Think Twice About Adding These Plants: Are These Aquatic Plants More Trouble Than They're Worth?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 พ.ค. 2022
- Hello Everyone,
Some beginner plants can cause headaches later on. If you want more info on them check out these videos!
Subwassertang Care: • Subwassertang: An Unus...
Floating Plant Options: • Easy Floating Plants f...
An Easy Way to Remove Duckweed: • Easy Way I Remove Duck...
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If you want more unique ideas check out my Instagram: @thesmallscape
If you want to see some of my terrestrial planter and container ideas check out my other channel - Container Joy! th-cam.com/channels/1Oq.html...
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As always, thank you for stopping by! Joanna :-)
#plantedtank #aquascape #aquaticplants
Great list! I'd add hornwort, the dying Christmas tree of aquatic plants. Hornwort is great in my outdoor tubs and mini pond, but in tanks it's a nightmare. It looks great until the moment it explodes into a mess of dead "needles" that clog up the gravel vac.
Just had this happen. Had to medicate two of my tanks and my Hornwort exploded. Now I've got a mess to clean up. And mine absolutely will NOT grow out in my tub pond. Mine despises too much light and just meltd away out there.
Yes, in tanks it does tend to fade and die. It prefers hard water and good light. I used to have a pond full of it and my fish loved it, so I took some with me when I moved and, not having a pond yet, placed it in an outside tub with fresh tap water. A few months later it all died. My new house was in a soft water area and it didn't like it. Never grown it since.
I have been propagating several species of elodea to replace the hornwort in my tanks for this very reason. The properties and growth of hornwort makes it a godsend for low-tech aquariums, but tidier alternatives are greatly needed. Most people can't wait a year for freshly planted crypts, or ferns, or what-have-you to spread and grow enough to do this job, and most of us can't afford to buy all the plants we want right off the bat and we instead rely on propogation to fill out our planted tanks over time. Hornwort and a fast spreading floater are the best budget solution, but they tend to come at a cost. I would recommend hornwort to any beginner aquarist, but I'd also recommend crypts for their long-longterm growout. If you want a floating plant that won't create a nightmare, fasten some pothos to the back glass with the tips of their root nodes just touching the top of the water and watch them go. I like to have this as a backdrop to my backdrop, and I only trim the roots when they encroach on the front half of the tank or get too close to substrate. That is a beginner plant that is cheap and affordable for all, nearly impossibly to mess up, easily removed permanently from a tank, and does a lion's share of cleaning your water.
Couldn’t agree more! 👍
Hello! I am not a fan of duckweed or ricchia. I love subwassertang but it is a real pain if it spreads out. My Blue Gularis Killis love it.
Just shove your arm in a tank with duckweed and you can give yourself neat "living sleeves". LOL 😆
I thought for sure you'd say java moss. I keep it for my shrimp but not in my display tank. Saw perfect idea online, cut a piece off a cheap unused mesh bath sponge and wrap it around rock or wood, gonna try that and see if it keeps it more under control.
It can be surprising just how adventurous and what social super-spreaders, aquatic plants can be when conditions are to their liking :)
🤭🤣
Yep time to sort out my floating plants . Your video is good reminder 👍😎
Very interesting video. I appreciate you sharing your personal experience with these plants. Often they are only shown in videos on day one, so you don’t know how they progress in the tank.
Hornwort is the worst in my opinion. Breaks apart and collects crude. The one plant that is just rude! lol Great job Joanna! Thank you
Ugh. I’ve had it break apart and turn yucksville only once. 🤞 it doesn’t happen again. Lol. Rude plant. Big bummer. Hope you are having a memorable day. ☺️
I totally agree with your list. Ricci is my main nemesis. I regret ever buying. Duckweed I didn't buy but somehow ended up with. Subwasertang I couldn't hardly get it to grow and actually forgot about it until it took over the back of a tank. Another great video 👍
re: subwassertang, I found the same exact thing with Java fern. I left for a good 50 days (dissertation research) and came back to a tank that appeared good if not a little under grown given the time. When I examined further, I found almost every single plant was being strangled by java fern. Particularly the dwarf sage and dwarf chain sword--literally, the spaces in between my carpet of these two was 100% filled with java fern in every space etc. Watch out folks!
Thanks for the info, Joanna.
a great topic to cover!
Very helpful!
Thank you for Gracing my existence always . Water Sprite is nice, but magically adheres to and grows Algae. The water mosses as well. I currently juggle 2 Saltwater tanks as well as 9 planted freshwater tanks. I'm a busy lad, lol
Love this list. Years ago I went tried duckweed, never again. lol Recently I did try the riccia and fell in love with it, at first. Beautiful, bright green mounds tied to rock, was breathtaking. Then... I nudged the rock over a bit... it came undone and I am still finding bits of it, months later, even in tanks I didn't put it in. Never again.. lol
Java moss is a beautiful and fast growing plant, but similar to the plants you feature in this video, they can easily overtake a tank. They seem to be able to cling to anything and they can easily clog filters. They should really be called Java weed. Great for beginners though.
I haven't seen any of these in my local area, so can't add them, phew! Happy Saturday Jo.
Agree with all of these, especially the riccia.
Wow, thanks! That is good to know. I personally would add Java Moss to the list (or any moss). Had it once, made a mess. Never again.
Great info! I wish I would've seen this before I got my first piece of subwassertang at Aquaticon last month! I had pieces break off and I thought it would be smart to start it in more tanks! LOL... oh brother!!!
Luckily for me anyways it's a fairly slow grower and the main tank I have it in I want it to overrun. 😂
Definitely doesn't grow like the duckweed that I scoop out every week
Thank you for your live and learn tips Joanna! Much appreciated!
The plant I say “never again” (never say never 😂) is Scarlet Temple (Alternanthera reineckii). I wish it took over a tank like the others you mentioned. It’s beautiful!! I’ve tried it 2 times in 2 different tanks. In my last attempt I put it in my cube tank. The tank was doing beautifully with little algae. I had to give stronger light for the scarlet temple. I knew this would be an issue for the tank as the rest of the plants are low light. It was. Algae has been a problem ever since, and my plant just gave up this week. Disappointing. Now to get the tank back in shape. No more fussier plants for me for a while.
I hope you are having a great weekend! ☀️
Ya. That’s such a shame. I was given a really cool plant once and every tank it went in, green hair algae moved in too. I feel your pain. You’ll be a pro at algae removal after this battle. 🙏🙌. Weekend is lovely so far, baseball tourney ☺️. Hope you enjoy yours too and your back is feeling better. 🌺
@@thesmallscape Bummer on your gifted plant too! It’s helps to know we all go through it and easier to accept for sure.
It has been a lovely day, perfect for a baseball tourney! Perfect for gardening too...and I was naughty 🤭😳...I couldn’t help myself...yeah, I did it, despite my back still not completely right. 😳😬🙄 I know, I know, I am dumb. But it’s peak season! On the sofa right now with the heating pad watching The Book of Boba Fett and Obi Wan Kenobi with the family. Pretty good!
@@cherylbelott Try ludwigia natans super red! It doesn’t need too much light and gets pretty red even in my low tech tank. My scarlet temple is also struggling but the ludwigia natans is growing like a WEED and I LOVE IT. When you first get it make sure to float it at the top of your tank until it starts to grow roots, and then plant it in substrate. After you get new growth trim that off and replant immediately. The original immersed form you get will be much more prone to root rot and stem rot. After you get that new growth it’s just smooth sailing from there. Also get a few horned nerites. They stay pretty small and can reach leaves and crevices and they can eat basically any type of algae. I have to leave the lights running for longer now so they don’t starve 😂
Thanks for the helpful tips. I just ordered some Savinia from Flip aquatics last night and was looking at the Subwassertang as well but didn't order any yet. I will have to rethink this one?!?!.
It's a pity I had to toss out my salvinia. It didn't like any disturbance of the water surface and just rotted away.
I just drove an hour just to buy some Subwassertang...love the plant!!!
Subwassertang's amazing if you aren't too persnickity about tidy appearance. I actually love how easy it takes over a tank, because the trimmings sell great! My LFS can't get enough of it and they can sell like 20 cups of it in a week.
Java Moss would be another one I would add to this list, it is a beautiful moss but can get away from you and pop up in unwanted areas, there are aa lot nicer mosses that are slower growing and more compact.
Weeping moss is my favourite
Duckweed is the devil, lol. Now Giant duckweed I will use on a starter tank to really suck up extra nutrients, and nitrates, but you HAVE to check it weekly and toss out A Lot of it to keep it under control.
Guppy grass loves my tanks and literally grows like a weed taking over everything.
Was constantly yanking out a LOT of that too and tossing it, but somehow, I never got it all at once and it always came back twice as strong.
Riccia like you mentioned, gross and messy, just will not behave itself.
And I agree with you about subwassertang. It starts breaking off little bits and escaping all over the tank.
I'm not even that fond of it when it's temporarily in a decent clump...that's a never again for me.
Hope ya'll have a safe and great holiday weekend.
👍❤👍
Sadly, I have been placed on the FBI's Top 10 Most Wanted list for being Seriel Plant Murderer. I have not had any of the issues you have documented here. For me, even the vile, evil duckweed stands no chance. I actually managed to aquire some and had it in the beginning stages of propagation, yet, when I purposely tried to spread it around to other tanks, it simply vanished. Then, to add insult to injury, it started to disappear in the original tank until, finally, inevitably, it was gone there too.
😱😱😱
I understand Duckweed for sure. I got rid of mine using Pothos, the nitrate vacuum. Honestly I finally took it out after six months. I had to feed my other rooted plants with tabs under the gravel/substrate. It took five months and the Duckweed was dead. One thing about Duckweed though, if anyone wants the recipe to turn it into shrimp food just let me know.
That second plant? Maybe more like giant Algea? I've never seen it, but you have warned me.
Suswassertang is one of my favorite plants, though it is a giant Algea of sorts. I can't grow enough of it, but I keep trying. My shrimp love it. Thank you for this, always a pleasure to watch your videos.
I can ship you a pound of the stuff!!!
I heard somebody say you don’t have too many aquariums if you don’t have duck weed around or in most of your toilets and I was like oh so true
I love frogbit and salvinia! 🙂☘🌿
Greater duckweed is a bit manageable but the tiny version is a complete nightmare..
Yep manged to clear my fish room for about 8 months and its back was hidden in sum salvinia natans i had got in
Water sprite has been weird for me. It does well in the low flow tanks, falls apart in the one with only medium flow. If I root it in the substrate it's ok for a while but then can get huge so you have to remove a bunch often just like the other floating plants. Also the Pogostemon 'octupus' is too tall for even a 30 gal. I've learned, so don't even think about putting that in your nano tanks, lol
I second your thoughts, similar to my post on the same 2 plants!
I love this video. For me its hornwort. I get annoyed with it because it tends to break down easily in my aquarium
That’s a bummer.
Hornwort tends to get very distressed when water parameters change in my experience, but if I let it sit and lose all it's leaves, it eventually has started to grow anew after a month or so of being all brown, but during the time that it is brown I added frogbit to help keep the tank clean in the meantime. When my hornwort finally acclimates to a new tank it seems to adopt a structure more appropriate for that water. Mine grows EXTREMELY thin stems, vs. the initial stock which probably was fed copious amounts of CO2 where it was farmed, and had very thick stems.
Pretty much the same with cabomba/moneywort
I have had horneort take over, I Was taking some out all the time.
I feel your pain with Susswasertang...I've grown a ton of it, but haven't had good experience trying to place it since it breaks up like you said. Will try the wedge method and see if that helps.
I’ve wrapped a 3” lava rock with the Susswasertang, tied it with cotton thread, just wrapped it many many times. Now it’s just one big mound, no issues.
I've heard multiple times now that cichlids will eat duckweed. My mbunas must be spoiled lol. I've tried multiple times and it ends up just sitting stuck to my wavemakers lol. And yes on the subwassertang lol, I have recently found out that some had blown around in my 65gal community tank and now it is growing in random places in the tank lol. Actually works out honestly, looks cool, I guess unless it moves again 😆. Great video per the usual Joanna, thank you 😊.
Mbuna don't eat duckweed, they much prefer soft vegetable material they can scrape because they are not good at chewing. The best cichlids for eating duckweed are Uaru. A friend who bred this species fed them almost exclusively on it which she grew in an outside pond. Some tilapiines will also eat it.
Ok, thank you for the info. It's good to know that they don't and aren't just being food snobs lol
I'm in the process of moving the shrimp to a 29g and taking out all the guppy grass at the same time. I hate it. It completely takes over the tank and breaks into little pieces every time I try to do maintenance. The shrimp love it though...
I agree! I so hate duckweed…. Riccia I like underwater as it has a great texture but yes if you have to trim it it becomes a pain. Why I have a love hate relationship with mosses as well. Because it sinks it can get into places you don’t see then have a huge mass of moss growing in your other plants 🤣
Duckweed is such an amazing plant. It does ofcourse reproduce at an extreme rate, but that is also one of its strenghts. You have to clear most out on a regular basis, but it litterally takes two minutes with a tea strainer from thought to completion. Compared to süsswassertang and even java moss, and the time and effort to trim and collect break-away pieces, it's a breeze.
I've had periods where I wanted duckweed-free aquariums, but I almost always return to them for their ability to keep the water parameters stable, and especially out-compete hair/string algae. They have been used and studied as a method to purify water from everything from nitrogen to heavy metals and between. They don't really starve (most) other plants either (if you remove on a regular basis), since both co2 and nitrogen are taken from the air.
Great timing on this video! I was thinking of adding subwassertang to my fish tanks. I’m still trying to find my #4 to add to the fantastic 4 being Java moss hornwort and guppy grass. Was thinking subwassertang, what would you suggest in its place? Thanks joanna have a wonderful weekend🙂👍🏻
Pearlweed or bacopa maybe?
Any CRYPT will do well and not get out of control, pretty non demanding plant and it will be different than what you already have growing now.
How you keep Corydoras from digging up root tabs?
Great plants for all my filterless aquariums which are all my nanos. No filter, no air, nothing. Also i hate rescaping so for me, they're great. Duck weed also grows and then gets fed to the cichlids and turtles
😂😅😂 you name all the plants I own. Duckweed, I control it by making a ring for it, but yes, there are times a few escape the ring😒. The other plants I really don't have issues with it floating everywhere. Maybe once in a great while, I'll have tiny parts of the crystal wart break away.
Java moss is another one, once it entangled with dwarf hair grass ou can never get them off. Even if you remove them all the will still grow back.
the "B" in German is an S set and acts as a double S - süsswassertang, with the umlauted U being pronounced like Sue. Great video, too late for me with the Duckweed though! lol it does help big time with the ammonia and nitrate levels in the tank!
Thank you for being the first person to actually teach me how to say this properly lmao
Wolffia, makes duckweed look huge. Java moss can float around the tank and end up everywhere! Hornwort and Narrow Leaf Anacharis can be hard to control!
Sorry to be watching late family happened today.
I wanted to ask you what you think snout me trying by train Clement is to aquatic? I'm honns try it like anubious nrcsusr it has ryzome type structure but not durr of toxins or lrsf hardiness?
Amazon sword. It’s waaay to needy. Ferts, space, ….well those two mainly 😂 it just gets so big! I still have the babies of the mother plant, but I may have thrown the og plant away because it was so massive.
Thank you for the excellent information on these types of plants.
Guppy grass can also become a pain but letting it grow a bit makes it easier to remove from the tank. My Platys just rip it to shreds! But then, they rip all my plants to shreds.🙁 I need a Platy proof floating plant.
Oh yes!! I was thinking if giving that one an honorable mention haha. I’ve had it only once. Never again. ☺️
My never again plant is Water Wisteria, trim it one weekend, next weekend it’s taken over a 20 gallon tank again. It’s a great starter plant, sucks up a ton of nutrients and fish waste from the water. But it’s like the walking dead of plants for me. Also I’d mention Pogostemon Octopus, same deal, cut it back, then. 1-2 weeks later it’s out of control. Both good starter plants, neither are good for aqua scaping.
Good advice to anyone who can't afford time to spend. All these plants may be controlled, even eradicated using a small net and a lot of patience but if you're not able to spend the time just leave these fast growers out.
Using plant rings is another way of reducing spread. There are many aquarists who purposely introduce duckweed to reduce the amount of light and inhibit algae but imo., there are better floating plants.
I love Süwwassertang. Lost mine when I had to black out a tank with cyanobacteria. Been trying to find it ever since....haven't had any luck 😢
That’s a bummer. Sorry to hear it.
The day I finally got my hands on a small clump of Süßwassertang, I divided it into 4 different tanks and just left it alone in the corner of each, and I find that it is best to plant somewhere that you'll never want to move it from, because the two times I have tried, it fragments up really easily. To protect the biodiversity I spent money for, I always try to divide new plants into more than one tank, even if that means I am hiding it behind a rock or peice of driftwood to keep it out of the visuals of a certain tank, I'll still propagate it in there in secret for a rainy day.
Is Pearl weed a good plant
It's called Süsswassertang in German = Sweet Water Seaweed in English.
I have given up on water sprite. Tried planted and floating. It did better for me floating, but eventually just melts away after a few months. 🤷🏻♀️
Susswswetang- I put my clump in a hair net. Keeps it from breaking apart and making a mess. It eventually grows through the hair net and the net isn’t even seen.
😂 you can catch via fish net and throw or give to aquarium shop
they will sell it
I'm trying to grow duckweed zero luck with my goldfish. I've tried hiding some of it in tank my goldfish find it. I'm really struggling with plants in general that my fish won't eat. Any suggestions?
What is the floating plant with the long white roots? Its in the tank with the subwassatang.
Water lettuce, Pistia stratiotes. Likes a lot of light, little or no surface agitation.
Dwarf water lettuce and salvinia. ☺️
I tried a couple different kinds of floating plants years ago and they were more trouble than not. I got rid of them and never looked back.
I like amazon frogbit, it's low-tech filtration on easy-mode. I keep a mini 1-gallon bucket near my tanks and a hair "pick" (it's a type of comb), and when there is too much frogbit, I just quickly run the comb across the top and pick up a huge mound of frogbit, and add it to the bucket. When the bucket gets kinda full I dump it into a large disposable plastic cup and add springtails, then put a lid on to keep humidity high in the container and put it in a cool location with partial sunlight. The spring-tails slowly turn it into soil which I later add to store-bought soil for future dirted tanks. If you don't need that kind of material you can simply dump the decomposing frogbit in the dirt outside, somewhere you want more nutrients like in your strawberry patch, or under your blueberry bushes. I use almost everything I remove from my fish tanks to help grow yummy berries and things in my backyard, but you don't need to, you can also just dump it in your yard debris container or garbage can. It's WAY easier than cleaning out filter media or frequent water changes. I'm going on nearly a year so far without water changes in my 4 tanks and my blue velvet neos just had more babies in their 20Long, my platys are looking glorious in their 29Tall, I haven't lost a single neon tetra in their 60 wide, and my betta is thick and healthy in his 5g bowfront, all without mechanical filtration due to those looooooong and fine frogbit roots collecting particles out of the water while the plants soak up all the nitrates and turn them into lovely green leaves. Floating plants are pretty hard to replace, especially due to the shade they provide to your fish and slower growing plants. Nothing keeps algae off of your anubius quite like having a healthy layer of floaters at the top of the water filtering the light.
I have never bought Duckweed but it has appeared in my tank from plants & fish I have bought.
Could not help but to see the planaria creeping into the screen @5:35 .
😐I know. Booooo!!!! Little stinkers.
Hygrophila pinnatifida 🤨
i have had it in 2 different aquariums with and without CO2 and in a plant bowl.
in two places it was close to the light the others further down. I otherwise have no problems with so many other plants, but have now given up having Hygrophila pinnatifida, even though it is super beautiful
What a stinker huh?
Yes! Great plant but the runners are crazy. I'm pretty sure it'll take over the entire tank if left unchecked.
@@mabusfoo do you have soft water? Mine is hard as rock 😮💨
@@DKLordByron yeah my tap runs 2dGH and 2dKH
My 3 year old daughter somehow accidentally dropped her hairbrush into a tub of aquarium water covered in duckweed. My immediate thought was: “Great! Now we’re going to grow duckweed in our hair aswell”😂
😂😂 could you imagine?!
@@thesmallscape 🤣
For some reason duckweed doesn’t thrive for me. Blessing maybe?
Yes. You’ve been blessed!!
dwarf sag is the plant i regret within weeks it took over my small tank stringy and awful
Never understod why they call it susswassertang in english. It's just german for fresh water fucales (algae), although it's actually a fern. Some call it round pellia. Loma fern is a better name.
I know. weird.
The susswassertang breaks up to create new plants. Fragmented pieces will create a new plant.
Azolla
Duckweed is probably the only one in my option because when I clean the tank it gets all over the place
Surprised you didn’t mention Java moss
It’s been ok for me...one never knows. It may make the 2023 list. 🤣
💙💙💚💚
A few things I'd like to clarify plants produce oxygen. Also with duckweed you need to make a separation ring to keep a space on top of water open so lack of knowing how to deal with duckweed. Also coming from a fish keeper like yourself you should know the look of a tank shouldn't matter what you like it should be based off what your fish like your preference on looks should not come before your fish preference. I loved almost ever vid you did but this one too many personal opinions of personal likes instead of proper explanation on how to properly maintain and care for this level of plants.
You can make fish food from duck weed.
I can't get my duckweed or giant duckweed to grow consistently out in tub pond and I want some for my Goldfish. Something with the sunlight and my water, zero nitrates. I keep it protected from my Goldfish in the hopes it will grow. It's struggling...
Put it in full sunlight and feed it with 2 tablespoons of fresh (or nearly fresh) chicken poo. Works for me.
@@majorbruster5916 I don't have any chicken poo and I really don't want to put that into my tub pond.
@@ReneesZooTube Without nitrate and phosphate it will struggle. I also use cat litter trays because they are cheap, and shallow enough to easily manage. I suggested chicken poo because that works and chicken keepers often give it away. In the absence of that, something like tomato feed would be suitable. Just tryin to help.
I am afraid of keeping any kind of plant that can propagate itself even with a tiny piece, like duckweed and moss-type plants.
As you should be. 🤭🤣
I hate java moss. Subwassertang is pretty easy to control compared to java moss. Also, with subbwassertang just buy a hair net and put it in it with a rock and tie it up and it will stay contained and not float around the tank.
The English spelling should be Susswassertang. That "ß" character is a symbol that functionally acts like 2 s'. The "Eszett" is a sharp "S", it was never a "B". It's not tomato/tomaaaaaato situation, it's a letter that follows a very strict set of rules and hopefully one day we'll all say it correctly, but most people don't so no biggy XD
🙂
Java Moss. It’s an easy plant but imo to easy almost. It’ll get everywhere and stick to anything. Just…. Never again.
Haha. Ya, I understood ☺️
I don’t think it’s really possible to get rid of Duckweed
Like someone once called it... “yuckweed”. 🤭🤣
Duckweed... don't do it... I brought some inside by accident from my pond... into what was supposed to be my hands off tank and now I have to scoop all the time
Ya. Been there. Done that.
Ah yes...riccia...it never leaves...it goes inside everyplant
Ya boooooo!!!! 👎🤭
I disagree too disagree
About Duckweeeeeeeeeeed
For i have in my all my tanks
And my Neocaridina strive alot better with the duck weed
Duckweed And Moss
With Maybe Nubis Plant
In All my tanks
Yes Duckweed can be a little bit of hassle but is great Food for shrimplets and fish
So Duckweed Rules 🤫
Yuk, duckweed is really horrible stuff, it’s so fast at multiplying and gets everywhere 😱
Yup. Yuckweed.
Much better name for it 🤣😂
What about vallisneria.. probably the worst one 🥲