Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Controlling unwanted plants Controling Algae

Has anyone had any bad experiences using Cutrine Plus to control algae? My concern is this. We have 230 grass carp in our 15 acre lake. I'm concerned if Cutrine will have any negative effect on them. Thanks for any response ahead of time.

230 grass carp in 15 acres!!!! WOW, thats a LOT of grass carp. Here in Texas, the Wildlife Dept recommends 4 or 5 per acre. You have about 4X the recommended amount. I would think at that rate that you would have no green growth of any kind. Even algae should be eaten due to such a large amount of plant eaters and not enough plants.

I know that grass carp are not supposed to eat algae, but as I understand them, they will eat some of it if nothing else exists.

anyway, to my point, with that many grass carp, I would be really scared to kill any plants. They are going to need all they can get to keep from starving.

Nick,
Although 230 does seem like alot, we are still under the max rate for grass carp here in PA.
Before we stocked them, our 15 acre lake was 95% covered from the bottom to the surface with Niaid and Curly Leaf Pondweed.
After 2 years we still have plenty of weeds. I don't think that they are going to go hungry anytime soon.

Buckshot

I have used Cutrine-plus for years without a single problem. But, I follow the label explicitly, know the target species and understand how it all works. Be a good student, know your plants, and the product will work. Regarding grass carp, they won't eat algae. Can't bite it.
A key thing to remember here, treating plants only deals with a symptom. Plants need three factors to grow...sunlight, food and temperature. Grass carp only act to eat the plants, convert vegetation to nutrients, then re-introduce it to the system. More food for different plants, until flushing rains send those nutrients downstream.