Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Controlling unwanted plants Coontail Moss taking over

My 3/4 acre pond is being overrun with what I belive is coontail moss. All the shore out to 3 ft is thick with it, and there are some 7-8 ft areas in the middle that have some floating near surface. It is really impeding my aerator diffuser effectivenss. Thoughts on control ? The Tilapia love swimming in through it and seem to make beds in it. The small CNBG also hang out in it. It has gotten very difficult to fish anywhere from shore, and the catch rate of LMB has dropped since they cant see the lure (plastic worms) unless it hits them on the head. Pictures of 4 different areas attached, along with a nice Tilapia (was about 5" long in March) caught yesterday.

Water specs

Ph 7.5
Alkalinity 140 ppm
Hardness 80 ppm

What should I use to control this stuff? I know some is good for the fish habitat, but this is too much. I have tried raking it out and it comes back in just a few days.

I am filing for a triploid grass carp permit just in case.

Thanks,
Darryl

Archer, here is a link for identifying what you have.

http://aquaplant.tamu.edu/database/submerged_plants/coontail.htm

If it's coontail, then here are your mamagement options.

http://aquaplant.tamu.edu/database/submerged_plants/coontail_mgmt.htm

If it were me I would try grass carp, I would also then use pond dyes to reduce the water clarity in late fall and early winter.

To me this doesnt look like coontail. It looks like chara. I would try a heavy dose of cutrine ultra and see if that helps. This late in the year it may have already calcified and it may be pretty tough to kill.

I am also now thinking Chara after seeing another post by Cecil Baird with a wheelbarrow full of it. I had been on the aquaplant site before, but did not check the "algae" section. That is where the Chara topic is. I thought of algae as being much more single cell/slime like stuff. My Tilapia decimated the FA early this year. I have been approved by TPWD for a grass carp permit and it should arrive soon.

I have decided to let it die-off in cooler water later in the year instead of throwing more money at it. I have seen no dead fish and I aerate 24/7 anyway. I caught a nice LMB the other day with RW of 1.25, so they are still able to feed in the dense stuff. I also feed every night with AQMX 500/600.

Thanks for the advice

Make sure you smell the weed-- if it's chara you will definitly notice the musky odor. It will also have a gritty feel if you roll it in your hands. Its best to get this right bacause you'll see big differences in treatments if you get the ID wrong

It definitely has a pungent, garlic, sour odor and it feels slightly rough, not soft/soggy like you would expect for a waterplant.

I used a 6 ft t-post laid on its side to dredge out some of this. Tied a rope from end to end, then tied another rope to the center of that, which was attached to the tractor. I threw the post out about 8 ft from the shore and just pulled forward. Got a whole bunch out and you could see a nice stripe in the weeds. Unfortunately, there were several 1-2inch BG mixed in, so I decided to not mess with it and hurt their numbers. The strip where I did this has grown completely back in just 45 days.

I will fertilize next year to keep lower visibility (I have 48"+ right now) as I hjave to use well water to keep level up. I think reduced sunlight and grass carp ought to really improve the situation next year.