Keeping the roots clean

[seangee]

I have frogbit in all 3 of my tanks. In the community tank the roots are always scrupulously clean thanks to the attentions of the horde of hungry corydoras, ably assisted by most of the characins. In the nano the result is the same thanks to the school of starving shrimps.

Its a completely different story in the other tank. I can't keep shrimp or corys in there because of the loaches, which are primarily bottom feeders. The other fish (microdevario kubotia) have no interest in foraging in the roots so there is always a healthy collection of infusoria and other organic matter. I am a chronic under feeder (based on some people's accounts and photos) so it is not uneaten food. Currently I deal with this by pouring water onto the frogbit at water change and turning a powerhead on for an hour. Only when the mess has cleared do I clean the filter sponges. About once a month I empty the whole lot into a bucket and swish it around.

Is there a vegetarian root forager that I could keep in this tank (ideally of Thai origin), or is it ok just to live with a tank that looks messy when the surface is disturbed? I'm ok with that and there is no problem with water quality. I am still cautious about organics from the days when my source water had very high nitrates, but it never gets above 5ppm by the time water change day comes around.

Edit: I am considering losing the frogbit once the substrate plants mature but this tank seems to grow slower than the others.

 

[Retired Viking]

Have never had frogbite before I will ask a stupid question: is it safe to switch plants from tank to tank so the fish and shrimp have a chance to clean it. Maybe help with the underfeeding issue

 

[AbbeysDad]

Have never had frogbite before I will ask a stupid question: is it safe to switch plants from tank to tank so the fish and shrimp have a chance to clean it. Maybe help with the underfeeding issue

That's actually a pretty good idea! There should be no reason not to swap some plants between tanks as the water chemistry should be the same and there's typically no threat in one tank that should be an issue in another (which would not necessarily be the case with plants from the 'outside'.
However, I've got lots of floating plants and I've never seen any root issues. I'm not sure what's going on there. ???

 

[seangee]

No need to swap. It grows fast enough that I could just throw out what's in the offending tank and replace it from the others every week.
There are no root issues as such. Its just that a lot of plant matter is caught up in the roots. Its also the most immature of the 3 tanks. AFAIK the only downside is the looks when I stir up the surface.

 

[Retired Viking]

Wish you lived next door so I could get some free plants