for all you Duckweed haters.

[vidiots]

I think, since I've started using excel, my duckweed has almost all died off. It's possible my fish are eating it, because I feed them sparingly... but I haven't seen that happen. I know I've removed quite a bit lately, but it used to spread like wild fire and hasn't at all. I can only think of the excel as a reason.
Anyone else have similar experiences?

I don't remember excel having an effect on my duckweed. I do have several plant tanks, and it grows well and multiplies quickly in some and not at all in others. I have seen my large Angel fish eat it, so that explains why there is none in that tank. I have and sump/overflow system on my big tank and suspect that any duckweed that appears there goes into the sump where there is insufficient light for it to live. I have another tank that has a HOB filter and see the duckweed getting pushed downward by the water returning to the tank and see it getting pulled into the HOB filter intake.

On the other hand in the tanks that have very little water surface movement and no large fish the duckweed seems to take over.

I past tanks when I used excel (before I got pressurized CO2), I seem to remember periodic duckweed blooms where it was rather intermittant as to the amount of duckweed that grew.

 

[mellowvision]

well, it's really the only change I've made in the last few months, and it really has dissapeared in the tank I use a lot of excel in. not a single piece in weeks. it used to cover the surface from a small sample within a few weeks.

 

[austinpetemo]

duckweed is just a sufrace plant isnt it?

 

[vidiots]

duckweed is just a sufrace plant isnt it?

Yes, and I would assume it gets it's CO2 directly from the air.

 

[loaches r cool]

I've had duckweed bad in a tank that for many months recieved daily 2X overdose of excel.

 

[OldMan1947]

Austinpetemo: Duckweed is known as lemna. Try a google on that and you will get lots of pictures.

 

[austinpetemo]

yeah i did. i dont want that crap in my tank.

 

[Ralleh]

Use a net for a few days and poof, all gone.

 

[loaches r cool]

I've used a net fot over a year... not gone yet
lol

Also relatively impossible to get all out with a net when you have all sorts of plants and driftwood sticking out the top of the tank, cant get the net in around everywhere. I have heard some use a wet/dry shopvac though... havent tried it myself.