Should You Use Grass Carp For Aquatic Weed Control?

Containing the aquatic plants in a pond, or any other body of water is extremely critical. Why you say? Well, since for whatever reason, you’ve chosen that you do not want it to be there. No matter if those plants have generated a sort of nuisance for swimming children, or have just simply stopped up the engine on a favorite motorboat, you want them gone, and there’s many methods of doing it.

Naturally you can utilize chemicals, plastic lining, freezing, manually pulling, or perhaps even dye, however these are fairly inconvenient, and there is no promise that the pond, or fish, would ever be anywhere near what it was following these actions. So it is time to look into different methods—techniques which will not damage you OR your pond.

Around 1963, a new fish was placed in the U.S. ecology, and that fish was known as the Grass Carp. It was deliberately integrated into our ecosystem for one reason of eliminating  aquatic plants, and so far it has done a great job. In the US, A Grass Carp is commonly referred to as the White Amur, presumably because the word Carp has negative interpretations here in the U.S., and the word “Amur” refers to the river that the fish originates from, a river that runs the border between China and Russia.

The Grass Carp, is what’s known as an intrusive species, indicating that it’ll multiply and take over the ecosystem that it is placed into (sort of like humans), however science has come far, and though it took some time, as well as a lot of gene manipulation, sterilizing the Grass Carp finally became standard everywhere in the world so that it’s introduction does not hurt or destroy the local ecology.

Another thing to take into account, is that the Grass Carp doesn’t consume everything, naturally it enjoys plants, and will eat most of it, but as with human being, there’s items that it enjoys over others. A couple of the things which the Grass Carp does like, are:

Coontail
Spikerush
Smartweed
Bladderwort
Bulrush
Water hyssop
Eelgrass

There’s several additional grasses, and a quick trip to a library, an Internet query, or talking with an expert will immediately reveal the things a grass carp will consume.

When purchased in large amounts, Grass Carp is pretty cheap, ranging from about $10-20 per fish, and that is very reasonable when you consider how long it’ll last; living for around 10-11 years.

In certain states, you will need to get a license prior to putting Grass Carp in any sort of water, even if it is owned by you. To discover if that’s necessary, talk to the game warden near you, or just check the laws of the state, since this information is readily available to anyone that requires it.

Clearly, Grass Carp are an excellent alternative to utilizing chemical compounds, or lining the pond with a plastic cover, since not just are these perfect for getting rid of undesired plant life, you must also remember that it’s a symbiotic relationship, you provide the thing that they desire, and in return they provide a service to you, keeping you from having to do this yourself. Overall, this is a great exchange.