Outdoor monster fish stocked ponds

Deadeye

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I’d love to have a pacu or gar pond…stupid cold winters…
Any suggestions on how to keep one in a winter (besides bringing fish in)…not that I can get to this for many many years, but always good to have a plan.
 
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Kingdoffishcraft

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Sep 9, 2019
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I’d love to have a pacu or gar pond…stupid cold winters…
Any suggestions on how to keep one in a winter (besides bringing fish in)…not that I can get to this for many many years, but always good to have a plan.
I can't help much with this because I live in the tropics lol. But I do know that gars can essentially hybernate in the deepest part of the pond (so it may have to be several meters deep) and they will but slight conditioning might come into play. Pacu may have a hard time. I can suggest you putting a strong heater in one corner of a pond where warm water circulates but this is all speculation. I have no idea of its feaseability lol. But if you decide to make a gar pond don't forget to keep us updated here!!! :)
 

Deadeye

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Aug 31, 2020
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I can't help much with this because I live in the tropics lol. But I do know that gars can essentially hybernate in the deepest part of the pond (so it may have to be several meters deep) and they will but slight conditioning might come into play. Pacu may have a hard time. I can suggest you putting a strong heater in one corner of a pond where warm water circulates but this is all speculation. I have no idea of its feaseability lol. But if you decide to make a gar pond don't forget to keep us updated here!!! :)
Will do! Might have to wait a few decades before I have the time, money (and tropical house) to do it lol.
 
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thebiggerthebetter

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Wonderful, amazing project! So glad to see it and so thankful to be able to ask questions too and see this evolve.

Give us some details, if you will.

- How big is the lake area wise?
- How deep?
- Is it mud bottom?
- How is it supplied with water, by rain, underground spring, creek, runoff, or else?
- What is the water like, seasonal temperatures, hardness, TDS, pH, clarity?

- What kind of vegetation grows on the shores and in the water?
- Are there any structures in the water, rocks, driftwood, etc?

- What lives in the lake naturally, fish and other animals?
- What have you stocked it with so far, species and sizes?
- How are the stocked fish doing, how long have they been in the lake?

- Is it easy to get such large specimen of arapiama, alligator gar, Asian red tail catfish, short body paroon shark (I don't know why you'd want a short body)?
- One of the fish you released appears to be a tig catfish, or a juruense catfish. Do you think it will survive? Arapaima and the large catfish will swallow it whole, I'd think.
- I am afraid the same may happen to the arowana and datnoid (later, after arapaima get up to 6-8 feet).

Are you worried about security? People. Natural animal predators of land, water, and air - like bears, large predatory turtles, large reptiles, like crocodilians, snakes, otters, minks, fishing eagles, herons, diving fishing birds, like cormorant and anhinga - nasty birds we have here?
 
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