Source: AgriLife Today
Dr. Billy Higginbotham, wildlife specialist in Overton, stated that landowners with stocked fish ponds should be aware of possible problems with oxygen depletion as hot, still days become more prevalent. The summer months, between June and September, when the outside air is increasingly hot and pond water temperatures climb, are the time of year when oxygen depletion occur most for a variety of reasons. Oxygen production via photosynthesis can slow or stop from several hot, still, cloudy days and fish continue to use oxygen until it falls below 3 parts per million gallons which stresses fish, Higginbotham said. Fish will begin swimming to the surface to try to obtain enough oxygen to survive at the air-water interface.
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