Originally Posted by FishinRod
Originally Posted by BJ Nick
One more question: is there any downside to the triploid grass carp to take care of algae? Got a whole bunch coming up right now....

I believe the carp will eat almost any OTHER bit of plant matter before they will eat the algae.

Tilapia are the big algae eaters. You might check to see if they are legal in your area. If so, then read some of the tilapia threads to see how they will do in your pond.

You might have the optimal situation where they will spawn a few times and then die off in the winter, so you have complete control of the species.

Here in Indiana I stock 6"-9" Tilapia in late May - early June. That's when the water temps are consistently in the upper 60's and climbing. I will usually see a few Tilapia beds around the full moon in late June, then more in July/Aug/Sept. I can never source enough to sell in late May/June. I could get plenty of 90% male food grade fish, but I have learned from experience that they don't do as good of a job controlling algae as the 50/50 M/F mix that I get now.

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