Forage2026-10-03

Fathead minnows and golden shiners: how many per acre and when

Stock fathead minnows in a new pond a season before the bass, at somewhere between 300 fish and 15 pounds per acre depending on which agency you follow, and give them pallets or boards to spawn under. Expect the bass to eat them out within a year or two; that is what they are for. Golden shiners live longer and grow larger, can hold on where there is flooded grass to spawn in, and also compete with bluegill, so reserve them for a pond you are managing for big bass. Neither species is worth buying for a pond that already holds adult bass or a crowd of bluegill.

What the two species do

A fathead minnow is a temporary forage fish for a new pond. The SRAC fact sheet on forage fish says "Fatheads usually live less than 3 years and adults are typically less than 3 inches long," that "Males select the undersides of hard surfaces as nests," and that "Individual females spawn frequently, about twice a week, during much of April, May and June." It is blunt about their fate: "Fatheads are considered a temporary species and their numbers decrease rapidly in ponds with bass populations. Fathead minnows are also too small as adults to be good forage for large bass."

A golden shiner is a bigger, longer-lived fish. SRAC puts the maximum size "around 12 inches, but most golden shiners are less than 6 inches long," says they "scatter adhesive eggs on vegetation or supplied substrates such as hay," and warns that "Golden shiners are egg eaters and can reduce bass reproduction" and that "In ponds with largemouth bass a golden shiner population usually is not sustainable, so they must be restocked periodically." Purdue's Stocking Fish in Indiana Ponds lists golden shiners among species that "should not be introduced into ponds" because they "can easily overpopulate, outcompete desirable species and cause an imbalanced pond."

What the authorities say about rates and timing

The Missouri Department of Conservation Aquaguide says "Fathead minnows should be stocked at a rate of 300 to 500 minnows per surface acre," and that "fatheads should be stocked as soon as there is sufficient water, and at least one growing season (May to Sept.) before bass are introduced." Mississippi State's P1428 schedules "fathead minnows at 500 per acre with bluegills in the fall or winter; largemouth bass at 50 per acre stocked the following spring," and says they "provide abundant forage for largemouth bass during the first year of growth, but are of little benefit thereafter." Texas A&M AgriLife works in pounds: "In new ponds, fathead minnows should be stocked in the fall at 5-15 pounds per acre with bluegill and redear fingerlings, prior to stocking largemouth bass fingerlings in the spring." Purdue gives "3 pounds (750-1000 fish) per surface acre." The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff covers both species: "Fathead minnows and golden shiners can be stocked as a supplemental forage option for newly built or renovated ponds at a rate of 3 to 10 pounds of fish per surface acre," in "the fall year 1."

Published fathead minnow and golden shiner rates
Source	Rate per acre	Timing
Missouri Department of Conservation	300 to 500 fathead minnows	At least one growing season (May to September) before bass
Mississippi State P1428	500 fathead minnows	Fall or winter with bluegill, bass the following spring
Purdue FNR-569-W	3 pounds (750 to 1,000 fish) of fathead minnows	Before other species are introduced
Texas A&M AgriLife	5 to 15 pounds of fathead minnows, plus 5 to 25 pounds in spring	Fall with bluegill and redear, bass in spring
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff	3 to 10 pounds of fathead minnows or golden shiners	Fall of year one
UAPB (Scott Jones), supplemental stocking in mature ponds	10 to 50 or more pounds of either species	Fall

On substrate, SRAC says "Adding spawning substrate such as wooden pallets or boards to ponds should increase fathead minnow production," and Texas A&M lists "boards, pallets, plastic tarps and irrigation tubing." SRAC gives the temperature that starts spawning: "Spawning starts when the water temperature exceeds 64 ºF (18 ºC)."

On established ponds, the agencies agree. Missouri says stocking minnows into ponds with established fish "is not generally recommended" because they "would serve only as short-lived, expensive fish food." UAPB's Scott Jones says golden shiners "usually do not persist for more than a few months in mature ponds" and fatheads "are often eliminated from the pond within a few months requiring annual restocking." Texas A&M tells worried owners that losing sight of the minnows "within a couple of months of stocking largemouth bass or catfish" is "okay as fathead minnows are stocked to increase first-year growth of bass and bluegill."

What Pond Boss members do

Forum rates run higher than the agency ones. CJBS2003 (Ambassador Field Correspondent, Hall of Fame) calls 5 to 10 pounds per acre the rule of thumb and told the owner of a 0.6 acre pond to go with the low end. esshup (Moderator, Ambassador Field Correspondent) advised 10 or more pounds per acre in April with 3,000 bluegill. Bill Cody (Moderator, Ambassador Field Correspondent) makes the production claim everyone repeats: fatheads "stocked at 5-8 lbs per acre in summer can produce 80-100 lbs of minnows per acre by end of summer," writing about a yellow perch and smallmouth pond. Bob Lusk (Editor, Pond Boss Magazine) reports an outcome from a 50 acre Florida lake: 500 fatheads and 500 bluegill per acre for a year, then 3 inch bass stocked in May that averaged 12 inches by late September.

On structure, ewest (Moderator, Hall of Fame 2014) wants pallets laid flat in shallow water, kept to about four locations. esshup points out that the two spawn differently: shiners broadcast their eggs over fine grass while fatheads nest on the underside of a surface, so stacked pallets or 10 to 12 inch rip rap serve both.

On the bass question, the forum confirms the agencies. Pat Williamson reported that bucket-stocked bass in a 5 acre pond spawned and ate up all the fathead minnows. Bill Cody says fatheads grow bass 2 to 8 inches long, and once bass hit 10 inches they are a waste of money. Restocking every year splits the forum: teehjaeh57 (Chairman, Moderator) restocks 5,000 to 8,000 fatheads annually in a third-acre perch and bluegill pond because they are cheap, while Bill Cody calls "annually dumping fathead minnows" wasting money unless the fish can reproduce.

On golden shiners, CJBS2003 stocks 5 pounds per acre of brooder-sized shiners once fatheads dwindle. esshup warns that shiners not established before the bass likely never will be. His best outcome is a 4 acre pond where spring water rises 6 to 12 inches over shoreline grass. In his own equal stocking of both species, no fatheads could be found after year three while shiners remained. On competition, CJBS2003 says shiners can overpopulate a pond; ewest disagrees that they take over where adult bluegill are present, saying they only compete. Theo Gallus (Moderator) says if big bream are the goal, do not stock shiners at all, and consider skipping fatheads too.

Where the tiers differ

The rate spread is wide. Missouri's 300 to 500 fish is roughly one to two pounds using Purdue's conversion of 750 to 1,000 fish to 3 pounds. Texas A&M's upper end is 15 pounds and the forum habit is 5 to 10. Fatheads breed fast, so the extra pounds mostly buy time. Bill Cody's 80 to 100 pounds by fall is a practitioner estimate; no agency document I found measures the standing crop. Golden shiner counts per acre circulate from hatcheries and lake-management firms; the only authoritative per-acre figures I found are UAPB's. On shiners generally, Purdue says do not stock them in Indiana, SRAC calls them an excellent forage that eats eggs, and the forum uses them in trophy-bass ponds with eyes open.

What to do

Decide what the pond is for. If the goal is big bluegill, or the pond already holds adult bass, skip both species. One owner reported that bluegill alone ate every fathead and shiner stocked into a small pond.
In a new or renovated pond, stock fatheads with the bluegill, a full season before bass. In the South that is fall with bass the next spring; Missouri prefers spring or summer so the minnows get a May to September growing season. ewest describes a northern variant where fatheads and bass go in first and bluegill follow up to a year later.
Pick a rate inside the published range, 3 to 15 pounds per acre, and buy mixed sizes so you get both sexes, as Missouri advises. The PondTools stocking-plan calculator (also standalone) takes pond area in acres, whether you fertilize, your goal (balanced, trophy bass, trophy bluegill or catfish only), North or South, and checkboxes for redear and catfish, and it includes 5 pounds of fatheads per acre beside the bluegill, redear, catfish and bass counts.
Sink three or four pallet stacks or board clusters in water under 3 feet before the fish arrive. Add shoreline grass or rip rap if shiners are planned.
Add golden shiners only after the fatheads are established and only for a bass-growth goal. If they cannot find flooded vegetation to spawn in, plan on buying them again.
Do not restock fatheads into a pond with 10 inch or larger bass expecting a population. The stocking sequence article covers what else should be in the water first.

What the two species do

What the authorities say about rates and timing

What Pond Boss members do

Where the tiers differ

What to do

Sources