Rudd problem

[bobolovski]

Hello one and all,

I have a well established mid - large-ish (21m^3) garden pond. Its innhabited by several generations of koi, mirror and common carp, along with some elderly gold fish and a miserable old tench.

About 4 or 5 years ago a family friend introduced a couple of rudd (i think rather than roach because of the dorsal - pectoral alignment) into the pond without letting me know, and while im not averse to having a new fish in the pond they have since had a population explosion. This seems to be to the detriment of the other fish (ie no new carp)

We caught around 50 last year but there just seems to be more every year. I would really love to get rid of them now, (even though the gold/orange types we get sometimes are beautiful - not sure if they are a hybrid)

Someone mentioned to me about introducing a predator but i wouldnt want to negatively impact the pond any more than it has been already..... any ideas?

cheers

[Dutchess]

Sounds as though they could well be Rudd, they come in a wide range of shades of yellowy gold to deep red and are known to breed like the proverbial.

By the way, welcome to WAB!

D.

[coasty]

If you introduce a predator they will predate all the species.. and the Rudds prodigous ability to reproduce will mean eventually all that will be left is the Rudd... If you do introduce a predator make sure its a fish species that can only breed in running water. Many lakes with large populations of small species like rudd have a species like chub introduced they will mop up the fry and small fish. You have a quite a problem. and one that will not be easily solved given the size of the pond.
Even netting would be unlikely to catch all the small fish.