The stranded grass carp in JB

[floridakid]

What should we do about the carp in JB?

Grass carp are not indigenous to the millpond. They were actually released there to control some of the aquatic vegitation. The carp in the millpond are not your typical grass carp. They have actually been sterilized so they are not able to breed. Grass carp that are capable of breeding can actually destroy a pond and fertile carp are considered a nuisance species for this reason.

It is no secret that a fish that size would be a feast for the troglobites of JB. A fish this size needs to eat and it is possible that the carp is eating the very creatures that will feed on him once dead.

Grass carp could easily be called the bovine of freshwater fish. Left to there own devices, they do 2 things: eat (primarily vegitation) and consume oxygen. Spring water is notoriously low in disolved oxygen and the low oxygen levels are not condusive for a fish that is suited to live in water with lots of aquatic plants (that produce oxygen).

Therefore, if nothing is done, this fish WILL die. He is not capable of survival in a cave. Furthermore, this fish would never have been anywhere near JB if humans had not intervened. There is also a possibly this fish is harming the fragile cave environment especially if he is feeding on troglobites. His ultimate death would provide the troglobites with food.

As it stands, this fish could be having a negative effect in the fragile ecosystem of JB. If this fish dies in the cave, his corpse will have a positive effect on the cave. If removed from the cave, the potential damage that a hungry fish could cause would be averted but there would be none of the benifits that would be derived from a large fish corpse in an environment that is not used to having an abundance of food. If returned to the millpond he may recover from this event and go back to eating aquatic vegitation. There is also a possibility that he is too ill from lack of food and oxygen and will die in spite of being returned to an eviorment with an abundance of oxygen and vegitation.

So what should we do?

[Kevin Carlisle]

Leave the damn thing alone. Its natures way, not to.mention he will not eat as much as those catfish. Dive and leave the animals alone.

[Kelly Jessop]

Grass carp are not indigenous to the millpond.

Neither are cave divers,and they are probably one of the factors for the carp being in the cave. FWIW,cave divers are possibly the reason for spikes in dissolved oxygen to support this carp-this has been supported by hydrolab data

[Angry Turtle]

Neither are cave divers,and they are probably one of the factors for the carp being in the cave. FWIW,cave divers are possibly the reason for spikes in dissolved oxygen to support this carp-this has been supported by hydrolab data

are you now proposing that OC divers get banned from caves?







I kid...

[a64pilot]

I'm not real sure they follow the lights in, or why won't it follow them out? I don't think it truly matters much if it goes or stays. If a carcass would actually help the life in a cave, then that's easy, just bring in a dead fish every now and again, but that is of course probably not really that good an idea.
If you have a way to get it out and can and want to,then why not get it out. I had thought about a mesh laundry bag thinking the thing was close to comatose, but if it took off leaving a cloud of silt, then it isn't almost comatose.
I think just simply given enough fish swimming around, once in a blue moon one of them will wander in and get lost, sort of like open water divers.

[a64pilot]

I'm sure Kelly knows what he is talking about, but if the flow of a magnitude one spring is greater than 100 cu ft per sec, then a diver exhaling .033 cu ft of 28% per sec., would have a hard time oxygenating much of anything. The math just doesn't seem to support it as that is to use a technical term a Metric Ass load of water.

[Jax]

Poor thing wouldn't be there if man hadn't put him in the Pond in the first place.

[a64pilot]

Poor thing wouldn't be there if man hadn't put him in the Pond in the first place.

Look at it this way, the thing has been "fixed" maybe it's committing suicide when it couldn't "get it up"

[Kelly Jessop]

are you now proposing that OC divers get banned from caves?

Perhaps CCR divers with no lights,ought to make for an interesting dive Perhaps someone can give the carp a cave class and a map of JB.

[Kelly Jessop]

I'm sure Kelly knows what he is talking about, but if the flow of a magnitude one spring is greater than 100 cu ft per sec, then a diver exhaling .033 cu ft of 28% per sec., would have a hard time oxygenating much of anything. The math just doesn't seem to support it as that is to use a technical term a Metric Ass load of water.

Interesting data that KE downloaded at a popular cave system,they were showing oxygen spikes during the weekends and daytime hours. Realize we are dealing with ppm,and were are dealing with small numbers,but enough to spike above groundwater numbers (not enough to support us if someone ever tries to dive without a regulator)