Phytoplankton play an outsized role in catfish pond ecology and are involved with ammonia removal, both dissolved oxygen concentration, and catfish off-flavors. Understanding factors influencing phytoplankton community dynamics will provide a better understanding of how major aspects of catfish pond production are regulated. Our goal was to evaluate the interplay between nitrogen, suspended solids, and turbidity as predictors of chlorophyll concentration, phytoplankton composition, and oxygen production through photosynthesis. Weekly water quality analyses were conducted with samples collected from 8 catfish ponds (0.25-acre) stocked with blue catfish (Ictalurus furcatus). Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and total nitrogen were measured using Hach TNT kits and a spectrophotometer, turbidity was using turbidimeter and suspended solids using standard methods. Photosynthetic production of oxygen and respiration by phytoplankton were measured in an illuminated incubator with shaker plates and changes in dissolved oxygen concentration were measured with a BOD probe. Using volatile suspended solids (VSS), turbidity, and organic N as predictor variables, total chlorophyll concentration was best predicted by organic N concentration (R2 = 0.81). Organic N was also a good predictor of cyanobacteria (R2 = 0.71), but not chlorophytes (R2 = 0.03), likely because cyanobacteria tend to dominate as the phytoplankton community changes over the production season. Net oxygen production is best explained by VSS (R2=0.48), followed closely by chlorophyll concentration (R2=0.45). Organic N can reliably be used as a surrogate for total chlorophyll, but understanding other aspects of pond dynamics requires larger, more complex datasets.