Duckweed in a Goldfish Tank

Hi,
so how much dw should I start with? I've seen a few places selling it online. We have a 55 gallon tank with 6 basic, non-fancy goldfish that normally live outside in our rain barrels. I'd like to get some plants for the tank - especially if they'll feed the fish. Right now we have a couple of plastic plants. Inexpensive is key since we'll be draining the tank and returning the fish outside in a few months. We live in the Boston area. Thanks.
 
you may want to move the fish outside before you attempt anything.my two small orandas can eat a cup of duckweed in a few days.maybe use the 55 for growing out the duckweed.or if you can make some sort of corral in the barrels to keep the dw safe until it grows out enough to feed the goldies outside.another option would be to get some sweater boxes and grow the dw outside in them.remember that mosquito larva will accompany it,along with dragonfly nymphs.large enough goldies will eat these no problem.the mosquitos will present a possible health risk to humans and pets.this is why i grow out dw in my aquariums and feed it as a supplement.if i was not dong it this way,they would eat it faster then i could grow it.i started all of my dw with 1 cup.in the right conditions it doubles in a few days.
 
When I had my 180gal with 8 red tail tin foils I would have to get a 5 gal bucket full from the local pond once a week. Still grow it in my pond but slowly.
 
Thanks for the replies. I saw a plant website that sold dw by the 2lb bag. Thought that was going to be excessive. Seems like it won't be near enough! I have an empty 5 gallon tank also. If I see they're eating all the dw too quickly I'll try using that as a grow tank. At the least it seems worth trying. They'd probably love some mosquito larva. Haven't had any since the summer.
 
i thought the primary purpose of Excel was to provide a dissolved form of CO2 to help speed up the growth of underwater plants. duckweed shouldn't need that -- it's already in full contact with the atmosphere and transpires like above-ground plants do
 
Update: Goldfish ate all the duckweed again. I don't think growing it in their tank faster than they can eat it will ever work. If I want to feed them DW I think I'm going to have to grow it in a separate tank.
 
I used to keep a 10 gallon tank for duckweed. I kept a betta and guppies in the tank with it. Sponge filter to keep down the surface agitation down and prevent filter clogging issues. I also planted some slower growing plants (anubis, java fern & moss). Over fed and fertilized with excessive light levels. Grew a 3" net full in the tank on a weekly basis.

I always fed them the day before a water change as my 7 fish would devour it all in one day. Then it was green poo all over the tank that evening.
 
You could try growing the duckweed in a breeder net or external breeder box. I don't think there is any way to grow enough to feed exclusively, but it could be a nice little supplement.
 
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