Fish Habitat

Every pond should include fish habitat of some form or another.  If you Google it, there are many versions used from stumps and cinder blocks to old Christmas trees and more.  Modern versions use PVC or plastics.  The reason I went with it was due the long-lasting nature of plastic and because I could develop them in a way to prevent hooks from snagging most of the time.  So, why include fish habitat?  It's simple, protect the little ones and give them a chance to get bigger so that they can reproduce and sustain the pond year after year.

In a traditional pond here in the south, a pond ecosystem includes Large Mouth Bass (LMB) as the preditor, sun fish as the forage (food), and catfish as the cleaner.  In my pond, I'm including specifically the northern strain of LMB, Bluegill, Red Ear Sunfish, and Channel Catfish.  Pretty standard overall, but I'm also considering Tilapia, specifically the Blue Tilapia.  Yep, the same Tilapia you get at restaurants.  Normally, this is an invasive fish and would take over, but here, they will die out come October or November.  Just prior to that, at a certain water temperature, it'll be harvest time.  My reasoning is that these fish not only taste good, but they also grow extremely fast and can finish in one season to edible proportions.  Additionally, they provide LMB with alternative forage fish because they breed multiple times in one season plus the die out of what I can't get to feeds the catfish.  I hope to pull a few and grow in a fish tank over the winter to produce spawn year after year as well.  That's the goal, subject to modification of course.

Here are some pictures of the two I concocted after much research.  This bigger one is a tree-looking contraption almost identical to another guy's design I like.  I'd give credit if I could find it again!  LMB like to congregate around cover so I'll know specifically where they'll hang out.  It should also provide ambush opportunity for unsuspecting forage fish.  I'll partially fill the buckets with concrete and bury the buckets on the bottom in about 6 foot of water.

This one is for the babies and I hope it'll provide protection from the LMB.  I'll weight it down by tying to cinder blocks and bury in about 3 foot of water.

I expect both to cover with algae for a more uniform and camouflaged appearance after some time. The pond has been delayed for weather for 9 days as of today, but when it's complete, I'll place the habitat structures and take another picture to post.