What happens to the fry

[Steve Burke]

I agree with Leon. Just ask fish breeder, Ken Crow, for instance. He'll tell you that some carp fry themselves are cannabilistic from the day they're born. Indeed, the carp we catch probably were cannibals as fry - in fact they're likely to be the only ones that have survived! I doubt they've have stopped eating fry now they're bigger.

[chesters1]

we will keep more this year as our lower drain is blocked not only fry escape and restock the river but i'v seen shoals of fish disapear down the drain and the outlet stream has a splendid showing in every pool downstream to the river.

everything eats fry from carp to gudgeon thats why so many are produced and ofcourse newts and frogs and the larger aquatic beetles and larvea ,birds and rodents take a small share and many are lost leaping out the pond (i returned a 2" crucian that just lept out at my feet) ,its a tough life for fry but only two of the eggs need to get to breeding age to keep the stock balanced one more and it increases.

the biggest predators are the fry's parents themselves

 

[ 30. June 2005, 09:23 PM: Message edited by: chesters1 ]

[Guest crazyhazy]

That will be the next thing - Fry flavoured boilies!

[chesters1]

i think fish meal ones are

[Steve Walker]

Big G:

That will be the next thing - Fry flavoured boilies!

I'm sure I've seen powdered salmon fry for sale.

[Malcolm Johns]

Carp spawn almost yearly on my club's waters but very few fry, if any, survive the winter. That's why the fish farms do the business they do.

 

It would be far better if clubs could breed their own stocks, not least for financial reasons, but more importantly it would reduce the risk of disease spreading.

[Leon Roskilly]

Malcolm Johns:

Carp spawn almost yearly on my club's waters but very few fry, if any, survive the winter. That's why the fish farms do the business they do.

 

It would be far better if clubs could breed their own stocks, not least for financial reasons, but more importantly it would reduce the risk of disease spreading.

In natural ponds and lakes, there are usually shallow areas of silted and weedy bays.

 

These areas are ecologically important.

 

Not only do they provide areas where fry can hide, they also generate an enormous amount of food for all the creatures of the water.

 

Unfortunately club members hate them.

 

They see fish rolling under the weed, which they don't have the skills to target, and lose tackle if they do try to fish those areas.

 

So, instead of abandoning them to the nature of the water, they moan.

 

And the committee feel obliged to clear and dredge those areas, putting in more swims.

 

Any fish in the water that do spawn, denied the food produced in such areas (daphnia, snails, bloodworm etc etc), will eat the fry instead.

 

And the members will moan about the cost of re-stocking, instead of delighting in all that nature has to offer from those unfishable places; damsel flies and dragon flies, birds amongst the rushes that feed on the insects hovering above the weed, flowers on the water's surface, the croaking of mating frogs and those mysterious disturbances as big fish move below the weed.

 

Tight Lines - leon

[Steve Burke]

I very much agree with your last point, Malcolm.

 

However, the reason that few if any carp fry survive the winter in many UK waters isn't just down to predation. Often starvation in their first winter is even more of an issue. Those carp that have found sufficient food and have built up enough reserves during their first summer have a much greater chance of surviving the subsequent winter when food is in short supply. As a matter of interest commons tend to survive their first year better than mirrors.

 

Most waters in this country are now overstocked, many grossly so. And I'm not referring just to commercial waters either! However, artificially easy fishing is what the majority of anglers now demand.

 

Mind you, I'm not complaining. It keeps most anglers away from the waters that I find most interesting!

 

[ 02. July 2005, 04:29 PM: Message edited by: Steve Burke ]

[ayjay]

Steve Walker:

I'm sure I've seen powdered salmon fry for sale.

Are you thinking of *Salmon Fry Crumb*?

 

I think that is for feeding Salmon fry rather than consisting of them.

 

It's a good bait ingredient anyway.

[DJMCJERICO]

Has anybody mentioned overflow systems?

The lake overflows and the excess water is realesed into a ditch or drain, they are usually meshed, but the smaller fish can swim/get pulled through them.

Also pump's, like what farmer's use for spraying fields, or air-rators etc.