In the opinion of hornwort...

I know John talks a lot about the benefits of hornwort as a floating plant.

I am curious of everyone's opinion of other floating plants... WHAT?!? You say there are other floating plants other than hornwort!!??!!

LoL! Just kidding John!

Anyway... What about Duckweed? I never knew it existed before John was talking about it on another forum... eons ago...

Other than it being a gross nusiance... Would it be as beneficial as hornwort? If I'm thinking correctly... The leaves % intake of bad stuff is directly proportional to the leaf size... Well... Duckweed is almost all leaf! With a small root hanging below (keep your jokes above the belt here)...

And it grows like mad... So other than growing to the point of being annoying... Why wouldn't it be as beneficial?

I await the replies... I may get shredded here...

I know hornwort is one plant goldfish don't eat so you don't have to worry. Also, pretty random but i found a solution to snail free plants! well first take one part bleach and 13 parts water. Soak the plants in it for one minute. then just rinse it of in water.

When my younger brother was 16, he got rid of the snails infesting his live plants by boiling the plants. Did the bleach kill the snail eggs as well as the snails?

So far is duckweed is concerned, it doesn't offer much of a hiding place for fry, but the way it grows, the stuff must be using lots of nutrients. Hornwort and water sprite, i read, can directly metabolise ammonia. It would be no surprise if duckweed did the same thing, although it's still not a very desirable aquarium plant unless you have a duck tank.

John, if you would give me some duckweed, I will start a single species only mallard tank. Just kidding. Back to the actual topic on hand, I like floating plants a lot, however, they have a way of getting sucked into my filter intake and trying to clog things up. I prefer the rooted kind, but even those tend to get torn up by my clown loaches rooting through them. I would never dispute the true benefits of a large amount of floating plants.

Duckweed is great. it can even clean up nitrates. so if there is enough no need to do water changes (dream on). .....i have had duckweed off and on for a while. it is also cool food for fishes..

the bleach solution totally sterilizes the plants of snail eggs and snails...I'd say it works.

If it does not damage the plants, the bleach solution may be a good way to go. You could set up a new tank with live plants and no snails or only the ones you want. Still, snails are not all bad and are part of many natural environments.

Meg... I have 18 tanks FULL of duckweed, and if you'll set up a single species Mallard tank, I'll GIVE it ALL to you!!! Just for pictures!!!

ROFL!!!

Anyways... I have good news today! I have baby endlers!!! YAY!!!

This has been a long time coming... I'm telling you...

Congratulations on the Endlers. Do you like them better than the fancy Guppies? What duck tank?

I don't know what I like anymore John...

I just happened to come across about 20 endlers... Cheap, so I got them. There's only 2 left... One male and one female. But hopefully, there's soon to be many!

From the pictures I've seen on Aquabid, Endlers look like the first aquarium fish I ever saw. That was in the early 1940s, so they were probably close to the wild strain.

I looked it up on Google those endlers are beautiful! Also whats a mallard tank?

If you grow lots of duckweed, then you have a duck tank, which is suitable for all sorts of ducks, including Mallards and Pintails as well as the world famous old Coot.

Mallards and pintails are those fish? or is it a joke im just not understanding ?

They're ducks. Duckweed got its name, because it sticks to a duck's feathers and they wind up spreading the stuff over a wide range. Even after it dries out, duckweed can come back to life and propagate. Sorry about the bad joke; duckweed jokes just go around the aquarium hobby.

its not a bad joke. In fact it is quite amusing.

As for the bleach sterilazation thing, you can also do that to kill off algae on plants. It is a really good way to get rid of nusiances, that you may have caused anyways.

I have some duck weed too, and sometimes I let it just keep growing becuase it really does help use up the nutrients...but you should still change the water.

It seems odd that the bleach solution would kill algae but not plants. Probably it would be more effective than a vinegar solution for cleaning used aquariums. If the bleach actually soaks into the plants or anything else, the water should be treated for chlorine.

As for the duck tank joke, my favorite part was the old Coot. Somehow it also reminds me of a company party that had a dunk tank where many of the executives went for a dip in highly chlorinated water. No doubt, some of them were dips in their own right.

haha i feel really dumb ... but i could understand now that duckweed rapidly spreadss..

The only person who is actually dumb is the one who believes he/she knows everything. Learning is a life long experience if you ask plenty of questions. So what does that have to do with hornwort?

I always feel better when I log on here.

This has been an amusing post...

ROLFLOL! I love where this post went. Too funny!

where could i buy some duckweed?

I'm sure some people wouldn't mind send you some. My LFS sells it, but I really don't care for it.

They actually sell duckweed on Aquabid. It's very invasive, and all those Coots landing in your aquariums make a mess, not to mention noise that can interrupt a good nap. Vendors on Aquabid also sell hornwort, which is much easier to control.

wait.....? so it is not a very good idea to have duckweed in an quarium?

Usually, duckweed is not a good idea, although it does use lots of nutrients and helps the nitrogen cycle. However, it grows very fast and tends to take over an aquarium's surface. In addition, the stuff is almost impossible to get rid of. At least twice a month, I have duckweed dipping day for most of my aquariums. It never gets all dipped out, it sticks to anything you put in the aquarium (including your hand) and it easily replaces what got dipped out. Duckweed will not grow in an aquarium that has lots of turbulence such as happens when the bubble machine is on high speed, but not many fish like excessive water movement. Life is ephemeral; duckweed is forever. Don't buy any.

Haha... alright I'll stick with the Hornwort and java fern//moss.

Spoken like a true duckweed avoider.

Oh...

But can I get him back???

I'd be glad to send you some when I ship the bows...

Well... come to think of it, you'll get some anyways... LOL!!!

It's in most of my tanks now... It's unavoidable.

I sent a quart ziploc that was so packed full that I couldn't get any water in it to the LFS yesterday!

ROFL!!!

Oh... P.S. I have yet to have any Mallards, Pintails, or Coots in any of my tanks, but I keep leaving the doors open cause I don't want to miss out on the photo opp...

Some ancient Coot is always hanging around my aquariums, but he mostly just naps all the time. Coots aren't what they're quacked up to be these days.