Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Identifying plants Help identifying pond weed

My first post so thank you in advance! We purchased our home last summer and we have roughly a 1/3 acre pond. We have found that there are weeds everywhere and they are really taking over. I have attached a few photos to see if anyone can help identify and treat. From what I've researched it's Chara but I'm not certain. If it is Chara can this be manually removed or will that cause it to fragment and re-grow?

Any help is greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Gabe

It is coontail or hornwort technical name Ceratophyllum demersum. Notice some of the leaves are branched or split into Y's or V's. Technically it does not have true roots and it can spread by fragmentation - broken pieces. It can spread fast. It is commonly sold as an aquarium or lily pond plant. Do some homework about it.

Thank you for the reply. So since fragmentation will help it spread do I not rake it out? Or do I rake it out and then treat? Again, I'm new to this so all of your help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Gabe

Gabe, if you rake it out and treat, there will be less decomposing organic matter in the pond. That's about the only difference.

Less decaying organic matter means that there is more available O2 for the fish and other things in the pond.

http://aquaplant.tamu.edu/management-options/coontail/

Thanks for the help, Looks like I'm going to get a workout this weekend!

Ok, so I started raking out the pond this weekend and I've realized this is going to be an awful lot of work. I took out 5 trailer loads (riding mower trailer) of coontail and it hardly made a dent. Any suggestions on how to make this a little easier? Right now I'm using a lake rake, which works fine but after a few hours it's brutal.

Thanks in advance.