Floating Plants

zoopkamol · Apr 18, 2013

looking to add some floating plants to filter some of the light

tank is a 6x2x2 with moderate lighting on it
light has a moonlight setting i use at night 2 small blue leds.
got clown loaches that come out way more when only light on is these 2 "moonlights"
want to see/watch my clowns during the day and i read floating plants will filter light enough for "light shy"fish to show themselves more.

light fixture im using now is a 4 bulb t5 -bulbs are (2) 12k 24w and (2)actinic blue bulbs (no wattage on bulb)
i usually just use the 12k bulbs during the day. and actinics for last hr before "moonlight" comes on
day lamps on for 8hrs atm

plants in aquarium are a dozen or so crypts, few anibus, and an amazon sword(small only 10")

any suggestions on floaters?
also there is a fairly good current flow in tank

Chad · Apr 18, 2013

Frogbit is my favorite. It grows well and provides a great shade as well as roots for the fry etc. It does require a root trim but it's quite simple to take care of. I have it in my tank and enjoy it.

If you let the roots grow they look like this...

But all you do is snip them off with scissors close to the base. This doesn't harm the plant and it still grows just fine.

zoopkamol · Apr 18, 2013

ya i was reading up on duckweed and frogbit...i like the roots think looks nice.
duckweed i was told also stay away from it as it'll take over tank and clogg filters

now to find frogbit around here (canada).

Chad · Apr 19, 2013

While duckweed has its place it can be a major pain in the but to deal with.
You can see from this video that it's pretty fast growing and due to the small size can really get annoying. But it looks cool so that's why I do like it for some tanks. I think frogbit is better. For larger tanks with good surface area water lettuce is a good choice.

http

/www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXZ9NupjzEQ

Zikofski · Apr 19, 2013

nice tank's and i was going to suggest duckweed, but also you could get some lilies? produce some nice flowers to

snazy · Apr 19, 2013

If you have high flow, then it's not good for small floaters. Even amazon frogbit struggled in one of my tanks, or I struggled to direct the flow so it doesn't get all killed. I tried salvinia minima, which is slightly smaller and it's a no go for more turbulent tank. It grows lovely on the window in a bowl though

I can't recommend any species., but now I am trying water lettuce(Pistia stratiotes), grows very nice roots too, similar to frogbit but way bigger. I was able to get hold of trapa natans too, both are big floaters and the flow isn't that detrimental to them.

DrRob · Apr 19, 2013

There are also the red rooted floaters whose name escape me right now, but are very pretty and smaller than the frogbit, bigger than the duckweed.

spongy · Apr 22, 2013

I did have a big frogbit, it started breaking up and splitting into smaller sections and I had 8 floating roundin my tank, then I bought some more fish and it all got eaten!!! I'm currently trying to grow some duckweed but my flow and surface agitation is doing a good job of killing it.

Can be tricky, if duckweed starts growing wildly just scoop some out and bin it. Thats what ive done in the past.

lefty07603 · Apr 22, 2013

if you cant find frogbit then water sprite is a good alternative! it looks like this!

Chad · Apr 22, 2013

What's it look like above the waterline?

lefty07603 · Apr 22, 2013

here is an alright pic, this person could use a nice cleaning though

Chad · Apr 22, 2013

I like that. It's nice looking. Does seem like it would really provide a lot of coverage.

lefty07603 · Apr 22, 2013

yeah the roots are very long and fine too! great for hiding! a bonus with water sprite is that if you dont like it floating you can also plant it and it looks nice!

Chad · Apr 22, 2013

I have a feeling I've seen it planted but not floating.

zoopkamol · Apr 23, 2013

thanks for ideas

since last post i updated my lighting a bit
now using 4 32w T8's hanging above tank

found a pond place that sells frogbit, water lettuce, water sprite, duckweed
however there first shipment not due to arrive for the season until next weekend...guess ill have too wait till then.

thinking ill grab 4 or so of frogbits(multiplys fast so tank be full in no time) and a water lettuce

keep ideas coming as i will more then likely change plants out when i see others i like

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Floating Plants

zoopkamol

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Chad

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Chad

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Zikofski

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snazy

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Chad

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