I have what I think is a very bad case of CoonTail invasion. Attached is an image I took a few days ago and hopefully someone can verify the vegetation. I have an aprox. 2 acre pond of which 70% + is full of this weed. The pond is very clear and I assume that this is what is promoting the growth. I did introduce Triploid Grass Carp (qty-18) a couple of years ago and they are nice and fat but not controlling the weed. Can anyone please confirm the identification of the weed and offer any suggestions for getting rid of it. Assume something to cloud the water or an aquatic herbicide. Thanks in advance for any help.
http://s1383.photobucket.com/user/GMD0911/media/pondvegetation_zps2f1dc5b9.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0
98% sure it's coontail, but a close-up of a small portion of stem & leaves would help confirm that it isn't Chara.
Whether coontail or Chara, neither ranks highly on grass carps' food-preference list. They'll eat either, but not as aggresively as more palatable plants.
Depending on your objective and the dynamics of the pond's water (static vs transient), various aquatic herbicides offer differing degrees of control; I.E. either short-term and somewhat selective control in targeted areas using spot-treatments (with relatively frequent applications) - or longer-term and relatively non-selective control throughout the entire waterbody with a single annual treatment (in static-water ponds).
IMO, grass carp sometimes prove worthy as "vegetation-maintenance tools", but rarely bring an extensive coontail infestation under control in the absence of excessive stocking-rates or the assistance of herbicides.
Kelly,
Thanks for feedback and information. At this point I think I would be most interested in the short-term selective treatment of targeted areas to more or less "get my feet wet". Can you suggest the best treatment options and best time to treat. Appreciate any feedback.