Aquaculture Solutions of East Mississippi
Threadfin shad, are used as forage fish because they remain relatively small, usually less than 7 inches. Threadfin are a schooling, open-water fish and grow well in productive ponds. Shad are filter-feeders and feed mainly on zooplankton and some larger phytoplankton. Threadfin shad spawn starting at 67 to 70 ºF (19 to 21 ºC) and broadcast adhesive eggs over vegetation and woody debris. Prolific spawners, shad mature in less than 1 year and produce large quantities of eggs.
Check out this article and read it for yourself
Threadfin Shad: Natures algae filter
Green, Perschbacher, Ludwig, and Duke (2010) showed clear impacts of threadfin shad on catfish pond plankton communities. Although shad did not affect total phytoplankton biomass, they decreased the abundance of all taxonomic groups of zooplankton and altered phytoplankton community structure. Phytoplankton in ponds without shad consisted mainly (53–60%) of bloom-forming cyanobacteria in the genera Planktothrix, Anabaena, Aphanizomenon, and Microcystis. Cyanobacteria constituted only 2–3% of the phytoplankton in ponds with shad; communities consisted mainly of diatoms, green algae, and other eukaryotic phytoplankton. Notably, P. perornata—the most common producer of 2-methlisoborneal in catfish ponds—was present in several ponds without shad but was not observed in ponds with shad.
Mischke et al. (2012) confirmed the general findings of Green et al. (2010) and added an important new observation. Mischke et al. (2012) found, as expected, that size-selective filter-feeding by shad reduced cyanobacterial abundance and increased the relative abundance of smaller eukaryotic phytoplankton and small zooplankton (rotifers). On a target harvest date in late September, seven of 10 catfish-only ponds had populations of odorous cyanobacteria (P. perornata and Anabaena spp.). Only two of the 10 ponds with shad contained odorous cyanobacteria. Corresponding to the reduced incidence of odor-producing cyanobacteria, fish from seven of 10 catfish-only ponds were off-flavored (all caused by either 2-MIB or geosmin) whereas fish from three of 10 ponds with shad were off-flavored (catfish in two ponds had mixed off-flavors caused by 2-MIB and geosmin; fish in one pond had an off-flavor described as “stale”). Off-flavors were also noticeably less intense in fish from ponds with shad.
Stocking Rates
200 Fish per acre
Tucker, C. S., & Schrader, K. K. (2020). Off-flavors in pond-grown ictalurid catfish: Causes and management options. Journal of the World Aquaculture Society, 51(1), 7-92. https://doi.org/10.1111/jwas.12672
Threadfin shad, are used as forage fish because they remain relatively small, usually less than 7 inches. Threadfin are a schooling, open-water fish and grow well in productive ponds. Shad are filter-feeders and feed mainly on zooplankton and some larger phytoplankton. Threadfin shad spawn starting at 67 to 70 ºF (19 to 21 ºC) and broadcast adhesive eggs over vegetation and woody debris. Prolific spawners, shad mature in less than 1 year and produce large quantities of eggs.
Check out this article and read it for yourself
Threadfin Shad: Natures algae filter
Green, Perschbacher, Ludwig, and Duke (2010) showed clear impacts of threadfin shad on catfish pond plankton communities. Although shad did not affect total phytoplankton biomass, they decreased the abundance of all taxonomic groups of zooplankton and altered phytoplankton community structure. Phytoplankton in ponds without shad consisted mainly (53–60%) of bloom-forming cyanobacteria in the genera Planktothrix, Anabaena, Aphanizomenon, and Microcystis. Cyanobacteria constituted only 2–3% of the phytoplankton in ponds with shad; communities consisted mainly of diatoms, green algae, and other eukaryotic phytoplankton. Notably, P. perornata—the most common producer of 2-methlisoborneal in catfish ponds—was present in several ponds without shad but was not observed in ponds with shad.
Mischke et al. (2012) confirmed the general findings of Green et al. (2010) and added an important new observation. Mischke et al. (2012) found, as expected, that size-selective filter-feeding by shad reduced cyanobacterial abundance and increased the relative abundance of smaller eukaryotic phytoplankton and small zooplankton (rotifers). On a target harvest date in late September, seven of 10 catfish-only ponds had populations of odorous cyanobacteria (P. perornata and Anabaena spp.). Only two of the 10 ponds with shad contained odorous cyanobacteria. Corresponding to the reduced incidence of odor-producing cyanobacteria, fish from seven of 10 catfish-only ponds were off-flavored (all caused by either 2-MIB or geosmin) whereas fish from three of 10 ponds with shad were off-flavored (catfish in two ponds had mixed off-flavors caused by 2-MIB and geosmin; fish in one pond had an off-flavor described as “stale”). Off-flavors were also noticeably less intense in fish from ponds with shad.