I've beem redneck stocking my pond lately, and we have added a bunch of hybrid bluegill, cats, and a few small bass

I have a few bass in there already thanks to me and my friends, and I really don't care if it was a buffet for the bass that were there...they needed it.

But, what is the best fish food for all species? Need something stout in protein, yet, something that the perch, cats and bass will all eat. Mainly the first two, so the perch get fat for the bass..

I used to spend a lot of money buying high protein fish food...42% and up. Then I attended a seminar by TAMU in which a study was presented showing that 32% protein is just as effective as the higher %...and in fact the more expensive food is a waste of money.

I've raised some impressive fish on 32% feed store fish food and saved a ton of money.

Meadolark, do you remember which study this was. I worked at the TAMU aquaculture facility for 3 years. I know in some cases a lower protein feed will work, but across the board the high protein feeds are always better.

Chad, I would put coppernose bluegill instead of hybrid bluegill. Hybrid bluegill don't reproduce very well. A Coppernose bluegill will get 2+ pounds and spawn up to 4 times a year on a good feed. If your putting in bass that aren't feed trained I doubt that they will eat the feed. I would not recommend feed trained bass, they have horrible genetics. The catfish will eat pretty much any feed you throw out. Aquamax is a feed that you could buy. It will feed the bluegill and cats. There are lots of others out there, just check with the feed store in your area. I would get a feed that has a 3/16 pellet that floats and has at least a mid to high 30's in %protein. The 3/16 pellet would allow for the smaller bluegill to eat. You can see a big difference in ponds that are fed and ponds that aren't. If you can't afford a higher protein feed buy whatever you can.

I don't remember who did the study...but I'm sure Dr. Massey would know.

Again, I repeat, don't waste your money on high dollar, high protein feed. The brand I use is "Farmers Choice"....but any floating fish food 32% will do you just fine. I prefer to mix the feed sizes....in one feeder use 1/8 inch where smaller fish are more likely and use 1/4 inch in deeper water where larger more mature fish reside.

The standard recommendation that you will see by some pond experts (who often sell or otherwise benefit from sales of fish food) is to feed the amount of food that the fish will consume in 15 minutes. I have found that to be way too much food which in addition to being very expensive causes other problems....water quality problems and fish "too full" problems. Ask someone who feeds several times a day every day all the food the fish can eat in 15 minutes and that person will likely tell you they have experienced complete fish kills and had to start all over....if they haven't they will. Also, fish fed artficially do not have the life expectancy of natural fed fish...that's my personal observation, but someone could easily prove it scientifically.

Fish "too full" is also a byproduct of overfeeding. If you enjoy aggressive fish that hit flies and artificials readily, then you don't want to overfeed artificially. A far better approach is to feed some, if you wish, but provide natural food sources e.g. Tilapia to encourage natural feeding and improved water quality.

To me it isn't so much a question of affordability, although wasting money is never good, rather it is smart use of resources to grow the best, most aggressive fish you can.

One comment on feed trained bass....if you want to catch bass on fish food, then maybe they would be a good choice...but if you enjoy catching bass on artificials, natural baits, and flies, then you are much better off with high genetics F1 LMB that consume natural food.

I will point out on thing about those studies. They are done to grow fish for the aquaculture industry. Yeah you can grow fish on a soy bean based feed but we added other stuff to the feed to get those results. They are done on fish that are big in the food industry i.e. catfish, redfish, and tilapia. Catfish and tilapia do well on lower protein feeds, but for a carnivoris fish the higher protein always worked better. A fish can tell the nutritional value of what they eat. In the lab the redfish would actually eat less of the higher protein stuff and still out grow the lower protein feeds.

Well, I am fortunate enough to have a relative that can afford to do everything the "right way" in life, and I paid close attention to his ponds. However, our bank accounts are pretty different..lol

He would have a guy stock goldfish 2-3 times a winter, just for high protein in stained water...they didn't last long each time, which was the intent.

And, his genetics were excellent, and had all the natural forage you could want.

I just have a small stock pond that is in dire need of a hurricane before it runs dry. I have been told they only need 6 inches, as long as they have food. I was using aquamax, and switched to top float. I fill up one large folgers can, and the fish have no problem devouring it within 10 minutes.

the cats have visibly grown, but the perch still look the same, although its only been a few months. I will worry less once we manange to gain some water, hopefully soon...

my ultimate goal is for my 9month old son to have a place to catch 6-8lb cats and fat perch when he gets older, but also have the option to catch a bass should we not be able to hit the lake or have time constraints...

This will sound crazy. We had a stock tank that was about 1 acre. We fed the catfish,bream and bass high protein dog food. All fish thrived. The catfish were 8 to 10 pounds after a year of feeding them dog food. We would go to a grocery store and ask if they had any broken bags of dog food. They keep the bags for credit and throw the food out. It worked for us and was really inexpensive.

Chad, if you go with "non major brand" pellets, find out what is in them. Chicken feathers have protein but are not digestible and it's not too unusual for feed mills to load up some junk to make the 32% protein that fish need. Often, fish will eat pellets but not thrive on them. The problem is finding out what is in the recipe.

I spend about $100 per year more for name brand (Purina/Aquamax) and my buddy Meadowlark doesn't. He reports good results and I believe him. OTOH, I've tried some brands that the fish wouldn't eat so I have no idea whether it was good for them.

Like Meadowlark, I believe in natural forage as the key to fish health. I usually recommend that the feeder be turned off for about 3 days per week. Of course, this assumes a good forage base of bluegill or tilapia.

What is not reported is that high protein food of over 32% can ruin a channel cats liver. That may be OK if you're raising them for the skillet when they get to a couple of pounds. However, really high protein stuff can keep cats from reaching their genetic potential. It's sorta like a fat boy and pizza. It may be good but not good for long term health.

Dave is right about the health factor and it doesn't just apply to cats, in my experience. It affects just about all pond fish as well as affects your water quality. Natural is always the best approach, if available.

Heck, I used to drive to the Rangen plant down by Danbury and haul the feed to my place...not only was it expensive 42% protein but the gas cost and time factors were also expensive. Then I learned from experience and later from a scientific study presented by TAMU, that my efforts not only wasted money, but also actually hurt the long term health of my fish and pond...talk about a double whammy.

I also talked to a couple of pros who I really trust and consider friends....Bob Waldrop, Tyler Fish Farms and Ken Henneke over at the "Fish Hatchery" in Halletsville. Bob uses the same food I use...Farmers Choice at 32% protein and Ken was using Rangen 27% protein when I talked to him. If its good enough for them, its certainly good enough for me.

Also, Dave makes an excellent point about turning off the feeders every few days. Studies have shown that approach not only leads to healthier fish, but also larger fish in BG in particular. One easy way to accomplish the same thing is to just let the feeders go empty and only re-fill to an amount that will last a few days...and then wait a couple or three days and re-fill and repeat. Works for me.

well, I try to feed every morning at the same time, and they have no problem hammering it within 10 minutes, but I tend to get busy and skip a couple days each week, so 3-4 times a week is all they really get.

Top float has the numbers on the bag, which is what I like to see. There are actually 2 ponds that we have been feeding, and I walk down to the other one (little bigger, much deeper) to see if I can visibly see a difference. There is much more natural forage for the perch and such in the 2nd pond than there is in the first...which is why I have been feeding so frequently in it. Seriously, I can drive my truck in front of the pier on this pond, which normally has water 5-6" under the boards fairly contantly. Just been way too dry here.

I know about the methione and cytosene (spelling?) additions to the feed but can you feed tilapia soybean sprouts with good results?

Tom