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Working With Mother Na ture Not Against Her Inspired By Nature, Inc. is a pond and lake management company dedicated to providing a natural alternative to excessive chemical applications with minimal maintenance. Inspired by Nature serves the needs of Ohio, Michigan,and Indiana pond and lake owners. Main ( / ) The experience( # ) Management Products ( # ) Interact ( # ) Information Pages ( # ) Before You Stock Fish ( /before-you-stock-fish ) Commonly Used Pond Chemicals ( /commonly-used-pond-chemicals ) Copper Compounds as Algaecides ( /copper-compounds-as-algaecides ) Download Files ( /files ) Few Facts on Sun Fish ( /few-facts-on-sun-fish ) Holistic Pond Management( /holistic-pond-management ) What Are Beneficial Mircobes? ( /what-are-beneficial-mircobes ) Why Aeration Is Important( /why-aeration-is-important ) Few Facts on Sun Fish | Inspired By Nature http://www.ibnature.com/few-facts-on-sun-fish

1 of 5 4/20/2016 4:01 PMSunfish are undisputedly one of the mostpopular fish for ponds and small lakes. Sunfish encompass a wide variety of fish including blueg ill, redear sunfish, green sunfish, hybrid bluegi ll, pumpkinseed, and even la rgemouth bass. This fact sheet will discuss the two primary prey species, bluegill and redear sunfish. Sunfish are well adapted to pond life and provide a sustained forage base for larger predators. They also offer excellent recreational and table fare opportunities. When stocking sunfish, or any forage fi sh for that matter, it is essential tostock a predatory fish (for example Largemouth Bass). In the ab sence of predators, sunfish wi ll reproduce to such a rate that your pond will become overrun with small, malnourished fish. This situation referred to as “stunting” produces poor fishing conditions and an imbalance in the fish population. Also, when it comes to stocking any sunf ish, it is very important to ensure t hat you are in fact stocking the sunfish species that you desire. Most sunfish have similar characte ristics, sometimes making identification difficult. However, many are quite different in habitat usage and temperament. Therefore, haphazardly stocking sunfish into your pond can create many headaches in the future. Take the green sunf ish for example. Superficially, they resemble a bluegill. However, if a sizable population of green sunfish becomes es tablished in your pond, you can usually expect small fish size and very aggressive fi sh that bite swimmers.

Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) Bluegill are the most popular and best suited sunfish for fishing ponds. Pure bred bluegill have a very small mouth with an upper jaw that does not typically extend to the front of the eye. Their opercle (gill flap) is flexible and the bluegill have a long, moderately pointed pectoral fin. There is al so a dusky spot on the webbing of last three fin rays on dorsal fin. Two bars extend back from the mouth and chin, an d the lower end ofgill cover is bluish, hence the name bluegill. There are 5-9 double bars on their sides with young bluegill having a few, large spots on their breast. By fall, bluegill will reach 1.0” to 4.0”with adult bluegill reaching si zes of 3.5” –10.0”. In regard to habitat, bluegills are m ost abundant where suspended clays and silts are absent and veget ation present. Their preferred spawning habitats are bottoms consisting of sand, gravel or muck. Bluegills will spawn several times throughout the summer, providing considerable forage for predatory fish. Few Facts on Sun Fish | Inspired By Nature http://www.ibnature.com/few-facts-on-sun-fish

2 of 5 4/20/2016 4:01 PMRedear Sunfish have proven to bean excellent addition to the fisheries of many ponds and lakes. A relative of the Bluegill, the Redear sunfish is similar in shape and size. Redear are mo st easily recognized by the red spot on the back side of opercle (gill cover) on males. This spot is orange in females. They also have long pointed pectoral fins and dorsal and anal fins without definite spots. Juveniles can reac h 3.0” by fall with adults reaching 4.5” to 9.0”. Differences between bluegill and redear arise when com paring the habitat and feeding requirements ofthe two. First of all, Redear sunfish are very structure oriented, unlike their Bluegill counterpa rts who will frequent open waters. Like bluegill, redear sunfish consume small aquatic insects. Ho wever, snails and other mollusks comprise a large portion of the Redear’s diet. Although both species will inhabit sa nd and gravel beach areas during their spawning season, Redear sunfish usually reproduce only once per season, reducing the time they will be in the beach area. The reduced spawning that is characteristic of the redear also enhances their role in some pond and lake ecosystems. These systems include ponds used primarily for swimming, where fishing is of low priority. However, it should be noted that having redear as the only forage in a pond will not support a very large predator population. To enhance the predator’s growth, additional forage such as fathead minnow s must be added if a healthy predator population is desired. Both Bluegill and Redear sunfish can be stocked within the same fishing pond. In fact, these specie s are able to cross or hybridize with each other. The hybrid of a bluegill and Redear sunfish show excellent hybr id vigor, meaning that the next generation of fish grow faster and are more desirable than the parent species. Hybridization of these species will be more pronounced in ponds with limited water clarity. Sunfish are the base of most farm pond fisheries. With their tolerance sma ll, shallow waters, as well as their desirability for fishing and consumption, they are a great addi tion to most any pond. Please contact Inspired by Nature, Inc with further questions or stocking recommendations for your pond.

References: Trautman, M.B. 1981. The Fishes of Ohio. The Ohio State University Press. 782 pp.

All Tilapia are NOT Equal IBN sells ONLY Pure Blue Tilapia NOT hybrid Tilapia. When you buy Blue Tilapia from IBN you get: 6" plus fish that are Brood Stock - ready to reproduce Few Facts on Sun Fish | Inspired By Nature http://www.ibnature.com/few-facts-on-sun-fish

3 of 5 4/20/2016 4:01 PMBlue Tilapia live longer Begin eating plant material right away Why Stocking "Tilapia" is not the same Smaller Sized Fish are not ready to reproduce Stocked Later in Season Die Earlier in Season

By stocking smaller Tilapia y ou will NOT have the same amount of overall consumption! Don't fall into the trap of buying smaller fish.

Key to Natural Pond Management Nutrients are key in natural pond management. Our management techniques identify nutrient problems, develop means of reducing nutrient input, and provide long term control of residual nutrients. In doing so, we are taking the excessive nutrients responsible for nuisance plant growth and converting them into more manageable plant and animal growth. Using an array of tools such as Beneficial Microbes and Bottom Aeration, Inspired By Nature, Inc. provides safe, low maintenance, and affordable solutions for your pond or lake. To inquire or order any of our products or services please contact us at 419-669-4084 Tilapia In 2010, we introduced Blue Tilapia as a tool to help manag e ponds naturally. Since that time we have seen incredible results! Tilapia are NOT a magic bullet but when used at prope r stocking rates they can be a very effective. Tilapia alone are not going to solve all of yo ur pond troubles! Read more about Tilapia here( http://www.ibnature.com/content /14467 ) Schooner Farms Sustainable, Non-Conventional Farming, inspired by nature! In 2009 we added another segment ot our business - Schooner Farms. Visit us at www.schoonerberries.com ( http://www.schoo nerberries.com ) Raw Honey CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) Educational Classes Pasture Raised & Certified Organically Fed Poultry & Fresh Eggs Volunteer & Intern Opportunities Shiitake Mushrooms and more

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4 of 5 4/20/2016 4:01 PMAll content property of Inspired By Nature. 14890 Otsego Pike, Weston, Ohio 43569. This page was created using the Small Farm Central ( http://www.smallf armcentral.com )web development service. Back to Main Page( / ) About Inspired By Nature, Inc ( /about-inspired-by-nature-inc ) News and blog ( /blog ) Photo gallery( /gallery) Staff( /staff ) 2016 Fish Sale & Fish Descriptions ( /2016-fish-sale-fi sh-descriptions ) Aeration System & Parts ( /aeration-system-parts ) Beneficial Microbes, Trace Minerals & Enzymes (/beneficial-microbes-trace-mineralsenzymes ) Services ( /services ) Tilapia for Pond Management( /tilapia-for-pond-management ) Tools & Chemicals ( /tools-chemicals ) Contact us ( /contact ) Mailing list( /mailinglist ) Northwest Ohio\'s Natural Pond & Lake Resource ( /description ) Before You Stock Fish ( /before-you-stock-fish ) Commonly Used Pond Chemicals (/commonlyused-pond-chemicals ) Copper Compounds as Algaecides ( /copper-compounds-as-algaecides ) Download Files ( /files ) Few Facts on Sun Fish ( /few-facts-on-sun-fish ) Holistic Pond Management( /holistic-pond-management ) What Are Beneficial Mircobes? ( /what-are-beneficial-mircobes ) Why Aeration Is Important( /why-aeration-is-important ) Few Facts on Sun Fish | Inspired By Nature http://www.ibnature.com/few-facts-on-sun-fish

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