I am interested in stocking my ponds with some sort of grass eating fish. Grass carps are illegal in the state of Maryland, is there another alternative? I have large mouth bass and bluegills, sunfish. Each pond is about an acre. with the deepest about 8 feet. No aeration is used as there is a steady flow of water in and out of ponds.
Thanks,
Rodger
Welcome to the forum, Rodger B.
Do you know what all kinds of aquatic vegetation you would like to have eaten?
As you may guess I am new to this business. I have had the ponds for about 20 years, haven't done anything except stock when they were constructed. I haven't used any chemicals, I do use barley straw. Identiying the underwater vegetation has been difficult, doing it myself. I probably could use an expert. So basically the answer to your question is I don't know.
Rodger
I just found a website Aquaplant Universitey of Texas, which had some apparently good identification. So I'll try to identify and will get back on the forum when I can talk with more knowledge.
Thanks, Rodger
NC State U says red bellied tilapia are used:
Occasionally, the blue tilapia (Tilapia aurea) has been used to control algae, and the redbelly tilapia (Tilapia zillii) has been used to control aquatic macrophytes (coarser vegetation) in North Carolina.