How do you get rid of surface plants?

[Myrkk]

A tiny amount of a little, around 1 - 2mm diameter leaves, surface plant came home with a fish several years ago. I've tried fishing it out but it just grows too fast. To the point if I leave it it will be a cm deep on the top of the water. I'd really like to get rid of it and introduce a different plant but don't know how. Any suggestions?

 

[CaptainBarnicles]

Hahahaha! When you find the answer to that let us know! Duckweed is the bain of many a fishkeeper's life unfortunately, once its in, its in

 

[Essjay]

That sounds like duckweed.
I managed to eradicate duckweed from my tanks but it was time consuming. I have other floating plants which made it more difficult. I netted all the floating plants from my tank into a bucket of warm dechlorinated water. I spent a long time making sure that every speck of duckweed was removed from the tank, using tweezers for those stuck in corners and round the cables. I then removed every piece of the floating plants I wanted to keep one at a time, swooshing them round in a second bucket of water before putting them into a third. Then I returned the floating plants to the tank. Every day I checked the surface between the floaters and picked out every piece of duckweed I could find. It took a couple of weeks of daily checking but finally there were no more.

 

[Wills]

I've just learned to live with it... I got some cherry shrimp from a hobbyist and I saw 2-3 specks in the bag thought I got it all out but saw one a week later in the tank about an hour later I scoop it out weekly with a net. I do find it useful as it does give a bit of a first glance water quality guide - long roots = good, short roots = bad.

 

[Boundava]

Eradicating duckweed is hard, as mentioned above.

It is harder if you have multiple tanks because it just takes one to infest.

Dedication and determination as well as a lot of time is what you need to tackle duckweed. Clean as much of it as you can from the surface and walls and look daily to remove any new infestations.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Dedication and determination as well as a lot of time is what you need to tackle duckweed.

Or a flame thrower. That will work, too.

 

[connorlindeman]

Or a flame thrower. That will work, too.

Great idea! Any idea where I can get one?

 

[Colin_T]

Use a fine mesh net to scoop it out. Goldfish and rainbowfish love it.