Should You Use Grass Carp For Water Weed Control?

Managing the aquatic plants in a pond, or any body of water is very important. Why you say? Simple, since for whatever reason, you have chosen that you do not want it to be there. No matter if these plants have generated some type of hindrance for swimming children, or have have clogged up the engine on your favorite boat, you want them to be gone, and there’s many ways to do it.

Of course you can use chemical substances, plastic lining, freezing, manually pulling, or even dye, however these are mighty strenuous, and there is no guarantee that your pond, or even the fish, will ever be anywhere near what it was following such an effort. Therefore it is about time to have a look at different methods—methods which will not damage you OR the pond.

In 1963, a brand new fish was introduced in to the U.S. ecological, and this fish was known as the Grass Carp. It was deliberately introduced into our ecosystem for the simple purpose of eliminating aquatic plants, and thus far it’s done a great job. In the United States, A Grass Carp is commonly called the White Amur, presumably because of the fact that the word Carp has derogatory meanings here in the U.S., and the name “Amur” is a reference to the river that the fish originates from, the river that runs the border between China and Russia.

The Grass Carp, is what’s known as an intrusive species, meaning that it’ll reproduce and take over any ecosystem which it’s introduced into (similar to humans), but fortunately science has come far, and though it required a lot of time, as well as lots of gene manipulation, sterilizing the Grass Carp finally became standard all over the world so that it’s introduction does not harm or destroy the local ecology.

Another detail to take into account, is the fact that the Grass Carp does not consume everything, of course it enjoys plants, and would eat most of it, but as with human being, there are items that it prefers more than others. A few of the items which the Grass Carp does like, are:

Coontail
Spikerush
Smartweed
Bladderwort
Bulrush
Water hyssop
Eelgrass

There are many additional grasses, and a visit to the library, a web search, or a consultation with a professional would immediately let you know what the grass carp will eat.

When purchased in large amounts, Grass Carp is pretty inexpensive, at about $10-20 per fish, which is very reasonable when you consider how long it’ll last; living for about 10-11 years.

In certain states, you’ll be required to get a license prior to putting Grass Carp into any sort of water, whether it is owned by you. To discover if that’s necessary, talk to a game warden near you, or simply examine the regulations of your state, as this info is freely accessible to anyone that needs it.

As you can see, Grass Carp are an excellent alternative to using chemical compounds, or even lining the pond with a plastic cover, because not just are these perfect for ridding you of unwanted plant life, you must also keep in mind that this is a symbiotic relationship, you give something they desire, and then they give their services to you, preventing you from having to do this yourself. Overall, that’s a great deal.

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