Pond Turnover?

[notimlmit]

About 6 years ago my fathers pond suffered what we thought was a turnover. I had it stocked with bass, crappie, catfish and bluegill which were healthy and of quality size. One day my father called and told me dead fish were everywhere. At first we thought maybe a neighbors cows,which share the pond, had been doctored for flys and got into the pond to cool had been the culprit. Later the pond turned a blackish color which I knew was turnover. Well some smaller fish did survive and started to grow so I wasn't overly concerned. Last night I went back to frog gig the pond, which I did well, but noticed dead fish floating everywhere again. I also saw the cattle in the pond at the far end upon arrival. This pond is roughly 1 acre in size and 12' deep in the middle. I know it's been extremly hot without rain for some time but is this normal? My father passed away in 03' and my stepmom still lives there but now she is putting the small farm up for sale. If not for this I would buy something to circulate the water to make oxygen for the fish. How often do ponds turnover or do you guys think the cattle have been doctored with something that kills the fish? Not that it's really going to matter now but I'm curious. thanks

[trust me]

Ponds turn over in the fall when the cooler water on top sinks and flushes the warm water to the top, bringing sediments and decayed matter up with it.

Sounds like your fish are oxygen deprived. All the sunlight and warm water causes bacteria to multipy, vegetation to decay,and this uses up the oxygen. I guess that you need some running water to oxygenate it.

[nwest]

My parent's nieghbor has been pumping water in his all summer. He set up an old irrigation pump and runs it for about a hour every afternoon.

[mrdux]

The cattle are stirring up bottom sediment and the pond is probably oxygen low. An aerator would help greatly but the best thing would be a good rain and cooler temps.

[Rat]

My guess is that the cows are creating the biggest problem for your pond. They are probably stirring up too much sediment which is blocking the light from penetrating and keeping the underwater plants from growing. Without the aquatic vegation and no natural spring, you will not have enough O2 in the pond.

[huntindawoods]

dude several people has been coming in the store saying the same thing so maybe it does have something to do with the weather