Mastering the plant life within a pond, or in any body of water is very important. Why is this you say? Well, since for whatever reason, you have decided that you don’t want it to be there. Whether those plants have create some sort of hindrance for swimming children, or have just clogged up the motor on your favorite motorboat, you want them gone, and there are several methods of doing it.

Naturally you can utilize chemical substances, plastic lining, freezing, manual pulling, or even dye, but these are fairly inconvenient, and there is no guarantee that your pond, or fish, will actually be the same again following such an effort. So it is time to look into different means—methods that will not break your back OR your pond.

Around 1963, a brand new fish was placed in the United States ecological, and this fish was known as the Grass Carp. This fish was deliberately integrated into our ecosystem for one reason of eliminating  aquatic plant life, and thus far it’s lived up to it’s reputation. In the United States, the Grass Carp is commonly called a White Amur, probably because the word Carp has negative interpretations here in the U.S., and the word “Amur” refers to the river which the fish comes from, the river which borders China and Russia.

The Grass Carp, is what is known as an aggressive species, indicating that it will multiply and take over any ecosystem which it’s introduced into (sort of like humans), however science has progressed a long way, and though it required some time, and a lot of gene manipulation, sterilizing the Grass Carp finally became standard procedure all over the world so that it’s integration doesn’t harm or eradicate the local ecology.

Another detail to take into account, is that the Grass Carp doesn’t eat every kind of grass, of course it enjoys plants, and will consume the vast majority of it, however just like with human being, there’s things that it enjoys over 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 the library, a web query, or a consultation with an expert would quickly reveal the things a grass carp will consume.

When purchased in bulk, Grass Carp is pretty inexpensive, ranging from about $10-20 per fish, and that is perfectly reasonable when you consider how long it’ll last; living for around ten to eleven years.

In certain states, you’ll need to get a license before you place Grass Carp into any body of water, even if it is your water. To find out if that’s necessary, speak with the game warden near you, or simply check the laws of the state, since that info is readily accessible to anyone who requires it.

As you can see, Grass Carp are an excellent alternate means to using chemical compounds, or lining the pond with plastic, since not just are these great for ridding you of undesired plant life, you must also remember that this is an interdependent relationship, you give something that they want, and then they give a service to you, preventing you from having to do this yourself. All in all, this is a great exchange.

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