RE: Duckweed

[DavidZ]

is Duckweed for low light tanks?

[nickmcmechan]

any light, but you'll never get rid of it

[Bk718]

like nick said.. any light.
Its a floater so its directly under the light. Though when people say low light, that has a minimum as well.

[DavidZ]

Never get rid of it??? doesn't sound good
What do you guys like as floaters

[shawnhu]

They replicate by division, so it's not imposible to remove. You'll just need to search them out, and if it's the only floaters you have, it'll be easy to remove.

[Bk718]

Never get rid of it??? doesn't sound good
What do you guys like as floaters

frogbit/water lettuce/red root floater/ hydrocotyle

[DavidZ]

sounds like a plan

[jpappy789]

I like brazilian pennywort floating.

[mellowvision]

pennywort and duckweed are both great.

anyone who says "you'll never get rid of it" has never owned a net!

it's true, it grows rapidly, but there's never been an easier plant to remove.

[mellowvision]

it's also a great water cleanser

[Lupin]

Also makes nice treats for many snails.

[DAVIDFBT]

I agree with mellow, I don't see why everyone says that duckweed is the worst plant ever. Whenever I see it, I just bust out my net and scoop it out.

[Riiz]

Once you have a purpose for it, its an amazing plant. For some tanks it will take over the surface, but that means it pulling out nutrients and light that would otherwise be feeding algae. And in some tanks it doesnt survive, since I have fish and inverts including a large blue gourami that loves to eat it, so some tanks become my duckweed breeders, hehe.

[Bk718]

pennywort and duckweed are both great.

anyone who says "you'll never get rid of it" has never owned a net!

it's true, it grows rapidly, but there's never been an easier plant to remove.



They replicate by division, so it's not imposible to remove. You'll just need to search them out, and if it's the only floaters you have, it'll be easy to remove.

I have frogbit/red root and sadly duckweed and I can never successfully get rid of the duckweed.

[jpappy789]

I've gotten close but it always seems like a "floater" remains unnoticed...I would rather have a nicer looking plant that doesn't spread so quickly and is easier to remove (not a fan of scooping it out with nets every week) but it's not horrible I guess.

[mellowvision]

didn't we read a while back that excel would kill it?

[Kashta]

It's all right there on top, so it's not that big a deal to pluck out the larger, floating plants and set them aside in tupperware tubs.. then remove all the duckweed at one time. It's not like duckweed sneaks down to the bottom of the tank to hide out when you approach the tank. Then, just check the other plants one-by-one for any left hiding between stems and under leaves before you put them back. Gives you something to do while watching TV.. lol. And if you plunge the other plant down into the water for a moment.. loose duckweeds will float back up where they're easy to grab. Really, if you don't want it.. throw it away all at once and it's gone.

[DavidZ]

As Riiz stated, I have a purpose for it, I have some greenish water and I was told that floaters will help, don't want to cover the top too much, any other ideas as to plants to use?. Have java moss and fava furn at this time in a 55gl.

[angyles]

As others have said, frogbit's great. You also end up scooping out handfulls every week, but it's a really nice plant, attractive, easy to scoop out, and lots of fish LOVE IT.

[nickmcmechan]

frogbit is far easier to control

duckweed survives for months out of the water, and sometimes because its out of the water and you don't see the speck...water splashes on the speck and pulls it into the tank...you again have duckweed....

so its not that you can't get rid fo it, it just takes a long long long time to

also, its high maintenance as it takes over the surface which can strangle o2 supply

you get the same benefits with frogbit which is easier to control

[snoopy65]

Of course if you are like me and have severums, it gets eaten....I have none left in that tank.

[tennesseemom]

I love the roots in the water, it just makes for a real natural looking tank, I love the stuff.

[Kashta]

It's official - Duckweed is not evil. :silly:



"Duckweed may be the most promising plant for the twenty-first century for the following reasons:

Duckweed produces more protein per square meter than soybeans UTA.
Duckweed is easier to harvest than algae or other aquatic plants.
Duckweed can be used to feed fish, poultry and cattle (PRISM, INC) .
Duckweed can purify and concentrate nutrients from wastewater (sewage effluent).
Duckweed provides food for wildlife, especially waterfowl (Wetlands)."
Source: Duckweed - The Super Plant, "Babalouie's Duckweed Application Page" - by Louis Landesman, Texas State University-San Marcos, San Marcos, TX.

^^ Wow. Maybe we should top our salad with it.

[tennesseemom]

It will even live in that little patch of water on your sink behind the faucet in the bathroom that never seems to go away.. not that I know anything about that...

[0live]

It's official - Duckweed is not evil. :silly:


Source: Duckweed - The Super Plant, "Babalouie's Duckweed Application Page" - by Louis Landesman, Texas State University-San Marcos, San Marcos, TX.

^^ Wow. Maybe we should top our salad with it.

MR. Louis forgot "Will clog your filter intake faster than floating hornwort." to his appreciation list.

[Kashta]

lol. It sticks right on to carpeting, too. I was filling up a plastic bag to ship some out. Wet fingers, slippery plastic... whoosh, there it went. Water.. duckweed... everywhere.

Now I'm worried it might survive and is growing dry in the darkness of my shop vac. :eek:

[grannylvsfish]

sad to say my duckweed is a replenishing supply.my smails go mad for it so I have to actually buy it when i see someone is trying to get rid of it. usually folks are kind enough to give it to me for the price of shipping, so if you all hate it bag it up I love it!! with in 2 weeks, its all gone again !!

[PaulJ69]

I made a time lapse video with duckweed at the top. You'll notice that it just overwhelms the top. Then I scooped most of it out. I might of left about 5 pieces in there.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PgvO7lN6MQ

[DAVIDFBT]

Whenever I get too much duckweed, I scoop it out and give it to the koi at the LFS. They go nuts for it and it's all gone within 30 seconds.

[DavidZ]

What other fish eat Duckweed?

[PondCometer]

I've had duckweed take over a few tanks in the past. Net fulls is definitely no fun. Also everything and anything that goes into the tank, comes out covered in it. Personally i dont like it, but my goldfish in the pond were more then happy to devour it all.

[grannylvsfish]

I can not get it to replenish at all, my snails eat it ,every last piece and there for never have any :( I want duckweed ))))))))))))))))