gouramis eating my floating plants

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angyles

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Nov 4, 2002
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I have these little floating plants that look like tiny lily pads. I'm not sure what they're called, but they have long fuzzy roots that hang about 2-3 inches into the water and are propogating quickly. I've had them in my tank for about 3 weeks now. The problem is, their roots are now about .5 inches long. I have 1 dwarf gourami in there and I see him nibble at them. Some are still long, but stripped of their fuzzyness. The thing is, they're still growing like mad. They're healthy looking and have doubled in these 3 weeks. Everyday there's more of them, but the roots get smaller and smaller.

Is this going to kill them, or is it okay? Do they really need all that root? Is there anything I can do to stop him from eating them?

The other thing is, I keep finding strands of root floating around. So I'm not sure if it's the gourami doing all the damage or if it's a natural thing the plant does.

Any input would be appriciated.
 

Turbo

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Dec 1, 2002
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How long have they been eating the roots? If its been for a week or two and they are still doing it, I wouldnt worry to much because you would see it affecting them or they would be dead by now. And if they didnt like it...they would stop eating it.
 

rjl420

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May 13, 2002
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I think that the plant you have is called frogbit. it's typically found in ponds and water gardens.

it can grow prolifically and I don't see a problem with the gourami eating the roots especially since you mentioned that they are still multiplying. if the gourami is in fact NOT eating the roots, it could be a lighting issue. frogbit typically does best with ~1.5-2 WPG with a 10 hour photo period. I keep it outdoors and it grown best in lightly shaded areas or in the fall and spring when there is less light.

another floating plant you could look into is duckweed. a very fast spreading plant that is great for food also.
 

Richer

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Aug 7, 2002
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Gouramis normally do not eat plant material. It could just be that your gourami is nipping at the root for another purpose. I once saw my dwarf gourami ripping out exposed roots of plants to add to his bubble nest... it was quite interesting to watch =)

What other fish do you have in there? It may have been another fish that has been eating those roots.

If those plants are growing like mad and showing no signs of ill health, then I'd say just let it be.

HTH
-Richer
 

carfey

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Nov 27, 2002
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Gouramis like duckweed

It doesn't sound like you have duckweed, but it's a similar plant that my gouramis love to nibble on. In fact, I couldn't keep duckweed if I wanted to because they eat it all. It never seems to hurt them.
 

Richer

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Thats quite interesting... I can't seem to control the rate at which duckweed explodes in my tank... I literally scoop out a handful every week... and this is just on a 15 gallon tank.

-Richer
 
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