Should You Use Grass Carp For Water Plant Control?

Posted under environment by Dave Duncan

Managing the aquatic plants within a pond, or any body of water is quite critical. Why is this you ask? Well, because for whatever reason, you’ve chosen that you don’t want it there. No matter if those plants have create some type of nuisance for swimming children, or have just clogged up the motor on a favorite motorboat, you want them gone, and there’s many ways to do it.

Naturally you could utilize chemicals, plastic lining, freezing, manually pulling them up, or even dye, but these are fairly strenuous, and there’s no guarantee that the pond, or fish, would ever be anywhere near what it was after such an effort. Therefore it’s about time to look into alternative methods-techniques which won’t damage you OR the pond.

Around nineteen sixty-three, a brand new fish was introduced in to the United States ecology, and that fish was known as the Grass Carp. This fish was purposefully introduced into our ecosystem for one reason of eliminating aquatic plants, and so far it’s done a great job. In the United States, A Grass Carp is commonly referred to as a White Amur, presumably because of the fact that the phrase Carp holds negative meanings here in the United States., and the name “Amur” is a reference to the river that this fish originates from, the river which borders China and Russia.

The Grass Carp, is what is referred to as an aggressive species, indicating that it will reproduce and take over any ecosystem which it is placed in (similar to humans), but fortunately science has come far, and though it required some time, and lots of gene manipulation, sterilizing a Grass Carp finally became standard everywhere in the world so that the integration doesn’t hurt or destroy the ecosystem.

Another detail to note, is that the Grass Carp does not consume everything, naturally it enjoys plant life, and would eat the vast majority of it, but just like with human being, there are items that it prefers more than others. A couple of the items that the Grass Carp will like, are:

Coontail Spikerush Smartweed Bladderwort Bulrush Water hyssop Eelgrass

There are several additional grasses, and a visit to the library, an Internet search, or talking with a professional would quickly reveal what the grass carp will consume.

When purchased in bulk, Grass Carp is fairly cheap, at about $10-20 per fish, and that is perfectly reasonable considering how long it’ll last; living for about ten to eleven years.

In certain states, you will be required to acquire a license prior to putting Grass Carp into any sort of water, whether it is owned by you. To find out if this is necessary, speak with the game warden in your area, or simply examine the regulations of your state, as that information is readily accessible to any person who requires it.

Clearly, Grass Carp are a great alternate means to using chemicals, or even lining your pond with a plastic cover, because not only are they great for ridding you of unwanted plant life, you must additionally keep in mind that it’s an interdependent relationship, you give the thing they desire, and then they give a service to you, preventing you from having to do it yourself. On the whole, this is a good trade.

Before you aquire Grass Carp, make sure you check Dave Duncan’s excellent website on Grass Carp, www.grasscarp.com

categories: grass carp, aquatic weed control, control aquatic weeds, aquatic plant control