What is your favorite floating plant and why? Poll.

[MammaBearinTN]

Pros and cons of various floating plants? Do you think some plants are messier than others? Which ones grow faster?

 

[Barry Tetra]

Both duckweed and water lettuce.

 

[MammaBearinTN]

Both duckweed and water lettuce.View attachment 137357View attachment 137358

Don't forget to vote. And thanks for the photos. And I added water spangles to the list. Since it's the one floating plant I do have, I can't believe that I forgot to list it! In fact, I'm thinking of switching to water lettuce.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Mine would have to be frogbit, although it can get super annoying.

 

[ArmchairAquariest]

"Other" -- my two favorites are not on there: Water Hyacinth and certain Utricularia species.

Water Hyacinth = Water Lettice + pretty fragrant blooms. Water Lettice is nice and all, but if you can get pretty much the same deal + pretty fragrant blooms I find it hard to not want the "free upgrade" instead.

Utricularia = a collection of floating carnivorous plant species with pretty little flowers, what is not to love?

For Utricularia one can dial in the properties one want by picking the right species. Some species grow like a cancer and give duckweed a run for its money as far as being a nuisance -- meanwhile the species I use is so slow growing it always feels like the little floating mats I remove during cleaning are the same size as when I put them in there, month after month. Don't like the color of the flowers? Change species! You can even dial in the "trap" size via species choice and thus determine what creatures it is eating. I typically use Utricularia Gibba, its traps are so small that to the best of my ability to tell it doesn't seem like it eats shrimplets at all. But for those who would prefer they can dial up the trap size with species choice to the point where only adult shrimp are viable in a given tank and the shrimplets can get cleared out (given sufficient number of Utricularia plants to shrimp and a limit to alternate food sources.) I don't think there are any Utricularia that have traps large enough to eat adult dwarf shrimp, but I think there is some possibility that their might be some species of it that can put a damper on certain fish-fry populations.

The best thing is the traps are not active hunters, they lure things in with bait. So this works as a population regulation valve for little critters. If you put an aggressive carnivorous animal in a tank it will go out and hunt and can eliminate populations you might not want fully eliminated, and also stress out anyone it doesn't eat. But with stationary traps not only are you selecting things for consumption based on size, but also based on hunger or other population pressure issues and do so without any aggression-based stress. So as the space, food, etc... availability per-individual is high in an enclosure, fewer edible-sized critters get eaten by Utricularia. Meanwhile if there is a population explosion and space, resources, etc... start becoming a problem for the edible creatures, well then more of them go for the bait on the traps due to reduced options and increased pressure, and then their choice to enter the traps reduces that pressure on the rest of the population. A nice if small, slightly weak, and subtle regulator of the (very) little critters in an enclosed ecosystem.

 

[UnknownFishies]

Red root floaters because it adds more color to the tank and they look cool.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Frogbit is pretty and so easy that even I have a hard time messing it up. I also like Asian water grass. Looks cool and it's something you don't see too often.

 

[GuppyBreeder180604]

100% water lettuce
then would come to water hyacinth and Salvinia.
and since someone up there showed his water lettuce I feel I should do the same

water lettuce in my 10 gallon (and some salvinia)

water hyacinth in my 5 gallon buckets and 55 gallon backyard pond

 

[Sgooosh]

Mine would have to be frogbit, although it can get super annoying.

wild frogbit is lovely.

100% water lettuce
then would come to water hyacinth and Salvinia.
and since someone up there showed his water lettuce I feel I should do the same

water lettuce in my 10 gallon (and some salvinia)
View attachment 137363
water hyacinth in my 5 gallon buckets and 55 gallon backyard pond
View attachment 137364
View attachment 137365

is there a reason mmy water lettuce melted in a new tank?

 

[GuppyBreeder180604]

is there a reason mmy water lettuce melted in a new tank?

water lettuce melts down when it doesn't like where it is, check for lighting since they are a full sun species they should have a powerful light on top of them (don't worry if you have light shy fish like gourami or ancistrus since the water lettuce will block most of this light, the bulb is almost 100% for the water lettuce and the fish should not notice any difference).
Not only do they need strong lighting but they are also a nutrient hoarder so they need a well-established tank where there are enough bacteria to process all the bioload into plant ready nitrate that they can consume so maybe while the tanks establish their own cycle you should add some nitrogen-based fertilizer to help it.
With these 2 tips, I'm sure they will start thriving.
TL;DR water lettuce melts if it lacks a good environment, to help this you need
1. strong lights
2. an established nitrogen cycle that can support its heavy feeding habits/ fertilizer

 

[Uberhoust]

I like Azolla ferns though I have never grown them.

 

[ArmchairAquariest]

Oh right, water meal is also interesting, I can just never get it established because everything in any tank I put it in seems to enjoy eating it too much. Its like the duckweed you don't have to worry about cleaning up or keeping under control.

 

[GuppyBreeder180604]

Oh right, water meal is also interesting, I can just never get it established because everything in any tank I put it in seems to enjoy eating it too much. Its like the duckweed you don't have to worry about cleaning up or keeping under control.

is it called meal because you can eat it?
also is it the one that looks like little beads, pls tell scientific name

 

[MammaBearinTN]

I like Azolla ferns though I have never grown them.

Yes, I've seen numerous pictures of them, but only from the top. I would like to see what the roots look like.

 

[Sgooosh]

water lettuce melts down when it doesn't like where it is, check for lighting since they are a full sun species they should have a powerful light on top of them (don't worry if you have light shy fish like gourami or ancistrus since the water lettuce will block most of this light, the bulb is almost 100% for the water lettuce and the fish should not notice any difference).
Not only do they need strong lighting but they are also a nutrient hoarder so they need a well-established tank where there are enough bacteria to process all the bioload into plant ready nitrate that they can consume so maybe while the tanks establish their own cycle you should add some nitrogen-based fertilizer to help it.
With these 2 tips, I'm sure they will start thriving.
TL;DR water lettuce melts if it lacks a good environment, to help this you need
1. strong lights
2. an established nitrogen cycle that can support its heavy feeding habits/ fertilizer

makes sense, my first light was too dim, 2nd light too bright. LOL
my current light is ok...
should i try variation floaters again? (like different species)
i think my tank is understocked so ill use my liquid ferts too