Minimizing surface agitation for floating plants.

[King puff]

I recently bought some dwarf water lettuce for my aquarium. Because of my HOB filter, the plants are getting clumped in one area. I used Nick Au's idea with the straws around the outtake but it does not minimize the surface agitation, just prevents the plants from getting pushed under water. I do not want to create a baffle because I have some fish that like flow. what are your ideas?

 

[neoyyf]

Perhaps you dont have too many plants yet so they seem to clump in a corner. Once they multiply, it will fill the entire surface

 

[NickAu]

he plants are getting clumped in one area.

So get more plants LOL eventually you will have so many that even clumped up they will cover the tank.

And no I am not kidding.

 

[King puff]

Ok! How quickly does the dwarf water lettuce spread? I already have some daughter plants. I had two pieces of duckweed but they disappeared. I think it was one of my white clouds because I saw one of them eating a decaying leaf floating around the water column so the probably ate the duckweed to.

 

[Byron]

Ok! How quickly does the dwarf water lettuce spread? I already have some daughter plants. I had two pieces of duckweed but they disappeared. I think it was one of my white clouds because I saw one of them eating a decaying leaf floating around the water column so the probably ate the duckweed to.

Water lettuce spreads rapidly once it is settled (moving any plants to a new environment does set them back but they usually (should) rebound). You really don't want duckweed with an HOB, that can be very messy. But I agree the lettuce will spread across the entire surface.

BTW, there is no such plant as "dwarf" water lettuce, though one sees this in the hobby. The species is Pistia stratiotes, and there is just the one. Growing conditions (light and nutrients) affect the growth rate and size; in my outdoor pond this plant can get the size of a salad plate. In some tanks I have had it reach 4-5 inches across, but generally it remains less than 2 inches. But then I thin it out almost every week during the water change. It does better in some tanks than others, not surprising as each tank is different biologically.

Byron.

 

[King puff]

Thank you for this information. My plants have already came with and started sending out daughter-plants. Should I cut the stem between the two or just let them be. I read that you do cut them to spread the plants. Is this true?

 

[Byron]

Thank you about this information. My plants have already came with and started sending out daughter-plants. Should I cut the stem between the two or just let them be. I read that you do cut them to spread the plants. Is this true?

You can leave the "runners" for a time. They are not very strong and will tend to break in many cases. If the adventitious plants have roots, the runner can be broken off (from both the parent and the adventitious plant).

 

[King puff]

Ok. I just realized how quickly they spread. I got 7 last week, now I have about 20 including the very small developing daughter plants. I could have miscounted the first time. I