Managing the aquatic plants within a pond, or in any other body of water is quite critical. Why you ask? Simple, because for some reason or another, you’ve decided that you don’t want it to be there. Whether these plants have generated some sort of nuisance for swimmers, or have just clogged up the motor on your favorite motorboat, you want them to be gone, and there are many ways to do it.
Of course you can utilize chemicals, plastic lining, freezing, manual pulling them up, or perhaps even dye, but these are fairly strenuous, and there is no promise that your pond, or fish, would actually be anywhere near what it was following these actions. So it is time to look into alternative means—methods which will not damage you OR the pond.
Around 1963, a new fish was introduced in to the U.S. ecology, and that fish was called the Grass Carp. This fish was deliberately introduced into our ecosystem for one purpose of eradicating aquatic plants, and thus far it’s done a great job. Here in the US, the Grass Carp is often called a White Amur, probably because of the fact that the word Carp holds negative interpretations here in the United States., and the word “Amur” is a reference to the river that the fish comes from, the river which runs the border between China and Russia.
The Grass Carp, is what is known as an invasive species, meaning that it will reproduce and take over any ecosystem which it is introduced in (sort of like humans), but fortunately science has come far, and though it took some time, and a lot of gene manipulation, sterilizing a Grass Carp finally became standard all over the world so that the introduction does not harm or eradicate the ecosystem.
An additional thing to note, is the fact that the Grass Carp doesn’t eat everything, naturally it enjoys plant life, and would eat most of it, however just like humans, there’s items which it enjoys more than others. A couple of the items that the Grass Carp does enjoy, are:
Coontail
Spikerush
Smartweed
Bladderwort
Bulrush
Water hyssop
Eelgrass
There are many others, and a quick trip to a library, an Internet query, or talking with an expert will immediately let you know what the grass carp would eat.
When bought in bulk, Grass Carp is fairly inexpensive, at about $10-20 for each fish, which is perfectly reasonable when you consider how long it will last; living for around ten to eleven years.
In certain states, you’ll need to get a license before you place Grass Carp in any sort of water, whether it is your water. To discover if this is necessary, speak with a game warden in your area, or simply check the laws of your state, as that information is freely available to anyone that requires it.
Clearly, Grass Carp are an excellent alternate means from using chemical compounds, or even lining the pond with plastic, since not just are they great for getting rid of undesired plants, you should additionally keep in mind that it’s a symbiotic relationship, you provide something that they want, and then they provide a service to you, keeping you from needing to do it yourself. Overall, this is a great exchange.