Pond using chemicals safe to eat bluegill from?

[Craig DuShane]

Hey guys,

My in-laws have a pond behind their place that has fountains and is kept/cared for by their community. They put some sort of chemicals in the pond that I believe is to keep the weeds down.

Endothall-aquathol k=do not use for domestic purposes or agriculture irrigation for 15 days and chelated copper-captain xtr.

Can I catch and eat gills from this pond, or should I pass? It's like torture every time I go there.

I need to know!

Thanks!

[Walt Foreman]

Craig, those are both common aquatic herbicides and are both rated for use in ponds with fish in them.  You should be fine in eating the fish.

[Duane R. Morgan]

Craig, I'm not sure what I am doing here but I have tried twice to respond to your comment on pond chemicals. I'm new to BBG and have not figured out how to respond properly. I would like to add something to this discussion if possible. I am an environmental chemist and an organic gardener and personally I am not a fan of herbicides or pesticides. Copper sulfate in aquatic compounds is not necessarily safe for human consumption. Since the gills will eat large numbers of insects dead or alive, they can build up chemical concentrations in their belly fat which are then consumed when you eat the fish. Copper is one of ten regulated metals in land application of Biosolids and not something you want in your system.    morgan

[Tony Livingston]

Duane that is very interesting. Certainly, copper sulfate can accumulate in the sediment on a pond bottom over time, but most modern algaecides, Captain XTR included, use a chelated copper compound. And while I agree that the use of chemicals in a pond or lake should be judicious, studies have shown that chelated copper compounds are lower in elemental copper than copper sulfate, AND they release the copper ion more slowly and are less toxic to fish and zooplankton.

[Craig DuShane]

What if you skipped eating the belly? Kind of wasteful, but if it works...more than made up for by convenience of the pond.

[Tony Livingston]

Craig, I've never found belly fat to be very prevalent on most natural forage Bluegill. Speaking personally, my family and I have no qualms about eating BG from our ponds, which are treated with chelated copper every summer. Maybe you could research the application rates of Captain XTR, and see just how much might be considered detrimental, then find out what amount the community is putting in the pond?