Pond stocking?

[CATCHDAWG]

So several years ago my pond flipped and all the fish died other than some bluegill that are now stunted, maybe three inches long and there is a lot of them as well as a ton of tiny minnows. Fish truck was in town this weekend and I bought 25 Florida strain largemouth about three inches long and 100 shell crackers about a inch long. This was the correct stocking rate using the pond calculator for a 1/4 acre pond. I can only assume the calculation is based on 100% survival rate and there is no way to know how many fish will actually survive . So my question is, should I add more or will this be enough. I know the bluegill problem will not correct itself which is why I went with the shell crackers but it appears they don't spawn until a couple years old and 25 bass doesn't sound like much to me even for a small pond. Fish truck will be back in a couple of weeks, should I buy more or stick with the suggested rate? Last thing I want is to have to many and not grow.

 

[WTM]

the negative of adding more fish is you will be reducing the available food until the bass get big enough to feed on the minnows and stunted bluegills.

why did the pond turn over? maybe has a lot of organics or grass in the pond. my son had tyat problem and we had to remove the milfoil in the pond and add an air bubbler and some dye.

 

[CATCHDAWG]

the negative of adding more fish is you will be reducing the available food until the bass get big enough to feed on the minnows and stunted bluegills.

why did the pond turn over? maybe has a lot of organics or grass in the pond. my son had tyat problem and we had to remove the milfoil in the pond and add an air bubbler and some dye.

Very little grass or moss, it's turned two times in the 26 years I've been here. Both times was during a extremely hot/dry spell and then came a hard cold rain. But yes, I'm gonna add a aerator. Some of the minnows are basically fry sized and I think the 3 inch bass can already eat them.

 

[Hduke86]

I would honestly stay with what you got and focus on a forage base and stock minnows in high numbers. Add a good bubbler and dye the pond. Have you tested the water to see what the quality is like cause you may need to add something and get the balance correct to start a good foundation. If it were me I would act like it's a new pond and get the water right and load up on forage food and get that base down. Make it to were you have a good supply of minnows that can replenish own their own and maybe supplement with a automatic fish feeder.