First off I'd like to thank meadowlark, fish fear me, Dave davidson and roller 22 for input into pond structure. I have set about 40 trees standing upright in 5 gallon buckets with rebar. Also used some pallet structure. Some small trees with concrete and trash bags, and a bit of pecan wood tied together with a cinder block. Great ideas and I'll let you know how they pay off, unfortunately I wasn't smart enough to have the presence of mind to take pics. I currently have hybrids, LMB, various perch, shad, shiners, and fathead minnows in that pond. I am currently looking at building another pond and was wondering what it would take to get some exotic species. Have tried to look into it but I am having trouble finding information. I'd like to figure out which species of fish, either bass, cichlids, or catfish, etc have a good chance at survival in central tx, and what it would take to get them. Even something to the tune of a striped bass would be great, but tpwd hatcheries will not sell to the public apparently. If anyone could shed some light on this I'd really appreciate it bc I'm just not real sure where to turn.

Just about everything you list can do well in Texas. Of course, the size of the impoundment, water quality, stocking plan(s) and management is what really matters.

And then, there is drought.

I see a lot more hybrid stripers than I do non hybrids.

Here is a list of all commercial hatcheries in Texas; look under Stocking & Management, List of Commerical Hatcheries

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/landwater/water/habitats/private_water/

What do you consider an exotic? I ask because for example I personally wouldn't consider a striper an exotic....just a great fish that would be an extremely poor choice for a Texas pond, IMO.

If you're meaning some of the imported types, be very careful to insure that your pond does not have any outlet into any creeks or streams...even under extreme rainfall events.

Sounds like a job well done on the structure...should be some fine fishing spots for years to come.

Size wise I'm thinking about 15 acres or so. The pond would be fed by a well pump and will not be connected to any sort of stream, creek, or river etc. Invasive species can be disastrous as we have seen many times over. I was thinking species such as maybe red tailed catfish, wels, Nile perch or relative, vundu just to name drop a bit. I have no idea if any of those are feasible with climate or if they can be legally placed in a tx pond. I have just always thought it would be neat to have exotics and want to find out what goes in to getting a few that could survive in the Texas area. I know peacock bass are out of the question but those would have been my first choice.

As mentioned by Meadowlark, striped bass would be a poor choice for a pond. They cannot survive in small water bodies for very long. Even large lakes of hundreds of acres that are too shallow, warm, or poor water quality cannot support stripers. The hybrids OTOH, adapt very well to many situations, including smaller ponds and lakes.

Most of the exotic species you mentioned would be too tropical in nature to survive without a thermal refuge in Texas ponds, especially Central Texas. Many are likely either banned, or would become so once it got around there might be some in the state.

Danubian Wels might work, but the only ones of those I know of in the country are in Wisconsin, they like cool water. Blue catfish gets as large and has a similar life style as the wels.

I've worked with several exotic species and was a member of the Texas Exotic Species Task Force (when it was operational many years ago). I've several ideas and contacts for working with exotics in Texas waters.

Peacock Bass is one I've worked with in the past and they can (and have been) be done(with limitations) in Texas waters.

Barramundi, Nile Perch, Australian yabby, Peacock Bass, Pescado Blanco, Paddlefish, Sturgeon (an interesting possibility)and a host of other exotics are among those I've worked with in the past.

With respect to state regulations and state (public) waters, as well as regulatory authority over private waters, Joedy Spence at TP&WD in Austin is the Exotic Species Program Leader. Joedy is among the "good guys" with both the best interests of the state and its people as well as the practical approach to business regulation as his method of management. A very knowledgeable and helpful fella, especially for a bureaucrat.

I've a love of working with unusual fisheries, am working on some exotic species fishing lakes in Mississippi right now and plan on having peacock bass for fishing at my bass fishing club I own by next season.

Be sure that your well can handle 15 acres during a drought. One acre, one inch deep, is 27,000 gallons. Then calculate the power cost to add the water.

Barramundi is one I would love to try...but they are very low temp intolerant. Several places in Florida have them in ponds and in fishing clubs... and my understanding is that they do well. Peacocks are another one that would be a really interesting pond fish but again very low temp sensitive. You can catch peacocks in just about any canal in south Florida and some of them are getting good sized.

Redfish is another one that could make an interesting pond fish if you have the right temps.

I've tried Pacu with mixed results...unbelievable growth rates, simply unbelievable, but water temps below 60 degrees take them out. I tried and succeeded at keeping a couple of them alive for three growing seasons by catching them and moving them inside for winter...but they got so large it just wasn't practical to keep going....but one of the hardest fighting fish you will find outside of saltwater....and a fish with "character".

My problem here in East Texas are the extreme temps both high and low that we sometimes get. Most of the time it is a temperate climate but there are those occasions in which temps can fall well below 10 degrees and of course climb well above 100 deg. Those extreme temps, even though somewhat rare, limit what I can do at my location.

Ya I have heard to stay away from the piranha family, even though the pacu are supposed to be strictly vegetarians they can become quite opportunistic. Barramundi is something I would be incredibly interested in, although I'm not sure what their low water temperature tolerance is. Australia is quite hot but as I understand it can be quite cold in some areas at night although I'm not sure if it would be enough to change water temperature indefinitely for any decent period of time. My gut tells me no. I have good experience fishing redfish in saltwater around galv and in Louisiana some, but I have no idea where to get them or what sort of temperature tolerance they have. Love to get more info on that. I also experience the same sort of wild temperature changes as the place I am speaking of is sort of in limbo btwn east and central tx (Austin county).

With regards to my pond I have the ability to fill the pond with well water, although I will let nature supplement the pumping to cut costs a bit. One question is that I will have a culvert pipe at a certain level on the dam to prevent pond flooding, and most of my experience is with this sort of pond, do I need to take other precautions to prevent the spread of the exotics? I have used a sort of filtration screen in the past where you start big and go smaller and smaller, buti know that doesn't really work too well, and if you just leave it flowing into a drainage area there is always the possibility of a water bird transferring a couple of fish and no one wants that.

Fishbreeder, it seems like you have quite a bit of experience with this sort of thing and as much as I'd Ike to have sturgeon or something absolutely giant in that league I know that' s just not possible on a silt-bottom 15 acre pond to have healthy populations of sturgeon. I was wondering about the peacocks and if they have been tried as far north as Austin county. The coldest water reading I've had in a large pond in this area at the shallowest points is 47, which I believe if I am not mistaken is too cold for peacocks, but I could easily be wrong. The depth of the pond is 30 ft so the water temp there may be a bit warmer but not incredibly drastic. We do not have a filtration system in that pond as well so not sure if the temperature difference really matters at that point anyways. Would you recommend that I speak with joedy spence to try and gather more info? I'd also love to know about an Australian yabby is, never heard of a fish like that.

The Barramundi is, unfortunately, even more temp sensitive than the Pacu to low water temps. They begin dieing at about 64 degrees and unless you have a special situation, most ponds in Texas will hit that mark and lower every winter.

Interesting reading on Baqrramundi in Florida fishing ponds at this link.... http://www.larsenoutdoors.com/html/barramundi.html

Sure wish I had a situation where I could raise them...about the only way would be if you have an artesian source that flows water well above 64 deg. all winter.

Pacu can tolerate down to 60 degrees so will last somewhat longer in unheated ponds. Tilapia begin dieing at about 55 degrees but I have had some survive in surface water temps of 50 degrees by finding some warmer water spots.

Peacocks are similar to Pacu in terms of water temps.