Should You Use Grass Carp For Water Plant Control?
Containing the plant life in a pond, or in any other body of water is quite important. Why you ask? Simple, since for some reason or another, you’ve chosen that you do not want it to be there. Whether these plants have generated a type of hindrance for swimming children, or have have simply stopped up the motor on your favorite motorboat, you want them gone, and there’s many methods of doing it.
Naturally you could use chemical substances, plastic lining, freezing, manual pulling, or even dye, however those are fairly strenuous, and there’s no promise that your pond, or fish, would actually be the same again following these actions. Therefore it’s about time to look into different methods—techniques which won’t damage you OR the pond.
In nineteen sixty-three, a new fish was placed in the United States ecological, and this fish was known as the Grass Carp. This fish was purposefully introduced into our ecosystem for the simple reason of eliminating aquatic plants, and so far it’s done a great job. Here in the US, the Grass Carp is often referred to as a White Amur, presumably because the word Carp holds negative interpretations here in the U.S., and the name “Amur” is a reference to the river that the fish originates from, a river which borders China and Russia.
The Grass Carp, is what’s referred to as an intrusive species, meaning that it will multiply and take over the ecosystem that it’s introduced in (similar to humans), but fortunately science has progressed far, and though it took some time, as well as lots of gene manipulation, sterilizing the Grass Carp became standard procedure all over the world so that the introduction does not hurt or destroy the ecosystem.
Another detail to take into account, is the fact that the Grass Carp doesn’t eat everything, of course it loves plant life, and would eat most of it, but as with human being, there are things that it prefers more than others. A couple of the things which the Grass Carp does enjoy, are:
Coontail
Spikerush
Smartweed
Bladderwort
Bulrush
Water hyssop
Eelgrass
There are several additional grasses, and a visit to a library, a web search, or a consultation with a professional will quickly let you know what the grass carp will consume.
When bought in large amounts, Grass Carp is pretty cheap, at about $10-20 per fish, which is very reasonable considering the years of service it will give you; living for about 10-11 years.
In certain states, you’ll need to get a license before you place Grass Carp in any body of water, whether it is your water. To find out if this is necessary, speak with the game warden in your area, or just examine the laws of your state, as this information is readily available to any person that needs it.
As you can see, Grass Carp are an excellent alternative to utilizing chemical compounds, or lining the pond with plastic, since not just are these perfect for getting rid of undesired plants, you should additionally keep in mind that it’s an interdependent relationship, you give something they want, and in return they give a service to you, keeping you from having to do it on your own. On the whole, this is a great exchange.
Filed under: General Interest