Hank,
Just so you know knowledgable pond managers think stocking bait minnows (fathead minnows) in an established pond is a waste of money. They are a slow moving species that gets cropped down very rapidly and they are too small to be of much value to your larger fish. Additonally a lot of wasted energy for your largest fish even if they do utilize them -- albeit for a short while. You're better off allowing a species that spawns more than once a year provide forage such as bluegill and tilapia. And that provide incrementally larger fish for forage.
Fatheads are great if you allow them to reproduce with no predator fish for about a year in a new pond, and then plant your predator fish, which will give them a jump start before your bluegill really get going.
The thing a lot of people don't seem to realize is it takes 10 pounds of forage fish to produce one pound of predator fish. (Believe it or not there is a lot of water in fish). Think about how much you pay for a pound of fathead minnows and if it's worth produce one pound of fish gain for the whole pond!
I am in the business of producing trophy size fish for the taxidermy and replica fish market. I depend on feed trained fish that I feed pellets for fast growth and large size. I can get at least 1 lb. of fish per 2 lbs. of feed served vs. 1 to 10 on minnows. This is why a lot of fish farms have gone to feed training fish.
So you ask why do some fish farms push the sale of fathead minnows for established ponds? Because it's the most profitable fish they sell! They are also easy to produce in ponds with no predator fish and you don't even have to feed them!
WHAT I HAVE DONE in my ponds where I grow trophy size yellow perch, is plant fatheads just before ice up to give them some easy protein to hold them through the winter, and help their egg development since they are depending on pellets the rest of the year.
