I was wanting to put some duckweed in my goldfish tank for the fish to graze on. But before I do, I would like your opinions on duckweed; Do you like it or dislike it and why. Also should I use frogbit over duckweed?
I tried duckweed in 3 tanks (two low tech and pen no tech) it did not spread, but died off. Not sure if it just died from transport (was still green when I got it) or didn't like my water chemistry. I'd like to have it in my big tank to help with nitrates since its suppose to be so fast growing.. but its just dried little leaves stuck tot he sides of the tank above the waterline now. if you do not have other floating plants for it to get grow into (that you don't want it sneaking along in when moved to another tank) I would give it a try.
Goldfish will demolish duckweed. I personally like duckweed and keep it growing in a divided part of my internal filter. It doesn't grow or spread that fast for me
My goldfish demolish anything...I just put in some larger duckweed, savinia minima, and frogbit for them to graze on. I don't think there are any plants that the goldfish won't destroy besides possibly buces, anubias, java fern, and mosses...
I love duckweed. If you want to feed it to your goldfish (it is very good food for them!), you will have to grow it somewhere else; even the most well fed goldfish will eat all the duckweed available until you have none left. (I do not suggest attempting to overwhelm your goldfish with more duckweed than he or she can eat. There is no such thing.) My current one does not seem to be eating greater duckweed, but she also is less of a plant eater than my previous one (that one attempted to eat every plant I tried, and demolished quite a few that were considered goldfish proof). In my experience, greater duckweed is a trace nutrient hog, while lesser/common duckweed is an everything nutrient hog. Supplement with potassium and traces for best results, otherwise the plants can't take advantage of the plentiful nitrate and phosphorus.
I find that frogbit prefers warmer water than my goldfish - it does best in my betta tanks. My goldfish would take big bites out of the leaves and eat the roots. The plant also hates being flipped over, and I personally hate flipping it back to keep it happy. This is generally not a problem with duckweed.
i HATE duckweed.it takes over and is hard to get rid of. even when i leave old brown/clearish ead leaves on the side of the tank i have had it pop back up. i got one small piece in my betta tank and over the weekend covered the 1.5 gal cube. duck weed is an invasive species in most places as well so be careful just tossing it out. ive heard goldies love to eat it so if that is what you want i say set up a shallow ruber tote and stick a light over it and grow it there and scoop every now and then as a treat for the goldies.
I just spent 30 minutes netting out all the duckweed I could see out of my 29 gallon. I then used a turkey baster to blast any remnants stuck under plant leaves and netted those out. I prefer more manageable floaters. Giant duckweed is a better alternative and looks nice when given plenty of light.
I was growing duckweed in a large kiddie pool as fodder for my goldfish and turtles. I can tell you trying to grow it in the goldfish tank is NOT going to work. They will find every. single. fragment. and eat it.
I love it! I have one tank dedicated to growing the stuff. Every cople of days I scoop some out and dump it in my two Rainbow tanks. Its a great addition to their diet and something they like to graze on.
I do not like duckweed in my aquaria, but I tried to establish it in my outdoor pond, where I have plenty of Goldfish. I did not succeed, possibly, because goldfish ate it all. To control nitrates in aquaria, I prefer Ceratophyllum. In the summer it is growing like crazy, very fast and I remove it almost by the pounds and toss it in the outdoor pond. However, it never establish in the pond, fish eats it, too. One draw back with Ceratophyllum: when daylight shortens in the fall, it disintegrates, leaving only tips of stems. In spring they all resume growing and the cycle repeats. This is a very easy and pretty plant.
I personally don't mind it. The only thing i don't like is when it sticks to my arms while im working in the tank. Its great for taking out excess nutrients in the water column
Duckweed does best in still waters with little or no current. It doesn't like strong current, at all. So if your duckweed isn't doing well, it could be because your current is too strong for it.
It might be wise to cover your filter's intake tube with a prefilter sponge if you have duckweed. It's so tiny, it could easily be sucked up into your filter and if enough of it goes into it, it could clog the filter.
I prefer the prefilter sponges that are closed up completely on the bottom as opposed to those which are open at both ends or have an X scored on the bottom. Water can still get through, but not the larger debris. Seems to defeat their purpose if the bigger stuff can still be sucked up into the filter because the bottom of the prefilter sponge is open. Most of them are made with openings at both ends, and I can't understand why. I have found it very difficult to find a single-opening prefilter sponge large enough to fit on an AC110 intake tube. I have found that style for the smaller intakes, like those on an AC50 or below.
If you're going to successfully keep duckweed, still water or minimal current and a prefilter sponge are necessary.
-- Aquamom
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