How to Care for Grass Carp
Grass carp technically are minnows, even though they can grow to 100 pounds or even more. They eat aquatic plants and can control weeds in a confined area, such as a lake or pond. Grass carp do not reproduce in an environment of still water, such as a lake or pond, so you can control the number living in a lake or pond. Grass carp can consume two to three times their own weight each day, so as they become larger, their appetite grows. Grass carp live for approximately eight years.
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Instructions
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Buy or acquire grass carp from your local fisheries department. The number of grass carp you need depends on the size of your lake or pond and the severity of your aquatic plant problem. If your pond or lake is covered 20 percent to 40 percent by aquatic plants then stock two to five grass carp per acre. If your lake or pond has more plants, stock up to a maximum of 20 grass carp per acre.
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Allow the grass carp to feed in a normal fashion. If you are stocking normal-sized grass carp, do not expect to see much improvement in your pond's vegetative covering during the first year. Your carp will need to grow larger before they make much of dent in the vegetation, starting in the second year.
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Monitor your lake or pond vegetation carefully. As the vegetation decreases, you will need to remove up to half the fish. Grass carp are difficult to catch or to kill. They are edible, however.
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Tips & Warnings
Use screens to cover spillways and prevent grass carp from escaping from ponds or lakes.
If you capturing grass carp, you can use them to stocked other ponds.
Never release grass carp in streams or other moving water because they can reproduce and potentially become a problem.
References
- Photo Credit carp on Steroids image by Christine from Fotolia.com
Comments
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I stocked 30 small grass carp in a half acre lake early in 2008 and by early 2010 they had eliminated curly pond weed. This year 90% of milfoil has gone so very successful to date as last year I had manually removed over 100 barrow loads of weed and this year only 10. Also no sign of blanket weed in 2011.
