Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Controlling unwanted plants Controlling FA with Golden Shiners

Limb, let me give my experiences that lead me to believe GSH can help control FA.

1. From an initial stocking in a brand new pond in 2002 (with only FHM for competition for a year), I had very large quantities of GSH through at least the first half of last year (2006 GSH catch rates dropped significantly). I have had very low levels of FA during this period, in contrast with about 80% of the ponds (smaller and larger, older and newer) within a mile or so of me. I should note that there are 5 GC is the 0.9 acre pond, which has virtually no vegetation other than the phytoplankton, the FA, and and even smaller quantity of floating leaf pond weed. The pond is fed but not fertilized; Secchi depth in the Summer normally runs between 16" and 27".

2. GSH caught in the pond and examined invariably have what I am sure is FA in their stomachs; usually it is the only content. This includes GSH caught in cold weather months, when they must be eating FA off the bottom as none is floating at these times.

Possibly arguments against:

1. I only know that a small % of the nearby ponds DO NOT have GSH; most I do not have stocking info on.

2. I'm assuming my pond has a nearly equal ability to grow FA as the other nearby ponds, most of which are in the same soils. OTOH, the ponds with suburban residential runoff may well have high FA growth due to the Chemlawn effect.

3. If the GSH have been holding down the FA in the pond, I should probably see an increase in FA now that the GSH numbers are reduced. Towards this end, the warm months of 2007 will be interesting.

As I see it, this is less than decisive; however, if GSH would not be detrimental to your other pond goals (for example, if you're managing for large bass, they should be a plus), I would recommend giving them a try wrt FA control. You will probably have trouble getting the density of GSH that I have had when stocking them into a pond with existing predator populations.