Grass Carp

Algae has always been an issue in our lakes.  We have mostly just relied on chemical treatments to combat our algae but this can be very difficult due to the application needs to be made at a precise time or the algae will spread very rapidly. About 7 years ago we had grass carp added to our lakes on 8 and 17 and there has been very little algae in those lakes since.  This year we added 84 more grass carp to 5 more lakes to try and assist in controlling our algae.  With the help of Matt McGreggor, a fisheries biologist from Aqua Sierra we were able to add fish to the lakes on 3, 4, 5, 6, and 16.

close up of one of my new employees, his only job is to eat algae

The old carp are the most active in the lakes on our 8th hole.  You have probably seen the 24" to 36" fish swimming by the shore line as you search for golf balls.  When we added the carp to 8 there were all the same 10" long fish that we have just added this week.  The carp are more active feeders when they are young, but when these little guys get big they will still hopefully keep our algae issues under control.

adding water slowly to the fish to get them acclimated to the temperature and pH of the water

Before Matt puts the fish in the water he first had to get them acclimated to the water temperature as well as the pH of the water.  This process only takes about 10 minutes,  but  it keeps the fish from going into shock.

releasing the fish after they regulate to the water temperature

Lets hope our newest employees work hard and keep our water clean and algae free.