Small Grass Carp
In colloquial use carp usually refers only to several larger cyprinid species such as cyprinus carpio common carp carassius carassius crucian carp ctenopharyngodon idella grass carp hypophthalmichthys molitrix silver carp and hypophthalmichthys nobilis bighead carp.
Small grass carp. As the fish grow in size filamentous algae becomes less preferred. The 10 to 12 per acre stocking rate generally removes all submersed aquatic plants and most emersed aquatic plants within 2 years. It is cultivated in china for food but was introduced in europe and the united states for aquatic weed control becoming the species of fish with the largest reported production in aquaculture globally over five million tonnes p.
The grass carp is a large herbivorous freshwater fish species of the family cyprinidae native to eastern asia with an original range from northern vietnam to the amur river on the siberia china border. It is cultivated in china for food but was introduced in. Small carp grass originates from japan and eastern asia.
In general small grass carp select small soft plants like duckweeds filamentous algae or softer pondweeds. Now we don t even sell them because they have done so much harm to so many ponds that we feel that they shouldn t even be legal. It is widespread and invasive in the southeastern united states but in new england it has only been collected in massachusetts.
Carp have long been an important food fish to humans. We used to sell grass carp mainly for customers who don t fish and just wanted the easiest cheapest method of controlling most bottom rooted aquatic weeds. This asian carp is the only species of the genus ctenopharyngodon.
Duckweed and pondweeds are still preferred but fibrous plants are more readily eaten. The grass carp ctenopharyngodon idella is a herbivorous freshwater fish species of family cyprinidae and the only species of the genus ctenopharyngodon. Grass carp should be at least 8 inches long when stocked to avoid predation.
