Duckweed is awful

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Duckweed gets a bad rap, 'cos it's invasive and difficult to remove, once established, but it's also readily available, often free and is usually the first thing to grab when live plants are needed to remedy a tank in a nitrogen crisis.
I have learned that whilst some LFS will stock plants, it is rare tht they stock floating plants, which is a pain in the butt when that's all you need.
HOWEVER...most, if not all fast growing plants will survive and grow, simply abandoned to the water column. Pond weeds such as Elodea are particularly good for this.
 
Duckweed gets a bad rap, 'cos it's invasive and difficult to remove, once established, but it's also readily available, often free and is usually the first thing to grab when live plants are needed to remedy a tank in a nitrogen crisis.
I have learned that whilst some LFS will stock plants, it is rare tht they stock floating plants, which is a pain in the butt when that's all you need.
HOWEVER...most, if not all fast growing plants will survive and grow, simply abandoned to the water column. Pond weeds such as Elodea are particularly good for this.
Cabomba. Ambulia and Ludwigia will grow just fine on the surface of your tank, don't over think aquatic plants, they are all weeds.
 
I don’t actually mind duckweed as long as you know what they can be like, can be difficult to keep under control and to remove.

I’ve had this before and it does grow very quickly indeed and can cover the entire water surface of your tank if you let it.

I found using a fine mesh net does the trick in scooping out loads of duckweed from water surface, otherwise it will cover your arms every time you put your hand in the tank for maintenance or whatever, annoying sometimes.

Or you can get some airline hose add a sucker with attachment and just make a large circle with this airline and attach to tank glass at water surface level, bit of a fiddle to get it exact but once done simply leave the duckweed inside of this airline ring and it stays there, then every water change scoop out a net full and this keeps the duckweed under control….mostly.

Then if you get fed up of it, use the fine mesh net and scoop out EVERY single tiny bit of the duckweed and I mean every single bit otherwise it starts to grow and propagate again quickly over the next few days. A close eye and a net handy for a day or two will do the trick.

Good alternative floating plants that I like is silvinia and water lettuce floating plants, they have nice longish roots that the fish and shrimps like to go into.
 
Or you can get some airline hose add a sucker with attachment and just make a large circle with this airline and attach to tank glass at water surface level, bit of a fiddle to get it exact but once done simply leave the duckweed inside of this airline ring and it stays there, then every water change scoop out a net full and this keeps the duckweed under control….mostly.
DSCN4155.JPG


Ignore the valve...it's just that was the connector I had to hand. ;)
 
Cabomba. Ambulia and Ludwigia will grow just fine on the surface of your tank, don't over think aquatic plants, they are all weeds.
As an experiment I cut a 2l drink bottle in half, filled with tap water, a little aquasoil and left it outside. I put a bunch of my trimmings in and just left it. All of the trimmings seems to be growing just fine still.
 
I also like duckweed. For smaller tanks frogbit does not work, the roots are too long and bother the visual of the tank, duckweed is only on the surface, removes the nitrates and is easy to remove. I always had it in my 90 gallon, it never over grown, but then I never used fertilizers, all other plants were doing fine and I just scooped it out, every single leave every few days and poof, no duckweed. Unfortunately frogbit in this tank does not grow as much as I would have liked :))
Don't hate the plant, hate the plan that made you put it there and didn't work :))
Come on the roots provide plenty to the scenery (5 gallon with frobit and water lettuce):
5_26_apr_2021.jpg
 
I first 'inherited' duckweed when I bought some guppy grass at a club meeting auction (in addition to the duckweed, It also came with a newt that still lives fat 'n happy in a 2.5g tank).

I agree with those that 'said' that duckweed gets a bad rap. It's like mulm, algae, and snails that many find offensive, but are all a part of the hobby. The duckweed may seem invasive, but it is great at aiding in purifying the water and some fish and turtles will eat it as a natural food... so it's not all evil. I'll admit that from time to time it needs to be netted off the surface, but it's not as bad as some think...but then neither is mulm, algae, and snails. :)
 
I must be one of those weirdos that like duckweed. It’s a nice looking plant, low maintenance and fish love it. What’s not to love?
 
I'm gonna say it here, duckweed is the worst. Sure, it might grow fast and actually work as a floating plant, but do you really want this?
Lol I went to the lfs to get some plants and when I asked for duckweed he was like “uh…. Are you sure? Its gonna take over your tank pretty fast.” Hahaha so i didnt get them but I got a lot of different ones instead.
 

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