Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Balance of plants in the environment Eel grass

As noted above it can sometimes be hard to get eel grass established due to things present in your pond that will eat the new plants. It seems to grow in sand or clay bottoms. Numerous animals like to eat it. Grass carp will eat it but not as a preferred item. Eel grass as with all plants will spread to larger areas. Amount of spread depends on numerous things and situations. In good conditions I have seen it growing 6ft tall in 16ft of clear water. Eelgrass can tolerate low light conditions. It can grow pretty thick dense, although fish can still hunt through outer margins of the patches. IMPORTANT. Notice the dense growth in the picture of it growing on the habitatnow website linked above. It does not become dense tangled and intertwined like some submerged plants. Vallisneria americana, the US native plant, can at times grow to 6ft tall in clear water good conditions. I consider it a warm season plant that does not grow in early spring. Ribbon like leaves can reside over winter and then decay real early spring before the new shoots develop when water is close to 70F. IMO I would not plant Jungle eel grass because it has 1" wide leaves and grows 6ft to 8ft tall and spreads pretty fast.
There are some exotic species of aquarium eel grass varieties that are short and grow primarily 6" to 24" tall. However these varieties to my knowledge do not tolerate extended cold water and ice cover. They should grow well in southern areas.