Mastering the aquatic plants within a pond, or any other body of water is extremely important. Why you ask? Simple, because for whatever reason, you have decided that you don’t desire it there. Whether those plants have generated a type of nuisance for swimmers, or have have simply stopped up the motor on your favorite boat, you want them to be gone, and there are several ways of doing it.
Of course you could utilize chemicals, plastic lining, freezing, manually pulling them up, or perhaps even dye, however all of those are mighty inconvenient, and there is no guarantee that your pond, or fish, would ever be the same again following such an effort. Therefore it’s time to look into different methods—techniques which will not damage you OR the pond.
Around nineteen sixty-three, a brand new fish was placed in the U.S. ecology, and that fish was called the Grass Carp. It was deliberately integrated into the ecosystem for the simple reason of eliminating aquatic plant life, and so far it has done a great job. In the United States, the Grass Carp is commonly referred to as a White Amur, presumably because the word Carp has derogatory meanings here in the United States., and the word “Amur” is a reference to the river that this fish comes from, a river which runs the border between China and Russia.
The Grass Carp, is what’s known as an invasive species, meaning that it’ll reproduce and overtake any ecosystem that it is introduced into (sort of like humans), but fortunately science has progressed far, and while it took some time, and lots of gene manipulation, sterilizing a Grass Carp became standard everywhere in the world so that the introduction does not hurt or destroy the ecosystem.
Another thing to take into account, is the fact that the Grass Carp does not consume every kind of grass, of course it loves plants, and will eat most of it, but as with human being, there’s items that it prefers over others. A couple of the items which the Grass Carp will like, are:
Coontail
Spikerush
Smartweed
Bladderwort
Bulrush
Water hyssop
Eelgrass
There are several others, and a quick trip to the library, an Internet query, or talking with an expert will quickly reveal the things a grass carp will consume.
When bought in bulk, Grass Carp is pretty cheap, ranging from about $10-20 for each fish, which is very reasonable when you consider how long it’ll last; living for around ten to eleven years.
In certain states, you will need to get a license before you place Grass Carp in any body of water, even if it is owned by you. To discover if that’s necessary, speak with a game warden in your area, or simply examine the laws of the state, as this information is freely available to any person that requires it.
As you can see, Grass Carp are a great alternate means to utilizing chemicals, or even lining your pond with plastic, since not just are they perfect for ridding you of undesired plants, you must additionally remember that it’s an interdependent relationship, you give the thing they want, and in return they give their services to you, preventing you from needing to do this on your own. On the whole, this is a great trade.
