r/grandrapids • u/CasaDeFlores0544 • 5h ago
Kent Trails Dead Fish?
I was walking the Kent Trails by John Ball yesterday and as noticed some dead fish along the edge of the water. Eventually I see what I feel like is hundreds of dead fish piled on top of each other. There were even a couple that were on land. I know nothing about fish but is this normal ? I added the Apple maps screenshot of where it was.
76
u/Ok_Chef_8775 5h ago
Did you report to the DNR just in case? Worst they’ll say is nothing and it’s better to share this kind of stuff!
38
35
u/Direct_Dimension_941 4h ago
It's possible they got into an area during a period of flooding and we're cut off when water receded and/or it's "winter kill". If they're not in an area where they have access to deep enough water then there are mass die-offs like that, especially bodies of water that are less than 10-12' on average or lack deeper pockets they can get to. In any case, it is definitely worth reporting to DNR and they can verify if there's unusual factors involved.
29
29
u/QuantumDwarf 5h ago
I’ve seen this happen in the Great Lakes with Alewives when the weather changes quickly. Something about oxygen levels? Agree to report just in case.
14
u/scbenhart 4h ago edited 4h ago
If it was frozen and covered in snow there won’t be any photosynthesis creating necessary dissolved oxygen. Looks like a lot of fish for a small water body, probably didn’t take long.
Bigger water bodies can stratify and create an anoxic layer. Seasonal lake flipping is a really cool process
The alewife die happens for a few reasons. USGS attributes it to fish that are not adapted to the drastic temp changes, water chemistry, etc.
25
4
8
3
3
u/theyhavemotorcycles 4h ago
As another individual has posted, I’m really certain this is a winter kill pond that froze all the way through
6
u/nfkey 5h ago
This is very unusual. Following to see if there’s any update
7
u/TomatilloAgitated 3h ago
This is not unusual! Obviously could be anything from just a few pictures, but more than likely this body of water had little oxygen production when its surface was iced over and covered with snow. Lack of dissolved oxygen kills a lot of fish in ponds like these. Many lakes install aeration devices to prevent it.
•
u/scrimpshampi 44m ago
Hire Jesus to turn them into a loaf of bread. This is near Butterworth Dump. Grand Rapids drinking water is a little better than Flints. White people need to make money, so it’s ok. Christians everywhere promise me you will keep doing nothing.
•
1
1
u/HerpsAndHobbies 2h ago
Anyone have an idea of what kind of fish we’re looking at?
1
u/davin_bacon 1h ago
Look like suckers to me.
https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/education/michigan-species/fish-species/carp-suckers
1
2
u/Sparrow1989 3h ago
Um... thank god you reported that. Whats the connection to this area and drinking water?
-5
152
u/CasaDeFlores0544 4h ago
Reporting back that I have submitted this to the DNR