Food habits of the white amur stocked in ponds alone and in combination with other species

Under these conditions, their diet consisted mainly of macrophytes and algae (75 to 95 percent by volume) and only a small amount of mature insects (0 to 18 percent). When stocked in combination with channel catfish, Israeli carp, and three bass (large-mouth, redeye, and spotted) their diet consisted of 84 percent macrophytes and only 9 percent insects (larvae). In this case, with virtually no aquatic plants in the pond, white amur resorted to nibbling grass roots and stolons at the pond edge. These findings point out the benefits of using white amur in situations where biological methods of weed control are preferable to chemical methods. They also indicate that white amur do not pose a threat as a competitor for food organisms eaten by game fish. They also provide an excellent food source and game fish since they can be taken by angling using worms as bait.