Should You Use Grass Carp For Aquatic Plant Control?
Controlling the aquatic plants in a pond, or any other body of water is extremely critical. Why you ask? Simple, because for whatever reason, you’ve chosen that you don’t want it to be there. Whether those plants have generated some sort of hindrance for swimmers, or have just clogged up the motor on your favorite boat, you want them gone, and there’s many ways of doing this.
Of course you can use chemicals, plastic lining, freezing, manually pulling, or perhaps even dye, however those are fairly inconvenient, and there is no guarantee that your pond, or fish, will actually be anywhere near what it was after such an effort. Therefore it is time to look into different means—techniques which will not damage you OR the pond.
Around nineteen sixty-three, a brand new fish was placed in the United States ecological, and this fish was called the Grass Carp. It was purposefully integrated into the ecosystem for one reason of eradicating aquatic plant life, and so far it’s done a great job. In the United States, the Grass Carp is commonly called a White Amur, probably because of the fact that the word Carp holds derogatory meanings here in the United States., and the name “Amur” refers to the river which this fish originates from, the river that borders China and Russia.
The Grass Carp, is what’s referred to as an intrusive species, indicating that it’ll reproduce and take over the ecosystem that it is placed into (sort of like humans), however science has come far, and while it took a lot of time, and lots of gene manipulation, sterilizing the Grass Carp became standard everywhere in the world so that the introduction does not harm or eradicate the ecosystem.
Another thing to take into account, is that the Grass Carp does not consume every kind of grass, of course it enjoys plants, and would consume the vast majority of it, however as humans, there are things which it enjoys over others. A few of the things which the Grass Carp does enjoy, are:
Coontail
Spikerush
Smartweed
Bladderwort
Bulrush
Water hyssop
Eelgrass
There’s several others, and a quick trip to the library, a web query, or talking with a professional would immediately let you know what the grass carp will eat.
When purchased in large amounts, Grass Carp is fairly cheap, at about $10-20 per fish, and that is very reasonable considering how long it will last; surviving for about ten to eleven years.
In certain states, you will be required to get a license prior to putting Grass Carp into any body of water, even if it is owned by you. To find out if that’s required, talk to a game warden near you, or just check the laws of the state, since that info is freely accessible to anyone that requires it.
Clearly, Grass Carp are a great alternate means from using chemical compounds, or even lining your pond with a plastic cover, because not just are they perfect for getting rid of undesired plants, you must additionally remember that this is a symbiotic relationship, you give something that they desire, and then they give a service to you, preventing you from needing to do it on your own. Overall, that’s a good exchange.