Amazon Frog Bit has fuzzy roots.

Stoke88

I just recently purchased some Frog Bit from ebay and I don't know if I'm just noticing it now but the roots seem to be getting little tiny "hairs" on them. I hoping this is normal and not an algae of some sort. Is this a normal thing?

Byron

Yes. My frogbit does the same--when it is growing. It goes through growth spurts (during which it even flowers sometimes) and then slows to the point of almost completely dying off. But I believe this is because what I ended up with is not the aquarium frogbit (Amazonian) but the "weed" that is from temperate climates, and the constant warmth is affecting it.

Byron.

Stoke88

I was just concerned. I just got it Monday so growth already wasn't something I was expecting.
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Geomancer

It can grow pretty fast, most floating plants are that way since they have access to CO2 in the air which is much, much higher than in the water (even with CO2 injection). Plus it has all that light being only a couple inches from the bulbs.

I never had any luck with the Frogbit I got. Like Byron said, it would do well for a time, but then would nearly completely die off, but my own has not really recovered. I might have a single plant of it left. I'm wondering if my tanks all being covered contributes to it (high humidity).

One thing I noticed with my Dwarf Water Lettuce is it will die off fairly quickly if the leaves get water drops on them. I switched my 20g and 10g from a HOB to a sponge filter, and the bubbles splash tiny amounts of water when they burst at the surface and it completely killed off all the Dwarf Water Lettuce within a week. Not the same plant, but still a little similar.

Cja313

I just picked up a bunch of small baby amazon frogbit plants that a guy from CL was selling. I have a pretty turbulent surface in my 55 Gal tank due to a 406 Fluval Canister output (which I've since lowered the flow rate to about 15 -20%), and a topfin 60 HOB filter, plus a water cirulator that helps keep the surface water moving in the tank counter clockwise. My roots have the hair like "sillica" on them as well, but Im sure this is normal and how the plant absorbs nutrients from the water.

here's my question. Is too much water aggitation on the surface bad for floating plants? I like it because the output was churning up part of the surface water which helps mix in oxygen for fish. Now that Ive dialed the filter output down some, theres not nearly as much oxygen getting into the water right? (I have a airstone but it pumps out larger bubbles and I heard that I should switch to an airstone that makes tiny bubbles??)

The frogbit leaves are green on the top and whiteish color underneath, and as hard as I tried, some of the leaves on plants refuse to stay up right. will that be ok? or will these leaves die? What are signs the leaves are dying?? If leaves die, do I just pull those off of the plant? First time owning live plants, so all the help I can get would be appreciated.

Oh and I plan on getting the Flourish Complete tomorrow. Just got the plants last night and put them in the tank. I did a rinse for 4-5 minutes in a 5% bleach solution to kill off snail and snail eggs, then rinsed a few times in dechlorinated water before putting them in my tank.

Byron

Yes. First, it is probably bad for all aquarium plants because it likely drives out much-needed CO2 and brings in more oxygen than what is useful [more on this below]. Second, depending upon the species and the turbulence, floating plants may decline if they are not allowed to simply "float" on the surface.

Many aquarists have a mistaken understanding of oxygen levels. As I read in a recent article on the subject, unless the fish tank is overcrowded with too many fish for the water volume, or something is deliberately done to increase the CO2 beyond what is required, there will never be a shortage of oxygen. In other words, in a balanced aquarium oxygen will always be sufficient. And more is not better, because the more oxygen, the less CO2. And too much oxygen can harm plants because it affects their assimilation of nutrients.

Generally speaking, in a tank that is planted and has a reasonable load of fish, devices like bubblers should be avoided. Similarly, excessive surface disturbance is harmful.

The leaves will grow on the plant according to their nature, so let them do whatever they do. On my plants, the dying leaves begin to yellow, usually around the edges. I usually remove these during the weekly water change. Plants can transfer certain nutrients from older leaves to new growth, so there is an argument for leaving these leaves if they are still partly green, provided the stem is still sound so nutrients can transfer. If the stem is broken or has rotted through, nothing is going to be moving up or down obviously, so removing the leaf is best.

Floating plants are heavy feeders because they are fast growing, so a complete liquid fertilizer is almost mandatory. Flourish Comprehensive Supplement is one of the best, I use it.

As for the bleach dips, I have never bothered with these. Any dip strong enough to kill snails or algae may damage the plant. And if not strong enough, there is no point in doing it. These dips will also not kill most protozoan that might infect fish. Quarantining the new plants just as for fish, in a fish-less tank for 3-5 weeks, is the only way to hopefully deal with issues, though this obviously will not necessarily free the plants of snails if that was the intention.

Byron.

Cja313

Thanks for the insight on the Oxygen levels, it was something, I guess like others, I was mis understanding. Very insightfull info all around Byron. Appreciate it!