Should You Use Grass Carp For Aquatic Plant Control?
Friday, December 25th, 2009 | Always Online
Managing the plant life within a pond, or in any body of water is extremely important. Why you say? Well, because for some reason or another, you’ve chosen that you don’t desire it there. No matter if those plants have create some type of nuisance for swimming children, or have just simply stopped up the motor on your favorite boat, you wish them gone, and there are several methods of doing this.
Naturally you can utilize chemicals, plastic lining, freezing, manually pulling them up, or perhaps even dye, however these are fairly strenuous, and there’s no guarantee that your pond, or even the fish, would actually be the same again following such an effort. Therefore it’s about time to look into different means—methods that will not damage you OR your pond.
Around 1963, a brand new fish was introduced in to the U.S. ecological, and this fish was called the Grass Carp. It was purposefully introduced into our ecosystem for the simple purpose of eliminating aquatic plants, and thus far it has done a great job. Here in the United States, the Grass Carp is often referred to as the White Amur, presumably because the phrase Carp holds derogatory meanings here in the U.S., and the name “Amur” is a reference to the river that this fish comes from, a river which borders China and Russia.
The Grass Carp, is what’s referred to as an intrusive species, meaning that it’ll reproduce and take over the ecosystem that it’s placed into (similar to humans), however science has progressed far, and though it took some time, and a lot of gene manipulation, sterilizing the Grass Carp became standard everywhere in the world so that it’s introduction does not hurt or destroy the ecosystem.
Another detail to note, is the fact that the Grass Carp doesn’t eat every kind of grass, of course it loves plant life, and will consume the vast majority of it, however just like humans, there are things which it enjoys over others. A few of the things that the Grass Carp will like, are:
Coontail
Spikerush
Smartweed
Bladderwort
Bulrush
Water hyssop
Eelgrass
There’s several others, and a quick trip to a library, an Internet query, or a consultation with a professional would quickly reveal the things a grass carp would eat.
When purchased in large amounts, Grass Carp is pretty inexpensive, ranging from about $10-20 per fish, which is very reasonable considering how long it will last; surviving for around 10-11 years.
In some states, you’ll need to get a license before you place Grass Carp into any body of water, whether it is owned by you. To find out if that’s required, speak with a game warden in your area, or simply check the regulations of your state, as this info is freely accessible to anyone that requires it.
Clearly, Grass Carp are a great alternate means to utilizing chemical compounds, or even lining the pond with plastic, because not only are they great for getting rid of unwanted plants, you should additionally remember that it’s an interdependent relationship, you give the thing they want, and then they provide their services to you, keeping you from having to do it yourself. Overall, that’s a great trade.