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Introduction
WATER QUALITY includes all physical, chemical, and biological factors that
influence the beneficial use of water, Where fish culture is concerned, any
characteristic of water that affects the survival, reproduction, growth, production,
or management of fish in any way is a water quality variable. Obviously, there
are many water quality variables in pond fish culture. Fortunately, only a
few of these normally play an important role. These are the variables that
fish culturists should
concentrate on, and attempt to control to some extent by management techniques.
All other things being equal, a pond with "good" water quality
will produce more and healthier fish than a pond with "poor" water
quality. In this report an attempt is made to define "good" water
quality for fish culture. Information is also presented which will help in
determining the potential of a body of water fer producing fish, improving
water quality, avoiding stresslplated fish disease and parasite problems,
maintaining fish for it-search purposes, and ultimately producing more fish
per unit of surface area. The following discussion of water quality is brief,
but an attempt has been made to cover the most important points. The first
part is concerned with general aspects of water quality which influence fish
production. Next, several important water quality management techniques are
outlined in simple form. Finally, some suggestions are made regarding water
analysis in fish culture. Also included is a glossary which contains definitions
of the technical terms. "The information in this report is essentially
a summary of the book, Water Quality in Warmwater Fish Ponds, by Boyd (17).
This book may be consulted for more details and for additional references
to the literature on water quality in ponds.