Controlling the aquatic plants within a pond, or any body of water is extremely important. Why you say? Simple, since for some reason or another, you have decided that you don’t desire it to be there. No matter if these plants have generated some sort of hindrance for swimmers, or have just simply stopped up the motor on your favorite boat, you wish them to be gone, and there are many ways to do this.
Naturally you can utilize chemicals, plastic lining, freezing, manually pulling them up, or even dye, but those are fairly strenuous, and there is no promise that the pond, or fish, would actually be the same again after these actions. So it’s about time to look into different methods—methods that will not break your back OR the pond.
Around 1963, a new fish was placed in the U.S. ecological, and that fish was called the Grass Carp. It was purposefully integrated into the ecosystem for the simple purpose of eradicating aquatic plant life, and thus far it has lived up to it’s reputation. Here in the US, the Grass Carp is commonly called the White Amur, presumably because the word Carp holds negative interpretations here in the United States., and the name “Amur” is a reference to the river that this fish comes from, a river which borders China and Russia.
The Grass Carp, is what’s known as an aggressive species, meaning that it will reproduce and overtake any ecosystem that it’s placed into (similar to humans), but fortunately science has come far, and while it took some time, and lots of gene manipulation, sterilizing a Grass Carp finally became standard all over the world so that the integration doesn’t hurt or eradicate the ecosystem.
An additional detail to note, is that the Grass Carp does not consume everything, of course it loves plants, and will eat most of it, but as with human being, there are things that it enjoys over others. A couple of the items that the Grass Carp will enjoy, are:
Coontail
Spikerush
Smartweed
Bladderwort
Bulrush
Water hyssop
Eelgrass
There’s many additional grasses, and a visit to a library, a web query, or talking with a professional will quickly reveal what the grass carp would eat.
When bought in large amounts, Grass Carp is fairly cheap, at about $10-20 per fish, which is very reasonable when you consider how long it’ll last; living for around ten to eleven years.
In certain states, you’ll be required to get a license prior to putting Grass Carp into any body of water, even if it is your water. To discover if this is required, talk to a game warden near you, or just check the laws of the state, as that info is freely accessible to anyone that requires it.
Clearly, Grass Carp are a great alternative to using chemicals, or lining the pond with a plastic cover, because not just are they perfect for ridding you of unwanted plants, you should additionally remember that it’s a symbiotic relationship, you provide the thing they want, and in return they give a service to you, preventing you from having to do this on your own. On the whole, that’s a great exchange.