Wanted Plants, weeds or other?

Inga

I have Pennywort, Wisteria and a Sword in my 25 gallon tank. In my 60 I have the same plus a few other plants. In both tanks, the whole top of the tank is being taken over by this stuff.

Each one of these tiny petals has a root of it's own. There are thousands, tens of thousands. What are they? How do I get rid of them? Where did they come from? Any help?

badxgillen

known as duck weed ....lemna minor...usualy shows up as a hitchiker with other plants or in water with new fish...these reproduce at an alarming rate if unchecked....firsrt net off as mush as possible...then get a bucket with tank or declored water and submerse the plants...the duck weed will float to the top ....net ....and repeat....there are some fish wich relish this plant but they will tend to go after the other soft leaved plants as well....prevention is obviously the best mesures of control...

Inga

Thanks! What a mess this crap is. I wish I had someone that relished it. I have been scooping it on a regular basis and it is reproducing at an alarming rate. I would love to get rid of it all. For now, I suppose it is a good spot for my fry to hide in but.... It really HAS to go.

Byron

Agree with previous advice. This is a good plant in newer tanks as it is a rapid consumer of nutrients (including ammonia obviously). Kept in check, it can be good in any tank as it provides shade. Regular weekly removal of a handful will keep it in check. If you really want to get rid of all of it in a tank, it can take a while; the smallest invisible leaf somewhere will literally overnight result in dozens.

SinCrisis

I am actually looking for some... i think they look nice mixed with other floating plants...

Calmwaters

First I have an idea get another tank set it up for goldfish or other plant eating fish when you scoop it put put it in there with them. They will love to take care of it for you. LOL ; )
I to really like this plant and so does my betta I wish mine would hurry up and grow so I could put some in my other betta tanks.

zof

My fry loves this stuff along with other floaters for cover, I did notice when I had a ton of surface water movement this stuff didn't grow as fast, along with all my other floating plants. So it might be worth a try to add surface movement for a week or two while you try to get it all out.

Inga

I imagine this will take weeks or more to get rid of this stuff. Maybe just downsizing the amount regularly will be a better goal. It is so interlaced with the Pennywort and Wisteria I can't imagine trying to get it all out. I have been flinging handful of it out of the tank on a weekly basis, it grows and multiplies at an amazing rate. The whole top of both tanks are covered. Too much shade.

LisaC144

I have Salvinia that is much the same way. I've been working on getting rid of it too since I now have frogbit,water lettuce, and pennyowrt floating. I take my small fish net and skim the top of the tank regularly. I do it several times, getting an entire netful of the stuff. It's gotten more under control, but still reproduces like crazy. If you're really looking to get rid of it, I'd just simply skim the surface everyday with a net until it's gone.

Mikaila31

yeah I killed that stuff. I knew what it was from the start though and didn't let it go super crazy. I actually doesn't do well under high light.