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Grass Carp in pond

3K views 10 replies 11 participants last post by  firehouselabs 
#1 ·
Have any of you used grass carp in your pond to help clean it up? If so what have the results been?
 
#2 ·
Be careful about what you put in there. There are lots of horror stories about grass carp that are supposed to be males and sterile breeding and making a whole bunch of em. Many states require spillway protection to keep them from getting out downstream.

Should be lots of info online about this...
 
#4 ·
We have some in the small pond that is closest to our house (we have 3 ponds on the farm). They were here when we bought it 15 years ago; and I'm pretty sure either they are sterile or they reproduce only enough to keep the numbers about the same. In Va. you need a permit to have them. That pond stays very clean, even in late summer. We also put the blue dye in it in May, which supposedly filters the water preventing algae blooms.
 
#5 ·
We have had good luck with them. We put 6 in a small 3/4 pond about 4-5 yrs ago and the vegetation in the pond has been cut way back (probably close to 3/4 of it gone now).
 
#6 ·
Would definitely check with your state biologist, county agent .... or whatever agency could provide guidance around weed control and grass carp. As others have indicated, grass carp are not alway the answer and can actually create issues. However, I have personal experince with ponds in Kentucky and Alabama where grass carp ... along with some other actions ... dramatically improved the weed situation. I would at least investigate it a bit further.
 
#8 ·
I've had super results in my 2 acre pond. I first put them in about 15 years ago and haven't spent a dime on chemicals since. After about 9 years, I noticed some algae and weeds. I researched their life span, and found that it was 5-9 years.
I put a dozen more in and have had a clean pond ever since. Obviously, the ones I got did not reproduce.

They were somewhat small when I first got them and because they feed off the top of the water, they were vulnerable to heron type birds. However, they do grow very quickly.

I personally think they're a Godsend.
 
#9 ·
My pond is two years old. 3 acres of water in size. I was told that new ponds have more trouble with weeds than older established ponds. Anyway, I started with 5 carp/acre and the weed problem was outgrowing their consumption rate. So, I went to 15 carp/acre. They seem to be turning the corner on the weeds now. I was also told their consumption slows down after 5-6 years. So, you might want to plan on having a bow hunt then and replace them with new fish. I think I paid $6 each for them. If we ever get some sunny days in Alabama, I'm going to apply copper sulfate in low amounts to try and help as well. However, you have to be extremely careful with it because it will kill your fish due to oxgen depletion.
 
#10 ·
Most people around here use Tilapia. They not only clean up grass and algae, they all die off each winter. An added benefit, they are excellent eating!
 
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