Over population in farm ponds

[Chill]

I was told that if a pond is over populated with fish they will get "worms". To prove this my buddy showed me the tiny little black specks in the meat of the fish. He said it is ok to eat them and we did. That was a couple years ago and they tasted good with no side effects that I am aware of.

Thoughts? Comments?

[Quackrstackr]

I have never heard of that being a sign of overpopulation.

Fish in KY Lake get parasites and I can promise you that they are not overpopulated there.

It has more to do with the amount of shore bird (host) fecal matter contaminating the water, infecting snails which infect the fish, actually.

[crappieseeker]

there are many things that can cause worms in fish, so it might not have been the overpopulation. I have heard cattle runoff is a major contributor to worms, are there cattle near that pond?

[Chill]

Thanks for the response guys.

The pond in question is out in the woods in Green Co. IN.

No cattle around it but plenty of birds. It doesn't get fished very often and it is very small. Like maybe 1/4 acre.

I haven't seen any specks in the fish we catch at Racoon.

Thanks again.

[gone_fishing]

We got those black specks in Southern IN too in some small lakes. I was told it was a parisite and there was no harm in eating the fish and have been for a long time. I agree with Quackrstackr I don't think it has to do with overpopulation. I had heard at one time that you see the parasite in lakes or ponds that have a lot of snails but not positive that is the case.

[Chill]

Thanks GF and thanks for the PM

[fish_4_all]

I took a couple fisheries classes in college and I know more than I ever wanted to about worms in fish. We took 100 fish from different lakes and different species and by soaking the meat in different mediums there we found worms in every one of them. Even in gold fish from an aquarium! Is why I will never eat Sushi.

It is true though that over population can cause more worms to be found in the meat and make it easier to see them. We did prove that in the testing. But all of them were normal ones that didn't even hurt the fish.

[CrappieTech]

Herons transport them to ponds and lakes though the eating of snails. Or so i was told by a conservation agent.He said to put Shell Crackers in your body of water and it would reduce them some cuase they love eating the snails. Dont know if thats the the skinny of it or not just what i had been told.

[Quackrstackr]

Close.

One stage lives in the snails. Fish eat the snails (and fish that had already eaten the snails) and complete the next stage. Herons eat the fish that ate the snails (or other contaminated fish) completing the next stage. Heron drops a deuce in the pond for the snails to feed on and the cycle repeats.

Shell crackers are usually the first fish to show the black spots because of their diet.

[JIG Gene-e]

All good info. It's the bird and snail thing. The black parisites are in the birds fecal where as the white ones eggs develop in its mouth. remove infested fish and add some redear to eat the snails.
I like my sushi deep fried!