Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Controlling unwanted plants GC + fluridone?

I have about a 1 acre pond. Stocked with bass blue gill and catfish. I believe i have a severe Naiad problem so with out much research bought 12 grass carp. Realizing the severity of the problem the GC will never be able to keep in control. So now after researching I see that fluridone is the end all to pond weeds. My question is if I treat the pond with fluridone will the GC be able to find enough food to live. And is it safe for the to eat the treated plants. After the initial kill I believe they will be able to control most the weed problems. Live in southern indiana, pond is around 15ft in deep side with naiad covering around 1/2-2/3rd of pond

Welcome to the Forum!

Have you positively identified the problem plant?

It takes grass Carp 2-4 years to start making noticeable plant coverage reductions. 12 GC would be on the higher side of what would normally be stocked per acre. PM esshup here on the forum about Fluridone, or other possible chemical in Indiana. He'll be glad to help you.

You didn't say how long your GC have been in your has been in your pond.

Rainman is right, you have to give the GC time to see what they can accomplish. Look at certain infested area's of you pond or take a picture of it and then the next year see if the same area's are getting smaller in size. I had 18 grass carp for one acre and they took all plants out in 4 years. So 12 grass carp sounds like a good starting point to me.

I've stocked them several times and not a lot happens to infestations the first year. In severe infestations, it can take a couple of years.

However, it should die back during the Winter. When it tries to make a new start in the Spring, the carp are there eating the new shoots.

As the owner of this site, Bob Lusk, often says "Have patience grasshopper.".

Fluridone isn't a poison, it interferes with a plant's ability to photosynthesize. I don't think it would hurt your GC to eat treated vegetation at all. Be aware that it is a long term solution, meaning you must maintain the correct concentration in PPB for it to be effective.

.....and be cautious with fluridone use during the heat of the summer, when a] Water temps are high and DO is correspondingly low and/or b]there is a high biomass of oxygen users in the pond, especially larger fish that may be more DO and temprature insensative and/or c]there is a very heavy plant burden.
Sparkie is exactly right, fluridone knocks out a plants major photosynthetic pigments, and the plant starves to death---but not before it consumes all available energy via standard respiration, which will result in a significant, temporary increase in 02 consumption. Most years, there are a few forum posts from folks who have used fluridone midsummer and have come to grief.....it's a great product, but use cautiously.

I put the GC in the pond in late may. They were supposed to be delivered early April but the supplier kept pushing it back. I knew they would not be an immediate solution but wanted to do something.Then I started think with as much of naiad I have that they may not be able to keep it in check in spring. I thought I could make the pond swimmable and easier fishing this year by using fluridone and then the GC would have no problem keeping the vegetation umber control. I will try to put up the pictures of what I believe is naiad from my research and show how bad the problem is. But in the end I am more concerned with the fish population than I am a pretty swimming pond.

[img][img]http://www.imageurlhost.com/images/0svhnryoggy0svxjubc_naiad1.png[/img][/img]
[img][img]http://www.imageurlhost.com/images/o1lzjt8jvoqkgfd93cg_Pond-far.png[/img][/img]
[img][img]http://www.imageurlhost.com/images/vbadchcg5esj1ouejjcv_naiad2.png[/img][/img]
[img][img]http://www.imageurlhost.com/images/6z35jti888w41k1y_Pond-near.png[/img][/img]

It's a little hard to tell but you can see in the "pond far" picture the tips of them go across the majority of the pond till it reaches deep water.2/3rd of pond is covered in it and all along the bank on the deep end.
Would a contact kill chemical work better for this year until they die off in the winter. Given yall think that the GC would be able to maintain weed control in spring?