Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Grass Carp & Leaves

I have a lot of trees close enough to my pond that the leaves blow into the pond. My ? is will grass carp eat these leaves? and will the leaves kill my fish if left in the pond.

I'm not sure that the g.carp will eat fallen tree leaves since the chlorophyll is gone from the leaf. I think when the chlorophyll deteriorates in a leaf it changes the leaf's flavor to nonpalatable.

"will the leaves kill my fish if left in the pond" - Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Fallen leaves that collect in the pond consume oxygen in their decay processs. The more leaves that a pond collects per each million gallons of water the more oxygen that is consumed. As in many pond situations when the dissolved oxygen levels drop below 3 ppm many warm water fish start having "breathing" problems. It is hard to say if the leaves will indirectly kill your fish. Every pond is different in its oxygen consuming requirements and also numerous other variables contribute to the available dissolved oxygen supply from fall through early spring.

Grass carp will eat anything green or vegetable and alive. Fallen leaves are dead, lack chlorophyl and IMHO the grassies are unlikely to eat them.

Pat Kelly in Maryland