odd question
 

I know maybe this isn't the newsgroup to ask this question but you all
seem pretty intelligent to me. I was driving past a man made lake today
and was wondering... If big enough and left long enough, would a body of
water eventually get fish in it? If so, how would would they get there?
I thought about bird droppings, which would work for seeds, but not for
fish eggs. Maybe this is a silly question but I thought I'd ask and
see if anybody here knows the answer.

Pat

Well, it would probably take a little while for any to evolve, but I suppose the usual way for them to get in somewhere like that would be because of nearby rivers flooding, unless it was near the Everglades and has fish capable of crawling over-land.

"PatK" wrote in message
...
I know maybe this isn't the newsgroup to ask this question but you all seem
pretty intelligent to me. I was driving past a man made lake today and was
wondering... If big enough and left long enough, would a body of water
eventually get fish in it? If so, how would would they get there? I thought
about bird droppings, which would work for seeds, but not for fish eggs.
Maybe this is a silly question but I thought I'd ask and see if anybody
here knows the answer.

Pat

It seems the answer to your question is YES.

The article I read stated that one way bodies of water are populated with
fish is by storms scooping fish out of one place and dropping them in
another.

Another way is ducks & other birds landing in the water and carrying
fish eggs in their feathers to another body of water.

Marv-Montezuma, IA
http://community.webshots.com/user/vmwood

"Hound Dog" wrote in message
...

"PatK" wrote in message
...
I know maybe this isn't the newsgroup to ask this question but you all
seem pretty intelligent to me. I was driving past a man made lake today
and was wondering... If big enough and left long enough, would a body of
water eventually get fish in it? If so, how would would they get there? I
thought about bird droppings, which would work for seeds, but not for fish
eggs. Maybe this is a silly question but I thought I'd ask and see if
anybody here knows the answer.

Pat

It seems the answer to your question is YES.

The article I read stated that one way bodies of water are populated with
fish is by storms scooping fish out of one place and dropping them in
another.

First, it depends on the source of the water. If they took a stream and
made a damn and created a lake, then yes, it will have fish. If it is
run-off water (from higher areas around the lake) then it won't --
initially.

Certain birds will carry fish a distance before stopping to eat it and it is
possible, I suppose, that they will eventually drop a fish in a body of
water. BTW, the first resident (until he finds out there are no fish) will
probably be a snapping turtle who can travel long distances over ground.

However, most man-made ponds are just simple stocked with fish to create a
healthy body of water. Stagnant water with no life creates scummy,
algea-ridden, mosquito havens -- obviously not a good idea. Locally, we
have a traveling band of fish salesman who will sell us large and small
mouth bass, catfish, albino catfish, perch and feeder minnows as well as Koi
for those foo-foo farmers who have to have perty fish in their ponds.

And, just FYI: it's a pond if it is under an acre in size. If it is an acre
or larger it is called a "lake" and the tax bracket is adjusted
appropriately.

Giselle

Rev "Fragile Warrior" wrote:

"Hound Dog" wrote in message
...


"PatK" wrote in message
...


I know maybe this isn't the newsgroup to ask this question but you all
seem pretty intelligent to me. I was driving past a man made lake today
and was wondering... If big enough and left long enough, would a body of
water eventually get fish in it? If so, how would would they get there? I
thought about bird droppings, which would work for seeds, but not for fish
eggs. Maybe this is a silly question but I thought I'd ask and see if
anybody here knows the answer.

Pat


It seems the answer to your question is YES.

The article I read stated that one way bodies of water are populated with
fish is by storms scooping fish out of one place and dropping them in
another.



First, it depends on the source of the water. If they took a stream and
made a damn and created a lake, then yes, it will have fish. If it is
run-off water (from higher areas around the lake) then it won't --
initially.

Certain birds will carry fish a distance before stopping to eat it and it is
possible, I suppose, that they will eventually drop a fish in a body of
water. BTW, the first resident (until he finds out there are no fish) will
probably be a snapping turtle who can travel long distances over ground.

However, most man-made ponds are just simple stocked with fish to create a
healthy body of water. Stagnant water with no life creates scummy,
algea-ridden, mosquito havens -- obviously not a good idea. Locally, we
have a traveling band of fish salesman who will sell us large and small
mouth bass, catfish, albino catfish, perch and feeder minnows as well as Koi
for those foo-foo farmers who have to have perty fish in their ponds.

And, just FYI: it's a pond if it is under an acre in size. If it is an acre
or larger it is called a "lake" and the tax bracket is adjusted
appropriately.

Giselle

It was just a hypothetical question. If somebody were to scoop out a
hole in the ground, fill it with water and just let it sit, whether or
not it would eventually get fish in it. I wasn't talking about a
particular one I saw, just a general question. But you all gave me a few
scenarios to think about. Thanks. G

Pat

"Janet Baraclough" wrote in message
...
The message
from "Hound Dog" contains these words:


The article I read stated that one way bodies of water are populated with
fish is by storms scooping fish out of one place and dropping them in
another.

So some of them would get dropped on land, right? Just how many times
have you noticed stranded fish flapping around your lawn/road/city?

Janet.

Never have looked that hard, but I don't think they would last very long out
of water especially ones small enough to get sucked up in a blast of air.

Janet Baraclough wrote in
:

The message
from "Hound Dog" contains these words:


The article I read stated that one way bodies of water are populated
with fish is by storms scooping fish out of one place and dropping
them in another.

So some of them would get dropped on land, right? Just how many
times
have you noticed stranded fish flapping around your lawn/road/city?

Janet.


Actually, they do, but very shortly afterward they hit dry ground they
magically transform into something different. I forget the scientific
name for the result, but some of the common names a baked fish, coyote
fudge, vulture droppings and worm food.

Seems like amphibians have a higher chance for a joyride through the sky,
though.

As for the original question, I think there was a imported snakefish
invasion in Maryland where the fish supposedly climbed out of the water
to infest other ponds. Other, less mobile fish may have to rely on
floods or cyclonic action.

Janet Baraclough wrote:
The message
from "Hound Dog" contains these words:

The article I read stated that one way bodies of water are populated with
fish is by storms scooping fish out of one place and dropping them in
another.

So some of them would get dropped on land, right? Just how many times
have you noticed stranded fish flapping around your lawn/road/city?

I was once riding my bike on a flooded stretch of road and got a little
fish caught up in the spokes of my wheel. So I guess that'd count as "at
least once."