Should You Use Grass Carp For Aquatic Weed Control?

Mastering the plant life in a pond, or in any body of water is quite critical. Why you say? Simple, because for whatever reason, you've chosen that you don't want it to be there. No matter if those plants have generated a sort of nuisance for swimmers, or have just clogged up the motor on a favorite boat, you want them gone, and there's several ways to do this.

Naturally you could use chemicals, plastic lining, freezing, manually pulling them up, or even dye, however those are mighty strenuous, and there's no promise that the pond, or even the fish, will ever be anywhere near what it was following these actions. Therefore it is time to have a look at alternative means-methods that won't break your back OR the pond.

In 1963, a brand new fish was introduced in to the United States ecological, and that fish was called the Grass Carp. It was purposefully integrated into our ecosystem for one purpose of eradicating aquatic plants, and thus far it's done a great job. Within the US, A Grass Carp is commonly called a White Amur, probably because of the fact that the phrase Carp has derogatory meanings here in the U.S., and the word "Amur" refers to the river which this fish originates from, a river that runs the border between 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 is placed into (similar to humans), but fortunately science has progressed a long way, and while it required some time, as well as lots of gene manipulation, sterilizing a Grass Carp became standard all over the world so that the integration doesn't hurt or eradicate the local ecology.

Another detail to take into account, is the fact that the Grass Carp doesn't consume everything, of course it loves plants, and will eat the vast majority of it, however as humans, there are items which it enjoys more than others. A few of the things which the Grass Carp will like, are:

Coontail Spikerush Smartweed Bladderwort Bulrush Water hyssop Eelgrass

There's several others, and a visit to a library, a web search, or talking with an expert will quickly let you know what the grass carp would eat.

When bought in bulk, Grass Carp is pretty cheap, at about $10-20 for each fish, and that is perfectly reasonable considering how long it will last; living for around ten to eleven years.

In some states, you will be required to acquire a license prior to putting Grass Carp into any body of water, even if it is owned by you. To discover if this is required, speak with the game warden in your area, or simply check the laws of the state, since that information is freely available to anyone who requires it.

As you can see, Grass Carp are an excellent alternative from using chemicals, or lining your pond with a plastic cover, since not just are they great for ridding you of undesired plants, you should also remember that it's a symbiotic relationship, you give something they desire, and then they give their services to you, keeping you from needing to do this on your own. Overall, that's a good exchange.