Amazon Frogbit

[Robert Fletcher]

I have a nano shrimp tank that I have had set up for about 6 months. Floating on the surface is some Amazon Frogbit that has been growing well and needing a bit of a cull. In the past 2 weeks, it is producing plants with tiny leaves I also notice the roots is not as long as they used to be. I am thinking of a nutrient deficiency. I don't fertilize this tank but on the test, there is about 20 ppm nitrate. Other plants are spiky moss that's doing great. Rolala and Wisteria don't grow much at all but look healthy. The substrate is Tropica soil.

Another question. I want to put some frogbit in my high tech planted tank but the shrimp tank is infested with snails. I have put 5 frogbit plants in a container in the window with nutrient water from the planted tank. I am hoping that I can give enough time for any eggs to hatch and then introduce it. I am uncomfortable using bleach and alum. Do you think this will work?

 

[tam]

Do you mean the really tiny leaved plant floating in between the normal sized frogbit? That's duckweed.

The frogbit itself looks fairly green and healthy to me, the leaf size and root length can vary depending on the tank conditions, but as long as the leaves themselves look good it's nothing I'd worry about 🙂

 

[Robert Fletcher]

Do you mean the really tiny leaved plant floating in between the normal sized frogbit? That's duckweed.

The frogbit itself looks fairly green and healthy to me, the leaf size and root length can vary depending on the tank conditions, but as long as the leaves themselves look good it's nothing I'd worry about 🙂

I ruled out duckweed because the last time plants were introduced in the tank was 6 months ago. The latest plants I bought was for the other tank about 4 weeks ago and there is no sign of duckweed then. Surely seed or spores would not arrive on the wind and it is only in the one tank. The plants I used was all Tropica 123 except for the wisteria that I took from my old tank and that's how I got all the snails.

 

[tam]

It's definitely duckweed - it could have come from the water when introducing newly purchased fish, or from equipment moved between tank, even dunking your arm between tanks can spread it. It's sneaky stuff.

 

[Robert Fletcher]

It's definitely duckweed - it could have come from the water when introducing newly purchased fish, or from equipment moved between tank, even dunking your arm between tanks can spread it. It's sneaky stuff.

I have been racking my brains. About 2 weeks ago I bought some baby brine shrimp from the LFS. I did ask about washing them as they were too small. He told me they were in the clean fresh water and could be put straight into the tank. That's the only thing I can think of.
As for my other idea, I have canceled that will buy some fresh floater for the other tank.

 

[kadoxu]

Yup, that's duckweed.

With duckweed you only need a small leaf to get loads of it in a couple of weeks. I have only successfully removed duckweed from a tank once... and it was a daily job of removing every single plant I'd see for a couple of weeks.

Shrimplets do love it though, and it makes a great treat for Goldfish, so I add it to all my tanks now.

 

[Robert Fletcher]

Yup, that's duckweed.

With duckweed you only need a small leaf to get loads of it in a couple of weeks. I have only successfully removed duckweed from a tank once... and it was a daily job of removing every single plant I'd see for a couple of weeks.

Shrimplets do love it though, and it makes a great treat for Goldfish, so I add it to all my tanks now.

Thanks for your comments. I netted it all out last night but no doubt it will be back, in that case, I will just control it. The shrimplet was coming to the surface I guess they were looking for their home. I don't have any goldfish and I don't know anyone with them.

 

[Edvet]

 

[Robert Fletcher]

Edvet, you are giving me nightmares now.

 

[Mick.Dk]

Adult Garra rufa (yes:doctor-fish) will effectively eat off all duckweed - but after that, they might go for other plants.