THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, September 13, 1995 TAG: 9509120121
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Coastal Journal
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Mary Reid Barrow
LENGTH: Medium: 88 lines
Great hopes are invested in about 20 tiny green- and gold-patterned fish that were resting in plastic bags the other day on the top of the pond at the Virginia Beach Fire Training Center on Birdneck Road.
The little Israeli carp, which were becoming accustomed to the pond's water temperature before their release, may be the answer to the unsightly green algae floating on the pond surface, said Louis Cullipher, director of the city's Department of Agriculture.
The pond, almost an acre in size, was built as a recyclable water source for firemen to use to put out training fires at the center. But over the years, it also has become a natural habitat. Bass and bluegill and various species of frogs live there. And recently many long strings of filamantous algae also have been calling the pond home.
The algae growth, covering a good portion of the water surface, has gotten out of hand because of favorable growing conditions this summer, Cullipher explained. Algae multiply rapidly in the heat. In addition, the pond is shallower than usual because of the lack of rain and thus heats up even more rapidly.
Fire Training Center employees have tried to cope with the problem by hand raking the green strands out of the pond and up onto the shore. Piles of gray matter, composed of dead dried algae, line the pond edge. Even so, there is plenty more algae to be dealt with out on the water.
Not only are the algae unsightly now but if the organisms die and decompose too rapidly in the heat, the process will use up the pond water's oxygen. That, in turn, will cause a fish kill, an even more unsightly condition, not to mention a smelly one.
It just so happens, however, that filamentous algae are the Israeli carp's favorite food and the Fire Training Center pond's new residents are known to consume about half their weight in food a day, Cullipher said. Although only about 5 inches long and a few ounces heavy now, the fish will grow to about 10 pounds, which means they will be consuming up to 5 pounds of algae a day per fish. But the training center won't have to wait that long to see results.
``I would think you'd see some response by this fall,'' Cullipher said.
If a pond is overgrown with milfoil or other kinds of algae, Israeli carp won't do any good, because they only like filamentous algae. But Cullipher is confident they will prove to be the solution to the Fire Training Center's problem. A decade or so ago, Cullipher was working for the U.S. Soil and Water Conservation Service when he helped a civic league introduce Israeli carp into a Kings Grant lake that was becoming overgrown with the algae.
To this day, the algae hasn't been a problem in the lake, Cullipher said. The Israeli carp are so big now that residents have the added bonus of catching and releasing the big fish.
``It's a biological way of controlling weeds,'' Cullipher said. ``The biological approach is much safer than a chemical approach.''
And much less expensive, too. The little carp purchased from Perry Minnow Farm in Suffolk cost less than $100. That is a bargain, spread out over the 10- to 12-year life span of the carp, when you consider that chemical controls would have to be applied year after year, Cullipher explained.
If the fish do a good job with the algae after they are grown, they can be netted and divided, he added. Some of the fish could be sent on to other ponds in need of filamentous-algae eaters where they would get to work in a hurry because they would be so big.
Another bonus of the carp is that the fish do not reproduce well in local ponds, Cullipher went on. Although they are not sterile, conditions here are not favorable to Israeli carp reproduction. Bass and bluegill keep the carp population in check by eating the eggs.
``You won't end up with a zillion Israeli carp,'' he said.
After the long hot summer, many ponds and canals in Virginia Beach are beset by filamentous algae. ``There are a lot of opportunities for using the carp in other parts of the city,'' Cullipher said. ``I thought this would be a good thing for the city to set an example of biological aquatic weed control.''
If you want to know more about controlling algae in your pond, call the Department of Agriculture at 426-5775. MEMO: What unusual nature have you seen this week? And what do you know about
Tidewater traditions and lore? Call me on INFOLINE, 640-5555. Enter
category 2290. Or, send a computer message to my Internet address:
mbarrow(AT)infi.net.
ILLUSTRATION: Photo by MARY REID BARROW
Israeli carp, which grow to about 10 pounds, can eat up to half
their body weight a day in filamantous algae in area ponds.
by CNB