# Good floating plants



## phishes (May 17, 2005)

What is a hardy type of floating plant, that isn't very messy?


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## ccrider (Sep 5, 2008)

hornwort


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## phishes (May 17, 2005)

ccrider said:


> hornwort


I have thought about it. Anything else?


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## BenHugs (Jan 13, 2007)

Water lettuce


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## madmax666 (Sep 11, 2008)

water sprite


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## illusions2281 (Jan 25, 2009)

do eahter the water sprite or hornwort grow in a cichlid environment? & will they eat them?


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## duaneS (Aug 31, 2006)

I use water sprite
















and cabomba in my cichlid tanks
















some times they eat them, but these plants can grow fast enough to keep up.


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## Curator (Feb 18, 2009)

How about duck weed? *** heard mixed reviews from different people, some love it, some hate it, but apparently according to my research its actually highly nutritious for fish who like to graze, just really annoying to get rid of if you ever want to...


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## duaneS (Aug 31, 2006)

Duckweed can be a pain, I have to skim it every other day because it tends to plug up my overflows. Luckily I have a friend that keeps koi, and they love to eat it. Very few cichlids that I've kept do more than pick at it and spit it out, except a few of the Paratheraps and Vieja.


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## phishes (May 17, 2005)

duaneS said:


> Duckweed can be a pain, I have to skim it every other day because it tends to plug up my overflows. Luckily I have a friend that keeps koi, and they love to eat it. Very few cichlids that I've kept do more than pick at it and spit it out, except a few of the Paratheraps and Vieja.


I like the way duckweed looks. Would it be a problem w/ an emporor 400 and a rena xp3? There is a lot of flow, so is that bad for a lot of floating plants like duckweed? Also is duckweed or other floating plants good for reducing waste? There are silver dollars and an oscar in this tank. Will that be a problem anyway?
Thanks for all the replies


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## PsYcHoTiC_MaDmAn (Dec 26, 2005)

floating plants are the best for removing wastes, as they have easy access to free CO2 in the atmosphere. and therefore can grow very quickly.

as for duckweed, not really managed to keep it alive, had it several tanks, and theres only 1 left with some in, and not much at that. at first it sort of took over, and I had to net some of it out, and then it dwindled away to nothing.


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## Curator (Feb 18, 2009)

probably died out because you didnt have enough of the trace minerals needed for its survival in your tank... Do you use tap water for your water changes or store bought distilled water? most peoples tap water contains more than enough of the trace minerals it needs to survive...


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## PsYcHoTiC_MaDmAn (Dec 26, 2005)

tap water, as mine is soft enough to virtually be RO water.

the tanks that had it in, one was soil based, (loam compost) and the other has a planted tank base.

so full of ellements.

need to get around to dosing the tank.


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## Curator (Feb 18, 2009)

wow, weird that it died out then, I mean *** heard so many stories of people who HATE duck weed and cant get rid of it, so its kinda funny when I hear one about somebody that cant keep it alive,LOL... I have no clue...lol...


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## PsYcHoTiC_MaDmAn (Dec 26, 2005)

for some reason my java fern is also dying, another supposedly indestructible plant.

but then other plants I have thrive.

I have a tank full of hair grass, with a few other plants in there as well (vallis has taken off in there now) but in other tanks its not survived.

no explanation for it, and no-one else has had the problem that I've had with the java fern (asked a lot at the last fish show I went to (a fair few planted tank experts there)


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## Curator (Feb 18, 2009)

weird...hmmm, send me your java fern and I'll see if I can nurse it back to life,lol, j/k...


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