Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Controlling unwanted plants Algae in Soutbeazt Texas

Almost anyone that lives in Southeast Texas knows that algae is a problem. Unfortunately, the 3 acres or so of my land that drains into my 0.9 acre pond is wooded (mostly Cedar Elm and Hackberry). This causes a real nutrient load to be washed into the pond every fall. I treat with Cutrine Plus but it is a never ending battle all summer. Lately, about 4 days after spraying the soreline with the Cutrine, I use a sand rake to groom the shallow water along shore. This helps break up the mats of filimentrojs algae helping prevent the large mats from floating to the surface. I got to wondering, since the copper in the Cutrine eventually settles to the bottom, does the raking stir the copper back into the water making it somewhat effective again? What do you think?

Welcome to the forum.

That's a good question and frankly I don't have an answer for you.

BUT. Next year look into stocking 35 to 40 pounds of Mozambique Tilapia once the water temp hits 70°F. Spray the Cutrine Plus a few days before they are stocked. You might not have to spray or rake the pond the rest of the year. The tilapia should die in the winter and will need to be restocked every year.

Thanks but I already have 30 pounds of Talapia in the pond. Like I stated, just too much of a nutrient load going in. I also use muck eating bacteria when I can but it cannot be used within 2 weeks of putting in the Cutrine. I use the Cutrine very sparingly to avoid build up as much as possible. I did find a bacteria that is suposedly cold water tolerant and plan to try it over our mild winters we have to get a jump on that.

Are you far enough south in Texas that your tilapia are surviving through the winter?

If so, your 30 pounds of tilapia should expand greatly this summer with at least several hundred pounds of spawned tilapia that will be eating algae this year.

OTH, if your tilapia are dying off during the winter, you may need to scoop the floaters and discard them. Each fish contains a lot of nutrients.

Also, when you groom the shallows with a sand rake, do you throw the algal mats out of the watershed of the pond? If not, then all of those nutrients are going back into your pond as the algal mats decay on the bank.

(Most of the people on the forum that rake, say there is a sweet spot in the timing to remove the mats. Let them dry a little so they get lighter to move, but not so dry that the mats break apart when you attempt to pick them up.)

Thanks fishinrod, yes I usually remove all the algae I can. As I'm removing it I pile it up then later use a fork to pick it up and haul it off with my tractor front loader. In fact, I made a tool for this out of 20 feet of aluminum tube with a shallow dip net on one end and a fishing dip net on the other end for large mats.

My Talapia do die off in winter but the catfish quickly clean them up. I have been trying to remove the catfish and only have bass and perch but not sure I'll ever get all the cats out.

One thing I plan to try this fall is make a couple of sediment fences to try and stop as much of the leaf matter I can from going into the pond.

I like the sound of your helpers cleaning up the dead tilapia. I'd be for keeping some of them. Do you believe they interfere with your LMB/BG goals?
As esshup suggests, he absolutely understands tilapia stocking, add more than the 30 pounds of tilapia after killing off the bulk of your FA. You may see completely different results when the tilapia reach critical mass.

I think your silt fencing will work, but I would probably earn a veto from my wife on that project for aesthetic reasons.

I have lots of acres of tallgrass prairie on our property. That stuff is pretty good at trapping surface water flows and is also drought resistant. In our drought years it goes dormant, and then when it gets rain the next spring it comes back nearly 100%. Even when it is dormant, it still acts like a silt fence!

Do you know the NRCS agent for your county? I bet he could recommend some native prairie grass seed blends for your area. You would only need to plant a few strips perpendicular to the slope of the land to create some effective "silt fencing". They may even have a program to pay 50% of your costs for "erosion control" or some similar goal.



Are you catching catfish of all sizes? If so, they are effectively spawning in your pond. I would keep catching them, AND try removing any spawning habitat that may be in your pond. Such as old tires, concrete pipes, or basically anything that makes a cavity.

Good luck on your algae battle. Literally, almost everyone else on the forum fights that same battle for at least part of the year.