Floating Pond Plant - for tank?

[fuzzyferret]

You know the floating thingies that you find on ponds? Is it called duckweek?
Like tiny little lettuce things.
I've seen some for sale on ebay for tropical tanks - thought my cichlids might like them.
Is this the same stuff? If so, I'll get some from my mum's pond!
Does anyone know if this is safe to do?

 

[KentBlokey]

I have some in my Pond. Along with other weeds, bugs critters and god knows what else. There's no way i'd put it in my Tank.

It spreads like mad and IMO will look fugly.

 

[fuzzyferret]

Thanks for this!
I know someone who has this in their tank, and as you say it does spread rapidly - good thing is it's easy to scoop up a few handfulls if you need to in order to get rid of it.

Their fish snack on it like salad!

Just wondered if it was exactly the same stuff (or if the pond variery was a different kind).

 

[KentBlokey]

It may be totally safe, if you can make sure it's bug free and clean.. It's just not something that i'd choose to do!

 

[JamesTasker]

If you have other plants they might lose out on the lighting front.

 

[gadazobe]

It does sound like duckweed and you really don't need it in your tank. It spreads like wildfire and has a tendency to clog up filters.

 

[FrAnK3333]

I have heard that duckweed lowers nitrates quick.

 

[Eelzor]

I have duckweed in my tank and I have to say that it really isn't as 'pestish', then some people think. I used to think the same, but in my 6 months of owning them, they have never clogged my filter (external canister filter/hang on style filter) or made the tank messy in any way. My duckweed was actually introduced through buying normal plants and finding just 2 in the bag they multiplied to 20 in a few days so I take a lot out once in a while, but I was never at the point were I was frustrated with them. They can also lower nitrates as already said.

If looking pessimisticly(sp?) then the only bad things I can find duckweed can do is perhaps block sunlight for plants underneath & clog some filters.(Only some ) But in short, yes they are safe in your tank/pond.

My only plant that seems to frustrate me is my Java moss, its supposed to spread quicker than the plague, but in the past several weeks nothing has changed.

HTH

 

[Mr Miagi]

I am growing some duckweed in my aquarium now. Its fast growning, but remove a handful periodicly and you will b fine.

I was lookin for a floating plant, bu the only one i could find was the banana plant, which wasnt what i was after, so the guy at the lfs said, here, take some of this for free and proceeded to give me about 500grams of the stuff!! My gouramis eat it like salad too! and in fact, if i pull too much out of my tank, it dont grow back because they eat it before it grows!!!

 

[Eelzor]

mr_miagi32,

If your looking for a floating plant then I might recommend the "Floating Sprite", as they are called here. I bought one that was about 6 inches in diameter, but within weeks, it have reached quite a huge 12 inches in diamete and had re-grown about 100 small floating plants. I have to take them out now and then, but they are quite a nice looking plant to look from the underside. They shade off my plants underneath them, but the plants still seem to grow at the same rate as my other plants which are not underneath the sprites.

Here's a picture of a sprite, however I may try to put a full photo gallery of all aquarium things I have soon (got a new camera ) and show mine there.

 

[Dubby]

My only plant that seems to frustrate me is my Java moss, its supposed to spread quicker than the plague, but in the past several weeks nothing has changed.

Java moss is a slow growing plant. So nothing to worry