Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Identifying plants plant ID help

what is this? how do i kill it? and how bad is it to have in the pond? it is very bright green when removed from the water. it is kinda dirty and brown in the water from sediment.

I'm no expert, but sure looks like chara to me. Crush some in your hand, if it smells like garlic or something otherwise very strong, it's likely chara. If it is, chara is a complex algae which is far more beneficial in my opinion to other types of algae [dense phytoplankton blooms, filamentous algae, blue green algae]. I know it can get dense, but remember it's tying up a significant portion of nutrients in your pond, and eradicating it will allow something else to take it's place. That "something" which takes it's place could serve as a problem down the line if it's coontail, hydrilla, filamentous algae, dense phytoplankton blooms, etc.

I suggest treating in areas you desire clearance and leave the rest. Copper sulphate is often an algaecide recommended by experts here - or you can just rake it out. Bear in mind it may spread when stems/leaves break off, float away and and colonize, so if you do rake it, understand it's not a permanent fix like an algaecide would provide.

Consider strongly against eradicating it - the devil you know is often far more manageable then the one you don't. I'd take chara over other algae and many plant species any day.

FYI - my 3 grass carp did manage my chara pretty well in a .2 acre pond - it was the only forage source available to them. Also, my crayfish denuded a pond thick of chara in one season - so those are two organic solutions available to you as well.

teejah. you hit the nail on the head. it smells very garlic like!! right now i have a patches 2 or 3ft in size and then one area about 8 or 10ft square. will it die out over the winter or just keep getting larger? i am ok with the size of it now, i just don't want it to take over the pond.

It will continue to grow this year and next. Keep an eye on it is my advice. I believe cutrine plus will make quick work of it if you do need to treat some areas. What other macrophytes do you have growing?

Scott, I used to fish a 22 acre BOW in Ohio that had loads of chara. It was a pain in shallow water during high summer, since it would grow to the surface in areas less than about 4-5 feet deep. Of course, the exact range depends on water clarity, growing season, etc.

People complained and a lot of grass carp were stocked. Sure enough, they cut back sharply on it.

But here's the thing: Where the chara disappeared, so did most of the fish. I caught many a nice LMB in areas with submerged chara, like an old flooded dam or a point. Without the chara, it just wasn't the same.

Control it? Yeah, especially if you have lots of relatively shallow water. Maybe you could use chemicals to make a boat path and fishable areas near good cover.

Eliminate it? Based on my experience, not such a great idea.

PS Chara survived Ohio winters, including totally iced over BOW, just fine. I'd think they would have no trouble with an Alabama winter.

Good feedback Anthropic. Sorry should have just condensed my response to a simple summary:

Pros: Chara is dense and provides great cover for YOY fish to help ensure recruitment, and also promotes invertebrate life and ties up a lot of nutrients which may be used by less desired vegetation/algae. Also it's fairly easy to control with algaecides, physical removal, or biological methods GC or dense crayfish populations.

Cons: It can expand quickly, and does survive winters. Like any other macrophyte, management is key.

If scott69's water is low alkalinity the plant is more likely Nitella not Chara. Chara as a group prefers hard water and Nitella soft, acid water - lower alkalinity. Also Nitella often has longer leaves and a softer texture. Chara and Nitella are hard to separate from casual observation.

Thanks Bill, was not aware.

Scott, quick review on Nitella:

http://extension.psu.edu/natural-resourc...ara-and-nitella

If it's crunchy and stinky, sounds like Chara according to the paper. Chara appears more apt to become management issue. Otherwise, seem quite similar.

Interesting. Bill, does Nitella also have a strong odor?

TJ, mentioned his crawfish did a pretty good job on denuding his pond of a certain type of vegetation. I have had the same experience with all and any vegetation in my pond. I planted pondweed and eel grass, about $1300.00 worth and not a single plant survived my crawfish. And my crawfish numbers are reduced by the lmb along with the res and cnbg. So, in my situation I have no vegetation and right now I do not see a lot of crawfish after stocking each year. I see some so I know some survive. I would recommend a stocking of crawfish before this fall. if you have a good number of fish they can control the crawfish numbers. I am no expert like TJ and others but am passing along my experience. Something to think about.

Tracy

Per the paper, it does not, but I have zero experience with Nitella.

mine surely has the strong odor. and yes, i do believe i did see a small area of it during the winter. it seems to be growing very slow. i sprayed cutrine plus once this year for fa and i knocked it right out. i will shoot a little on the chara. of course i want a great fishery, but the last thing i want is some type vegetation taking over.

Seems to fit the original ID description of chara. I wouldn't worry much about it - as your pond ages and nutrients build up macrophytes will appear. Chara is a far better option than many others...I recommend keeping an eye out it responds pretty quickly to algaecides per your experience. Keep growing those brute CNBG!

i have applied the cutrine granular a few times, but it doesn't seem to be knocking it out. i can tell some of it is turning a lighter color, but some looks perfectly healthy. i pulled a larger stone out of the water today and i believe i saw some of the granules sort of stuck on it, is that normal? does it take a while to melt?

water temp is mid 50's now. would it be ok to treat again?

Scott,

IME FWIW Cutrine granular works well for me on new growth of FA close to the bottom but, when it gets taller, the granular doesn't work for me and I use the liquid. Maybe the same for Chara? I'm not a pro, but I would wait for water temps in the 60s again before treating anymore.

Just my 1 cent

Bill D