Every spring my 1/2 acre pond has a boom of FA. I do have 2 bottom diffusers for aeration and they do a great job keeping the pond healthy. Its normally just the initial snow melt and run off of from the fields that makes for a back breaking day of trying to rake it all out. I have used these(see below) before and would say they did a good job, but they are very expensive, especially if you had to get one every 30 days! Is there an alternative product I could buy you would suggest? And can I find it in NY, some places wont ship the chemicals here. Thanks. Below is the link to the product I mentioned.
Well I can only tell you what worked for me was adding about 400 soft shell crayfish. Well they are soft shell when they molt. These little buggers eat a pile of FA. Way way more than I would have thought.
Cleared out pond up in under a year. Now I didn't have a problem but we did scoop it out by hand with a net year round when ever we were down there. Last year after having the crayfish multiply we never had to pull any FA out of the pond. The only place we see it is right near the feeder and that is to be expected with waste feed.
my experience with crawfish in a pond is limited to only the last 60 days but I can tell u that everywhere I added 100 to 200 crays the FA and the Grasses are gone and the bottom is clear of any vegetation. And the ones I added were 1/4 to 1" in size. I hope they make it but they r the perfect size for eating by my REs and CNBG.
Tracy
Do not judge me by the politicians in my City, State or Federal Government.
I am not a pro but, based on the inputs I have read here on the forum, I can offer this.
1) The crayfish will not bother swimmers 2) Choose a crayfish variety, such as papershell, that will not burrow. 3) Without predators, crayfish will multiply and can remove most all the vegetation in the pond. You have predators from your post that will love crayfish so this is probably not a concern for you.
Crayfish will not thrive where there are adult bass predators and normal pond cover. Cover and habitat have to be very common to abundant for crayfish to thrive with sport fish present.
Last edited by Bill Cody; 04/15/1510:39 AM.
aka Pond Doctor & Dr. Perca Read Pond Boss Magazine - America's Journal of Pond Management
FWIW IMHO I would do a quick google search on crayfish endemic to your area and stock a non-burrowing one if possible. Make sure you have suitable habitat for them before you stock.
Last edited by Bill D.; 04/15/1508:36 PM. Reason: Clarification
JWF, A google search using crayfish and pondboss should show a couple of links on crayfish. One I think was put in the archives section. Bill cody could probably find it quicker than I could and post it.
There was a link to a crayfish forum where there was good pictures and ID of many crayfish.
As to finding them, probably best off grabbing them yourself in a local stream. Rolling over stones and using a net is pretty easy way to do it. Or if it is a small stream you can sometimes use a minnow seine and cross the creek and then roll stones over and let things flow downstream to the seine.
When at a local lake you can throw in a minnow trap (metal type with cones on each end) and if there are crayfish in the area they will go in the trap providing you bait with something they like. I found catching some minnows or a small bluegill and then chopping them up to release the innards is a terrific attractant for the crayfish.
We leave a trap over night in the lakes we visit with a carcase of a bluegill after it was fileted, by morning there are dozens of crayfish and only the very clean bones of the bluegill left in the trap.
I have not found a commercial source for papershell crayfish or other desirable crayfish close by.
Native crayfish are best and non-burrowing are best.
Many lakes in northern michigan have big populations of very aggressive rusty crayfish. They are easiest to catch but the jury is out yet on whether you want them in your pond. If their numbers get out of hand you will have no vegetation which is important for supporting the food chain (small critters hide in vegetation and support the middle section of the food chain between microscopic and minnow size)
So probably catching your own native ones is the best.
Will crayfish survive in a pond that is not well aerated?
Where do you get crayfish in SE Michigan?
Do they survive a winter freeze or are the annuals?
Thx
I am in Ontario Canada and we have a pile of crayfish in our pond. They will winter very well. I would expect they will live with out aeration. We seeded the pond with only 300 or so just an estimate and now when the water gets to 55 every rock along the shore has one under it. We can get two or three every night in the minnow trap.
This is the pictures of two totes of crayfish we added.
Many crayfish ponds are shallow and not aerated. Shallow pond usually mix top to bottom due to wind action. Crayfish in deep ponds without aeration will inhabit the top oxygenated zone or layer similar to the invertebrates and fish. Where in SE MI are you? There are a few papershell crayfish sources in NW Ohio.
Last edited by Bill Cody; 04/16/1510:52 AM.
aka Pond Doctor & Dr. Perca Read Pond Boss Magazine - America's Journal of Pond Management
Just getting back to Pond Boss after starting this post about a week ago. Thanks for all the info - I now have to go study it all and see what is the next direction.
One of you guys mentioned there is a source for crawfish in NW Oh. Can you tell me where - it may be worth a road trip to know I am getting the right kind.
From my reading I took it the granular worked good on FA that was growing on the bottom because they sink and the copper that is coated on the little gravel on the Cutrine Plus granules gets down where it is needed. The liquid is supposed to work well on the matted floating stuff. At least that was my take.
I used some of the granules a few weeks ago as the FA started up and it seemed to knock it back pretty good. Here recently it came on like gangbusters and before I knew it there were floating blobs around the edges. When I ordered, I ordered some of each so I had both on hand. This time I tried the liquid and sprayed it on (diluted down 9 to 1 as per instructions) with a hand sprayer. Only got it done yesterday so no report on how it worked yet.
Just wondering if you had experience with both forms of Cutrine, or just the granules.
I have not compared the amount of active ingredients in each, but if it is like any other chemicals I have had experience with, usually the liquid is a lot more concentrated and costs less per unit active ingredient.
Here is another thread on crayfish. It refers to my search for a suitable species specifically for my area, but it does describe the papershell variety.
There is a distinct border to the algae growth in your pond. Does it correlate to a very specific depth? What would you estimate is your minimum bottom depth to be safe from algae? How much does that depth vary from your "clear water" years versus your "turbid water" years?
How long does it take for that stuff to clean up the pond
Benji...Cutrine Plus Granules work pretty quick Some spots I had to treat a couple of times. And some re-treatment towards mid-summer. I guess it takes a week to ten days to notice it doing it's job. It appears the sun/cutrine "burns" the FA...but I'm not sure. Tbar how long did it take for yours to clear?
Originally Posted By: FishinRod
Zep, There is a distinct border to the algae growth in your pond. Does it correlate to a very specific depth? What would you estimate is your minimum bottom depth to be safe from algae?
Rod I believe FA is often associated with shallow gradual sloping shorelines...and that is what I have. I wish my shorelines had a steeper incline. Of course super steep drop-off shorelines can be a danger to children or even a pain for us to step off into deeper water. I am no expert but I would guess water 4-6 feet deep starts being less prone to FA.
I think the depth FA grows depends on how much sunlight reaches the bottom. I put Aquashade in last fall and it made a big difference on FA growing in deeper water, not so much around the shallow edge. I know the FA is still in the deep water because I drag up some on hooks occasionally but it seems no to be growing much. I use liquid Cutrine around the edge out to 2 or 3 feet deep and it usually takes 10 or 12 days for it to knock it way back. It really doesn't matter how much water you mix it in. The water is just a carrier. The important thing is, be sure to cover the area specified on the label with whatever ratio you mix. Also, do not treat the whole pond in one treatment if you have much FA. I treat 1/3 or so and wait a couple weeks to do another third, etc. I used granules once last year in deep water and didn't see much result as far as I could tell, but it was probably my fault for not spreading it heavy enough.