Ugh, duckweed

[Back in the fold]

Okay, all kidding aside for the moment. Duckweed has a bad rap, an undeserved rap. It is not the pestilence that many believe it to be and it can be eradicated with a diligent effort. It can get out of control if you let it but so can Convict Cichlids. Every aquarium has periodic maintenance and if you like duckweed but don’t want it covering the waters surface completely then you scoop some out with a net every so often. It’s just that simple.

 

[Naughts]

A few years ago, I actually pondered the idea of raising chickens. Not as pets. I wanted to give them good quality food and then eat them myself.

Cut out the middle man (hen?) Eat the duckweed. Problem solved.

Duckweed as a new sustainable source of protein for human consumption

Duckweed is the smallest flowering plant on earth, which floats on still water. It is a unique plant, capable of reproducing very rapidly, containing large amounts of protein that does not require any farm soil to grow. It is one of the plant species capable of producing the most biomass per...

www.wur.nl

 

[sharkweek178]

Okay, all kidding aside for the moment. Duckweed has a bad rap, an undeserved rap. It is not the pestilence that many believe it to be and it can be eradicated with a diligent effort. It can get out of control if you let it but so can Convict Cichlids. Every aquarium has periodic maintenance and if you like duckweed but don’t want it covering the waters surface completely then you scoop some out with a net every so often. It’s just that simple.

I think my biggest issue with it is that I use plant corrals I've made out of tubing. I do this so that some of the plants I have get adequate light. I had one in particular that was going bad until I put a tube ring over it and then it took off. I just had to prune it because it reached the water surface. Also, I have a honey gourami and pygmy corys that need access to surface air. Duckweed has absolutely no regard for those corrals and goes where it wants.
Otherwise, I wouldn't mind it so much. It's more of a nuissance than a danger and it does great in sucking nutrients out of the water column.

 

[sharkweek178]

Cut out the middle man (hen?) Eat the duckweed. Problem solved.

Duckweed as a new sustainable source of protein for human consumption

Duckweed is the smallest flowering plant on earth, which floats on still water. It is a unique plant, capable of reproducing very rapidly, containing large amounts of protein that does not require any farm soil to grow. It is one of the plant species capable of producing the most biomass per...

www.wur.nl

Doesn't look like we're quite there yet in using duckweed for human consumption. But that's a pretty interesting idea to make plant based foods from it.

 

[sharkweek178]

Current status:

 

[Back in the fold]

If your issue with duckweed is that it interferes with feeding then feed with a baster or pipette. That’s what I do.

 

[sharkweek178]

If your issue with duckweed is that it interferes with feeding then feed with a baster or pipette. That’s what I do.

Not so much the feeding. I need to make sure some of my plants get enough light. My honey gourami is a labyrinth breather and my pygmy corys are facultative air breathers. So they need access to surface air.

 

[CaptainBarnicles]

 

[Nuttawet]

I have no problem getting duck weed in thailand.
It glows alot and every where and it glow fast because the weather here in thailand is warm.
So i'm happy don't have to buy some.

 

[sharkweek178]

I spent over three hours picking the salvinia minima out one by one, rinsing it in the tank water, then a bucket and then putting it to the side in another bucket. Then I went through the anacharis to try and clear that. I took out my feeder rings and plant corral to make sure they were clear. Then scooping the surface of the water over and over and over to get all the duckweed I could find. I broke a net because I kept banging it on the side of a bucket to get the duckweed off ot it. I scoured every corner, behind the heater and filter and used an algae scraper to loosen duckweed leaves I could see stuck to the glass in the tank. Then I scooped some more. I waited for anything to float up. And scooped some more. Double checked for more leaves. Then scoured the buckets I used for any duckweed. Checked again for any loose duckweed. Then put my floaters back in the tank.
New status:

I am well aware that if even one friggin duckweed leaf is still in there, I'll have to do this again.
I really should have quarantined those assassin snails longer.

 

[NearMeBettas]

I don't mind it. It didn't take over my tank any more than any other floater... People make it sound like a bigger deal than it is lol.

 

[Essjay]

I hate to point this out but........


circled in red


This is where a pair of tweezers come in handy to remove the offending plants before they can multiply

 

[CaptainBarnicles]

Potentially here too circled in white

 

[sharkweek178]

I ordered a tea infuser on Amazon for spot removal.

 

[Essjay]

That should do it, and better than tweezers