Water Hyacinth = Tropical?

[ChilDawg]

Can I throw some of our pond water hyacinth in a 5g Betta tank? Or even a 10g tank?

[kveeti]

That stuff grows like a weed. In fact, isn't it considered a noxious weed in Florida? It's also pretty big, isn't it, for a 5 gallon? I would buy 1 single plant in June for a half-barrel. By mid-July, it had spread over the whole surface and I was weeding it out constantly. I tried over-wintering it once in an old tank, and it did not last, I think it needs very high light.

[ChilDawg]

Ours didn't cover the pond this year, but it may be a little big for the 5g...if it dies indoors, though, it's really of no use to me in Patriot's tank! Thanks, kveeti!

[kveeti]

Mine did last for about a month... but it is a good idea in that it would make a great bunch of hairy roots for the betta to swim amongst. When I had my plants, I was "feeding" them syphoned aquarium-change water - that's how I got my first inadvertant batch of baby zebra danios.

[ChilDawg]

Would the incandescent hood on a 5 keep the plant alive?

How 'bout the standard fluorescent on a 10 hood?

[kveeti]

I was using 2x11watts screw-in fluourescents on a 15 gallon. I tried to keep about 5 plants, I think it was. I kept the lights on about 14 hours a day. The lights were, however, the "wrong" K level (2700K) but the plants I now have growing with those same bulbs (in a 10 gallon) are doing fantastic.

You could try it and toss them at the first sign of trouble (the little 'pontoons' start to go soft).

[ChilDawg]

I suppose it's worth a shot...we usually just pitch them over the winter, anyway...