Controlling the aquatic plants within a pond, or in any body of water is extremely critical. Why is this you say? Simple, since for some reason or another, you’ve chosen that you do not desire it there. Whether these plants have create a type of nuisance for swimmers, or have just simply stopped up the motor on your favorite boat, you want them to be gone, and there are many ways to do this.

Naturally you can utilize chemicals, plastic lining, freezing, manual pulling, or even dye, but all of those are mighty strenuous, and there is no guarantee that the pond, or even the fish, would actually be the same again after these actions. So it is time to have a look at different methods—methods which will not damage you OR your pond.

In 1963, a new fish was introduced in to the U.S. ecology, and that fish was known as the Grass Carp. This fish was deliberately integrated into the ecosystem for one reason of eradicating aquatic plants, and so far it’s done a great job. In the US, the Grass Carp is often called the White Amur, presumably because of the fact that the word Carp holds derogatory interpretations here in the U.S., and the word “Amur” is a reference to the river that the fish comes from, the river that borders China and Russia.

The Grass Carp, is what’s referred to as an aggressive species, indicating that it’ll reproduce and take over any ecosystem that it’s introduced in (similar to humans), but fortunately science has come a long way, and though it required some time, and lots of gene manipulation, sterilizing a Grass Carp finally became standard everywhere in the world so that it’s introduction does not hurt or destroy the local ecology.

An additional thing to note, is the fact that the Grass Carp doesn’t eat every kind of grass, naturally it enjoys plant life, and would consume the vast majority of it, but as humans, there’s items which it prefers over others. A couple of the things which the Grass Carp will like, are:

Coontail
Spikerush
Smartweed
Bladderwort
Bulrush
Water hyssop
Eelgrass

There’s many additional grasses, and a quick trip to the library, a web search, or a consultation with an expert would quickly let you know what the grass carp will consume.

When bought in large amounts, Grass Carp is fairly inexpensive, at about $10-20 per fish, which is perfectly reasonable when you consider how long it’ll last; living for around 10-11 years.

In certain states, you will 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, talk to a game warden near you, or simply check the laws of the state, since this info is readily available to any person who needs it.

As you can see, Grass Carp are an excellent alternate means to utilizing chemical compounds, or even lining the pond with plastic, because not just are these great for getting rid of undesired plants, you should additionally remember that this is a symbiotic relationship, you provide something that they want, and in return they give a service to you, keeping you from needing to do it yourself. Overall, that’s a good deal.