gars & feeding...

[KaraJo]

Carp do not eat small fish.. Carp destroy spawning grounds and silt over eggs.. Gar do not wreck habitat.. Carp do... There is absolutly nothing these fish do that is in common..

OK...makes sense, but wouldn't it also seem that them getting blamed for bad water quality is actually humans that are making our water quality poor and it just so happens that the carp can prosper in these conditions, so when they are the last one standing, everyone thinks they killed everything else off. I realize they are dirty and have potential of ruining nests, but I dont see them as ruining the ecosystem.

sorry for getting off-topic as well.

 

[E_americanus]

just got back to this thread, a few comments:

the comparison between carp and gars is inaccurate. i believe richard explained this in his responses. carp destroy habitat, gars do not. it should be noted that it was actually US Fish & Wildlife that introduced carp way back toward the end of the 19th century...bad move!

regarding gars eating game fishes...they have an impact, but as richard said (and as we explained to many anglers we spoke to over the summer) the general net impact is positive as this prevents stunting of highly susceptible (to stunting) species such as sunfishes, perch, etc. so gars are not having a negative impact on game fishes and the angler perception as such is also inaccurate.

hopefully that reiterates sums up recent discussions. and no apologies necessary for derailing as all are related topics and welcome to be discussed --
--solomon

 

[Polypterus]

OK...makes sense, but wouldn't it also seem that them getting blamed for bad water quality is actually humans that are making our water quality poor and it just so happens that the carp can prosper in these conditions, so when they are the last one standing, everyone thinks they killed everything else off. I realize they are dirty and have potential of ruining nests, but I dont see them as ruining the ecosystem.

sorry for getting off-topic as well.

It is well studied and established that the feeding behavior of carp leads to decimation of vegetation and suspended turbidity. They do alter the habitat around them and they do so in a very negative way. This is not opinion this is fact.

 

[channarox]

nice read.
some great info on here.