Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Controlling unwanted plants Controlling Duck Weed / Pond Fern

Hi all,

Does anyone know of any species of fish that will feed on Duck Weed and or Pond Fern and is legal to stock on the central coast of California?

I realize that you know this already WW, but to others, Tilapia and Grass Carp (including sterile GC) are only allowed in the southern portion of California.

Hey Water Wizard - I got no advice for you, but seeing you are from California I just had to say "Hey!"

Talk to a native fish expert. There are bound to be natives you may or may not legally collect in the wild that can help. There may be some bad side effects to some of those natives. The best way to deal with duckweed if herbicides are out of the question is mechanical disturbance. Find a way to let more wind get to your pond or use a fountain or use bacteria to reduce nutrients and thus reduce the nutrients available for weed growth.

Richard owns an aeration company so he's well versed in aeration. The problem we have in California is all the restrictions we have on fish.

I don't know of any native fish that regularly feed on duck weed. Anywhere in North America, let alone CA...

I use the prikly rope to control mine,and it works really great,but my pond is only about 3/4 to 1 acre.

Thanks for all the input everyone.

JHAP, I know that Tilapia and GC are only legal in SoCal and used extensively in golf course ponds in palm desert, but do you happen to know the cut off point? We have a local golf course that uses grass carp so it makes me wonder. I've heard south of the Grapevine but I'm not sure and that sounds a bit vague. I think I may be opening a can of worms as I recently found that the fish stocking permitting is a bit cumbersome here in Cali.

The reason that I pose the question is that we installed an aeration system at an irrigation vineyard in response to an algae bloom and subsequent massive fish kill (1000's of blue gill) in October 2006. Although the aeration did a great job of reducing their FA problem, they now have reoccuring duckweed and pond fern blooms. They are so bad it looks like you could walk across it. I have dove the pond and found it to be devoid of any fish. It seems that they had a complete kill. I just thought that perhaps it was the fish that were keeping the DW and PF in check.

Mikey Boy, where do you live? I grew up in San Clemente.

By the way JHAP...I don't own the company. We are a non-profit organization. We didn't plan it that we, that's just what it's become

Richard, I'm certainly no expert but my understanding is that you cannot stock Tilapia at all north of the Tehachapi Mountains so yes essentially none north of the Grape Vine.

Grass Carp can only be sterile of course and it's basically the same, none north of the Tehachapi Mountains, EXCEPT for certain golf course stocking (strong lobby I guess). Although golf courses can get permits for sterile grass carp north of the Tehachapi Mountains there is a TON of paperwork involved, a site inspection and on going monitoring. I know that a few courses up north have done this though.

Here's a link for info:Tilapia & Grass Carp Info





I have a few client's that became non-profits this year.

JHAP, thanks for the link. As I suspected, it sounds like legal fish stocking is about as easy as getting a coastal development permit. Gotta love Cali.

Water Wizard - I am from the San Fernando Valley - looking to move to the Santa Clarita Valley in a year or so. Going to buy a place in Acton or Agua Dulce, start my own pond.

Good luck with that endeavor. If you ever get a chance, you can see our aeration systems at TPC Valencia and Robinson Ranch golf courses in Santa Clarita Valley. When the time comes to build your pond, let me know if I can help you with anything.