Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Controlling unwanted plants Is water hyacinth a terrible idea?

I am considering adding some water Hyacinth in my pond to cut down on algae but also for the aesthetics and habitat. My big fear is I do not want it to spread it overtake my pond. It is a small pond, only about an eighth of an acre. I have read on water hyacinth a decent bit and seems like most people are using corrals. Is it necessary to have netting underneath a floating corral to contain it, or can I just put a floating border such as a hula hoop without worry of it overtaking my pond? Ideally I would like to just create a border in a couple of different spots in the shallows and have the plants growing naturally not floating out in the middle under netting. Does anyone have experience with this or do's and don'ts for managing water hyacinths? Thanks in advance

I'd be very leery of water hyacinth, Freg. Beautiful, but spreads fast in fertile environment. Honestly don't think a hula hoop will keep it contained for long. My favorite 12 acre tank in southern Texas got 90 percent covered with hyacinth and they had a dickens of a time getting rid of it.

That said, it's your place and your choice. Just be prepared to take quick action when & if it gets out of hand.

That's exactly why I have held off Thus far. Is there any way It could possibly spread if I planted it inside of netting?

Honestly don't know if netting would contain it, someone with more expertise than I would have to answer that. I do know that if you ever decide to eliminate the floating plant, it has seeds/shoots in the pond bottom that will come back again and again for years. Also, hyacinths increase water evaporation and actually raise water temps in the summer when you might not want that.

On the plus side, they really are pretty & make fairly good cover for small fish. When three friends and I raked out as much as we could, the LMB went nuts hitting the suddenly exposed prey fish. Unfortunately, two weeks later the water four guys spent hours raking looked just as hyacinth choked as it did before!

Water hyacinth is beautiful - and horribly invasive.

It is actually a "prohibited" plant in Florida, where conditions are nearly perfect for it to spread.

Conditions in TN probably won't be perfect, but should still be pretty good (to spread).

Water Hyacinth - Florida Advisory

You might consider starting it inside your pond in single Walmart plastic kiddie pool. Level a place on the bottom of the pond, drill some water circulation holes in the plastic, and put some good soil in the pool.

The water hyacinth should rapidly fill the pool. If you see any bit escape, I would drag the pool out of the pond and dig out every hyacinth shoot I could find in the rest of the pond.

If the water hyacinth behaves in the pool, then you could consider adding more pools and determining attractive ways to hide the rims in the pond.

In my non-expert opinion, there are many other rooted plants that will steal some of the nutrients from your algae, yet still not take over your pond and cause a NEW problem.

There are some good plant threads in the forum if you use the search function.

Good luck on your pond improvement project!

If your area in TN gets ice cover or frequent winter frosts water hyacinth will not survive in the pond over winter. I think it requires a minimum concentration of iron in the water for good growth. In a small 1/8 ac pond you should be able to remove enough plants regularly during the summer to keep it from overtaking the pond. With the hyacinth growing well in the pond water should be pretty clear and very little filamentous algae.

We get cold temperatures and plenty of frost but rarely does the pond freeze over. That is good to know though that water heist and would be killed by the pond freezing. I currently have four water lilies and some cattails. The water will get very clear at times if we have not had rain, however there is a lot of algae and what I believe is American pond weed. I think I may go for trying to grow some water hyacinth in a tub or kitty swimming pool in the pond. OR does anybody else have other suggestions on plants that would do a good job of pulling nutrients out of the pond? I'm upgrading my aerator soon and using good bacteria to try to break down some of the muck. I've been informed by neighbors that my pond is at least 60 years old and was never taken care of until I moved in a few years ago.

Consider one or a few floating islands to absorb nutrients. Islands in Fall can be pulled to shore and surface vegetation removed to get sequestered nutrients out of the pond ecosystem. Use google to search for floating islands both commercial and homemade. Quite a bit of research has been performed using floating islands to sequester nutrients in ponds and lakes. Some threads are here on PBoss forum about floating islands.

https://www.pondboss.com/news/inside-pond-boss/floating-islands-clearer-water-and-more-fish

https://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=500899

Freg, is it legal to stock tilapia where you are? They won't survive your winter temps, but do a good job with algae. You'd probably only need a few for a 1/8 acre pond. Stock mixed sexes when water temps are reliably above mid fifties, they will eat algae & spawn more until water cools down in fall.

We had -8 degrees for a week 2 years ago and I can show you hyacinth in our lake today. I spray every patch i find and we still have it after 5 years of spraying. It is under control.

Good to know. So do you wish there was none in there?

IMO There is a big difference between a 1/8 ac pond and a lake when dealing with water hyacinth.

^^^ I completely agree with Bill. I had it in my small 8' dia pond when I had Mandarin and Wood Ducks there, and I had to put chicken wire around it or they'd eat it all. It helped utilize some of the nutrients that they pooped in the water. I'd take 3/4 of it out, and it'd fill the cage again in a month. Remove it for compost/fertilizer and repeat the process.

Yes, I wish it wasn't here so I wouldn't have to monitor and spray forever.

I stocked tilapia one year but found they mainly ate the fish feed more than the algae.

That was my thought. If I kept it contained and monitored it, it would be unlikely to overtake my pond. I would hate to have a lake overtaken by it.

I had a bad experience with TP when I did initial stocking. Not much algae, so they dined on the FHM I'd put in there to feed the bass. By the time I stocked the bass, most of the FHM were gone. Bass stunted due to lack of forage, except for those relative few shooters who turned into cannibals. A costly lesson, and not just in dollars.