles should be driven into the pond bank at intervals of approximately 25 feet and should be installed no deeper than 1.5 feet beneath the water's surface at a 45 degree; angle to the pond bottom.
In Missouri, spawning usually occurs from the second week in May to early August.
To achieve a suitable ratio of males to females, make sure that the minnows stocked vary in size. Fathead males are larger than females, so stocking mostly large minnows could result in poor spawning success.
Mortality of fathead minnows is high and the maximum life span for the species seems to be three summers. However, when predatory fish such as bluegill and largemouth bass are stocked, most minnows will be eaten within 2-3 years.
You can often buy fathead minnows through local feed and grain stores, during spring "fish day" programs, or through bait dealers. You can also purchase these minnows directly from commercial fish hatcheries.
The Conservation Department does not distribute or sell fathead minnows, but can provide a list of commercial fish hatcheries offering them. For this information, write: Missouri Fish Dealers List, Division of Fisheries, Missouri Department of Conservation, Box 180, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0180.
A common price in May 1990 was $25 for 1,000 fathead minnows. Again, the recommended stocking rate is 200-500 fish per surface- acre of water.
Return
to the Landowner Tips PageReturn
to MDC Home Page