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to stimulate the growth of algae. "It is generally considered to be the most <br />essential single element in pond fertilization, and the first nutrient to <br />become a limiting factor for plant growth (Piper, et al., 1986)". A total of <br />4.54 Kg of phosphate and 80.5 Kg of alfalfa pellets were added to pond #3 <br />between 13 May and 29 June (Table 5.). Zooplankton was first noticed 5 June, <br />23 days after initial pond fertilization. It is not known whether any <br />zooplankton was positively identified. <br />On 10 June, 1500 razorback sucker fry, 4-5 days old, were added to pond #3. <br />After 41 days, on 21 July, a sample of 27 fish was removed from the pond, and <br />compared to a total of 321 fish (originally 600) used in feed trials. The <br />feed trial fish were fed one of five different commercial starting diets, and <br />confined to compartmentalized tanks in densities of 40 fish per compartment.. <br />Both groups of fish were weighed and measured. The pond fish ranged in size <br />from 40-55 mm TL and weighed a total of 23.48 g (0.87 g/fish). The feed trial <br />• fish ranged in size from 13-27 mm TL and weighed a total of 13.21 g (0.04 <br />g/fish). The difference in sizes and weights are probably due to the <br />following reasons: 1) differences in the size of tank compartments (8"x6"x611) <br />verses the pond (1/10 acre), 2) differences in fish densities between tank <br />compartments and the pond, 3) differences in water temperatures between the <br />tanks and the pond, 4) differences in dissolved oxygen levels of the tanks <br />verses the pond, 5) the amount of food available to the fish in the tanks <br />verses those in the pond. <br />The fish in the tanks were fed a total of 0.01 g of diet, per compartment, <br />per day. Feedings took place five to eight times a day. The fish in the pond <br />had an unlimited food supply, 24 hours a day. In addition to the plankton <br />available, other possible food sources, as the fish grew larger, may have <br />included algae, aquatic plants, aquatic insect larvae and adults, aquatic