Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Controlling unwanted plants Water temp for Grass Carp

Small pond, has a few trout in it. It's spring fed in a small canyon near a bunch of irrigated farm fields.

There is an issue with FA, and I am thinking about getting a few grass carp to control the issue. My concern is will they make it through the winter, and will the cool spring water slow down their eating?

Thanks

They dont eat FA from what I understand, my pond has GC and has big time issue with FA, but no other plants at all becuase they ate it clean

Grass carp will not eat very much if any FA unless you put in about 60-100 per acre. Even then the FA may not be eaten but the roiled water from the GC stirring sediments for invertebrates will reduce transparency and FA has a hard time growing due to lack of light.

So it sounds like Grass Carp are not the answer to my problem. I have attached a couple of pics for you to get a better idea of what I am faced with. The pond is very small, it has running water through it from a spring. The outlet is a 5 inch PVC pipe, and I would say it fills it up about 1/3 of the way normally.

Because there is running water I am not sure if the normal chemical treatments will work. We have thought about building a couple of water falls up stream a little to increase the aeration, is that something that would help?

Any ideas? Should I move the trout each fall to another pond, so we don't have this continue to come back.

Chemicals + trouts in it?
Is it that hard to remove these weeds by yourself? This pond doesn't look that large to make such work hard.

Midget, I would spray the pond with something like Cutrine Plus. Finding the right stocking numbers of GC can be tricky. I stocked way too many in my pond (180 in a 6 acre pond) 22 years ago. Believe it or not there are still substantial numbers of them surviving and they've denuded the pond of both FA and rooted vegetation. As a result the water turns murky green in summer from planktonic algae. It's ugly, and I would give anything to restore the normal vegetation. Also, the GC sometimes stir up the bottom making the water muddy.

Here is a photo of a GC barrier we constructed to protect a small area of the pond in the hope of reestablishing weeds. Although they try, the GC cannot get beyond the fence. It's dramatic evidence of how overly efficient GC can be in removing all vegetation.

MrSandman, That picture is amazing! Hmmmmmm. .

Sounds like a good way to kill the trout unless the water is extremely hard.

I'll second that! The picture belongs in the Pond Boss Hall of Fame.

Trouble is MrSandman I can't decide which side I'd prefer...lol.

There's gotta be a nice compromise, after-all isn't that what life is all about anyway?

As CB1 says copper based products and trout are a dangerous combination for trout survival. Curtine-Plus has warnings on the label about use with trout. The main problem as I see from the pics is the trout pond receives lots of leaves and appears to be shallow? Dead leaves decay to release nutrients to feed algae and plant growth. Nutrients may also be coming in from agri field. Leaves and dead algae also consume oxygen in the decay or decomposition process lowering DO which is very important for trout. If you use a chemcical to kill the algae treat only small areas or a portion of the pond (1/4?) at a time. Since the pond is small try this remove a large portion of the FA with a Lake Rake and or 1/4" mesh smelt dipping net. Then treat small areas of the remaining algae with Green Clean or Phycomycin - a granular hydrogen peroxide based product.

BTW from personal experience grass carp in a trout pond don't so well or do much of a job on the vegetation. I had three in a 1/10th acre pond and they looked stressed and didn't grow much due to the cold water temps. I moved them to a larger warmer pond and they did well and grew rapidly.

Thanks Cecil..

I will have to go a different direction. Maybe we just need to keep it raked out.

Would it help to add aeration to the pond? Does that help control FA?

Aeration may or may not help control FA. It depends on several variables. One of the most important ones is what or where is the primary nutrient source. Plant removal is very beneficial in smaller ponds because removing plants removes all the nutrients from the pond that are bound in those plants. It is a form of bioremediation.

I've raked out Chara from time to time from my trout pond. However if it's not too excessive it is beneficial. That is, it adds some oxygen, is a great place for invertebrates, and it is a surface area for nitrifying bacteria.

Chara also competes with FA and phytoplankton reducing their numbers. Chara at high densities covering a large percentage of the pond bottom will result in very clear water. Main disadvantage to Chara is it forms dense mats and does not allow good water circulation where it rests on the bottom thus promoting black sediments. The other big disadvantage to Chara is it does not float when broken into sections. These broken submerged sections result in more regrowth of Chara.

I bought a net and have been dipping algae and other material (lots of corn husks) that have gotten in my pond, and it looks pretty good. Might consider that option.
Good luck and good fishing,
Dan