exotic invasive grass carp fish in Florida, USA
The South Florida Water Management District released about 8,300 grass-eating carp in a Homestead canal Monday to control invasive hydrilla. The sterile fish were farm-raised in Arkansas. Vena Valdez South Florida Water Management District. Chinese grass carp are herbivorous fish that have been purposely introduced into many Florida lakes and ponds to control aquatic weed growth. For many, grass carp seem like a good solution for aquatic weeds: the fish are relatively inexpensive a The grass carp is actually one of the largest members of the minnow family. The back of the grass carp is silvery to dark grey, and the sides of the body are lighter with a slightly golden sheen. The belly is silvery white. Fins are generally greenish-grey. The fish has relatively large scales. The body shape is oblong with a round belly and broad head. Teeth have been replaced by specialized structures called pharyngeal teeth (see photo) located in the back of the throat. These are used for tearing and grinding plant matter. By contrast, common carp have a laterally compressed, robust body (deep bodied from the back of the fish to the belly) and are easily distinguished by the presence of barbels (whiskers) located at the corners of the mouth. Suckers have smaller scales than grass carp or common carp and unlike the carp have large lipped, sucker-like mouths located well below the head. Range: The grass carp is native to large coastal rivers in Siberia (Amur River) and China that flow into the Pacific Ocean. They are extensively cultured for food in China, Malaysia, Singapore, Borneo, Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong and the Philippines. Habitat: Only occurs where stocked within Florida. In its native range it occurs in lakes, ponds, pools and backwaters of large rivers but prefers large, slow-flowing or standing water bodies with vegetation. They are tolerant of temperatures from freezing to over 100 ºF; salinities as high as 10 ppt (brackish), and oxygen levels down to ppm.
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Photo credit: © gary corbett / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
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