The reason invasive plants are both bad and good for tanks, is because they grow like crazy… I’ve been going through a pretty big list of plants, trying to get a floating plant to grow in one of my 45 gallon tall tanks, that has both a lot of light, and a high flow rate… I have 2 full length LED lights, brightest I can get, because the tank is 24 inches deep, and the dark water that’s in the tank… a very high flow rate, as it’s a river tank… your more delicate floaters, haven’t faired well, because they all get pushed into one end of the tank… I’m not introducing Duck Weed, at least lemna minor ( common ) I have tried Giant Duck Weed, that I keep cultured here, to feed Tilapia… but there must be too much flow for that to be happy as well… so onto the tougher, more invasive plants… water Hyacinth grows too well, and needed too much maintenance, and I had to remove large chunks of it almost continually… water Lettuce also grew too well, with roots that got too long, taking up a major portion of the tank… it also sent out babies almost as bad as common Duck Weed… at least the water Hyacinth had substantial connectors between the mother and babies, making it easier to remove… I had water Lettuce in this tank, 2 plants ago, and monthly still have to net out babies… my current plant seems to be the best balance Asian water moss ( Salvinia cucullata ) it’s been growing well, kind of in small mats, that are pushed up against each other in the current… I’ve ordered a few more to build in about half the surface, but still have to net them out, this will be the 2nd time, to weed out the water Lettuce babies that hide within the mats
So be careful of those invasive floating plants, that they don’t end up in your local environment some are hard to remove from our micro environments , let alone if they get loose in our outdoor ponds or worse yet the local waterways ( I let mine dry out, then burn them ), if they aren’t working out in a tank..
So be careful of those invasive floating plants, that they don’t end up in your local environment some are hard to remove from our micro environments , let alone if they get loose in our outdoor ponds or worse yet the local waterways ( I let mine dry out, then burn them ), if they aren’t working out in a tank..
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