# human edible aquarium plants?



## zico_aqua (Dec 23, 2012)

a lot actually. bacopa monnieri for example has got extremely good medicinal value so taken quite often, quite a few hydrocotyle species are eaten on a regular basis - these are eaten in India so I know..perhaps few more are eaten some place elsee as well..


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## Kat12 (Aug 11, 2013)

zico_aqua said:


> a lot actually. bacopa monnieri for example has got extremely good medicinal value so taken quite often, quite a few hydrocotyle species are eaten on a regular basis - these are eaten in India so I know..perhaps few more are eaten some place elsee as well..



Thanks, know quite a bit of things eat duckweed so imagine that would not be harmful.


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

This topic always seems to come up every few months, and I always find myself linking to the following page:

http://waynesword.palomar.edu/genimg2.htm

_Wolffia_ muffins!


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## steven p (Jun 22, 2012)

Darkblade48 said:


> This topic always seems to come up every few months, and I always find myself linking to the following page:
> 
> http://waynesword.palomar.edu/genimg2.htm
> 
> _Wolffia_ muffins!


Duckweed foods are probably pretty good for you, but I don't know about the taste... I have a buddy who's big into neotropics or whatever... So we tried some bacopa the other day.. worse than dandelion. Water sprite is pretty pungent. Hydrocotyle is made into canned beverages in some parts of the world, haven't tried that either..


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## Shrimpo_Brian (Feb 12, 2013)

If you go to your local Asian market and go to the drinks aisle, there are some drinks that contain aquatic or semi-aquatic plants, such as a pennywort drink, but they don't taste too good.


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## Plantnerd (Dec 14, 2011)

_Mentha aquatica_ might work. Its edible but i don't know about long term aquarium life.


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## Indychus (Feb 21, 2013)

I feed excess duckweed to my wife's rabbits and they seem to like it. They have very picky digestive systems, so I think they would have issues if it was unhealthy. I've never had the urge to try it though.


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

I've heard pennywort is often use for salads.


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## HybridHerp (May 24, 2012)

I hear Limnophillia aromatica is edible......might have to see about that some time lol


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## sdbrewer (May 17, 2012)

Yup.

A member over at SCAPE posted a pictures of his 4 foot long rotalas.

Another member then replied: "I'll give you a dollar if you video tape yourself eating it like spaghetti."

And the OP did just that. Here's the video.


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

sdbrewer said:


> Yup.
> 
> A member over at SCAPE posted a pictures of his 4 foot long rotalas.
> 
> ...


Great video!


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

2-3 Billion people: Rice.


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## Kat12 (Aug 11, 2013)

Darkblade48 said:


> Great video!



I'm not a member there so can't see when they logged in last to check if lived 

Ok, confess, not really interested in personally eating it - but have pet rats also so if stuff needs trimmed wouldn't mind throwing it in their dinner if stuff is safe!


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## NeonFlux (Apr 10, 2008)

sdbrewer said:


> Yup.
> 
> A member over at SCAPE posted a pictures of his 4 foot long rotalas.
> 
> ...


Rofl!! He actually ate the 4 foot rotala! Wow funny and good video of him doing it. :icon_smil Thanks for sharing the link to vid.


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## KH2PO4 (Jul 18, 2009)

Blyxa. But he probably did not refer to Japonica.
http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/travel/Christensen_SearchforPlants.html


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## manlyfan76 (Jun 20, 2013)

This one:http://www.aquagreen.com.au/plant_data/Monochoria_vaginalis.html


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## Indychus (Feb 21, 2013)

manlyfan76 said:


> This one:http://www.aquagreen.com.au/plant_data/Monochoria_vaginalis.html


Of course people eat the vaginalis. :biggrin:


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## manlyfan76 (Jun 20, 2013)

Indychus said:


> Of course people eat the vaginalis. :biggrin:


I need to get some of his Viagra Val to go with it. name:Vallisneria erecta http://www.aquagreen.com.au/plant_data/Vallisneria_erecta.html
roud:


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## secuono (Nov 19, 2009)

What about a list of common aquarium plants we grow that we could eat?
What about Salvinia? Or other fast, common plants in tanks?


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## Orangespotted (Oct 14, 2013)

I was looking into duckweeds as food once and I read that they were exceptionally high in protein. Apparently not the most palatable however. There are aquaculture system designs which use duckweed as the main source of food for the tilapia, so that's kind of cool. I imagine one could do something similar with crayfish. Marmokrebs, anyone?


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## wicca27 (May 3, 2009)

the problem isnt the plant so much as the chemicals we put into the tank like dechlore. the things we add is what makes the fish and plants where we cant eat them.


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## secuono (Nov 19, 2009)

I don't add any chemicals to my tanks and my water is ground water. The Salvinia is growing much faster and better than duckweed, wanted to find another use other than trashing it.


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## wicca27 (May 3, 2009)

put it in the flower bed/ garden. floaters suck up alot of nitrates and when turned into compost its great food for other plants


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## CT89 (Jul 3, 2013)

I've heard of duckweed as a staple before, as well, in parts of South/SE Asia.

Beyond that... Lotuses are staples in China and other parts of Asia. Lotus roots, lotus seeds, lotus flowers, the list goes on. It would probably have to be a huge aquarium to get any appreciable amount, though!


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## fishwater (May 31, 2012)

What about watercress? Not sure if needs to be submerged or emersed to grow well, but I see it in the wild in both phases.


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## Xiaozhuang (Feb 15, 2012)

I read that Limnophila aromatica can be made into tea? is it true?


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## JMN16150 (Jul 21, 2012)

That's what I heard too. I also read people eat nymphaea bulbs. I know the hydrocotyle species are definitely edible... (I see the Asian drinks that they make out of it a lot.)


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## AirstoND (Jun 17, 2011)

Everything tastes good with BBQ sauce


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## secuono (Nov 19, 2009)

Is Amazon sword, Vals or Totals edible?


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## JusticeBeaver (Oct 28, 2017)

Water chestnut is edible but highly invasive so I wouldn't suggest using it in an aquarium. Watercress also can be grown submerged I think. Most parts of the lotus plants are edible so I'd assume that things in the same family would also be more or less edible. Limnophila aromatica is also commonly eaten in Vietnam although I think only the emerged growth is eaten.


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## Bananableps (Nov 6, 2013)

fishwater said:


> What about watercress? Not sure if needs to be submerged or emersed to grow well, but I see it in the wild in both phases.


In my experience, submerged watercress does not have the same yummy peppery flavor as emergent growth. 

I have tried eating submerged Limnophillia aromatica from a tank, but it didn't really taste like anything. I wonder if it's the same as watercress - only flavorful when grown in the air.


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## mr moto (Jul 4, 2015)

Submersed grown Limnophila aromatica develops an excellent citrus-like, herbal flavor in my tank. Maybe it depends on your water and/or added nutrients.
Even better is Limnophila rugosa which has a mild anise-like flavor. Both are eaten regularly in southeast Asian cuisine but I don't really plan on eating out of my tank all the time - just some interesting trivia.
Rugosa is probably a good source of iron because if I don't keep the iron level up in my tank the leaves will blanch out severely.


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