# Floating plant for closed top tank.



## LonelyJoe (Jun 30, 2018)

I have a closed top, moderate flow/surface movement 90 gallon tank. I want to try golden wonder killifish but apparently they appreciate floating plants. I have previously tried frogbit and it didn’t work at all. Recommendations?


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## minorhero (Mar 28, 2019)

Giant duckweed works great for me. Bigger then regular duckweed and works great even with some surface flow.

Other folk like salvinia, and red root floaters. I can't seem to keep the later alive.


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## Quint (Mar 24, 2019)

I have dwarf water lettuce that grows really well in my tanks. The higher the flow the less quickly it grows in my experience.


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## LonelyJoe (Jun 30, 2018)

Does water lettuce, duckweed or Salvinia work in a closed top tank though


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## ustabefast (Jan 24, 2017)

I use Pearlweed as a floater in most of my tanks. 
Provided the current is not too strong, it will stay in a nice mass for me as the roots intertwined over time. 
I have to pull out handfulls regularly as it grows.


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## minorhero (Mar 28, 2019)

LonelyJoe said:


> Does water lettuce, duckweed or Salvinia work in a closed top tank though


I assume you mean you have a lid on your tank? It will work fine so long as the duckweed is not being forced underwater completely by the lid. It just needs some air and unless you are hermetically sealing this tank air will get in.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

Ditto the great duckweed- spirodela polyrhiza. Mine is in a covered tank. Incidentally, I've tried amazon frogbit and salvinia and both melted and died on me. My tanks are pretty gentle flow- sponge filters- but it wasn't until i put some salvinia in a fry box that it started to thrive. I realize it needs an area of _very_ still water. I'm going to bend a plastic hose piece into circle and corrall it, try again where it can be shielded from the surface movement (did this before with airline and it wasn't thick enough to keep the surface absolutely still I guess)


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## tamsin (Jan 12, 2011)

A lot of easy stem plants will quite happily grow floating if you don't plant them.


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## Leeatl (Aug 8, 2015)

tamsin said:


> A lot of easy stem plants will quite happily grow floating if you don't plant them.


Could you elaborate on that please....IE: which stems . Thanks


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## Desert Pupfish (May 6, 2019)

Leeatl said:


> Could you elaborate on that please....IE: which stems . Thanks


IME hornwort (grows like crazy & can be a challenge to keep up with) water wisteria & water sprite. And I've got some mermaid weed that's been floating around for months that's not growing much, but looking green & healthy. Whenever I plant some in the substrate it starts growing again.


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## DaveKS (Apr 2, 2019)

In that big of tank hydrocotyle grown as floating vine is a good one. You can make a little fishing line lasso and attach to rim and just hook it over last leaf/root node on vine and you can tie it up anywhere you want. Thinning is easy, you just cut off newer ends, throw old parts away and tie fresh cut vine in it’s place. Common name, Brazilian Pennywort.

Nice little 2” lily pads on a vine










What your fish will see underneath. Killi heaven.


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## Quint (Mar 24, 2019)

This is a shot of my 10G with the dwarf water lettuce. This was after removal of half the floaters. I remove about half every week depending on how they grow. Sometimes 3/4, sometimes little less then half. The tank has the standard glass lid. I leave about 1/4"+ from top after water change. 

Of note the more water circulation you have the shorter the roots will be and the slower the growth in my experience any way.


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## Surf (Jun 13, 2017)

> I have previously tried frogbit and it didn’t work at all.


What exactly happened to the Frogbit? Generally floating plants have no shortage of CO2 and oxygen. So in general if they don't do well a nutrient deficiency is probably the cause. So before you try another plant make sure your fertilizer has all the nutrients plants need (N, P, K, Ca, Mg, S, Cl, Fe, Mn, B, Zn, Cu, Mo). Even the most durable floating plant (duck weed) can die off if you are missing one or more nutrients. If you are not fertilizing the water that probably was your problem.

Water current in my experience doesn't really bother floaters. Even if you have a very strong current that pushes duckweed and Salvinia under the surface they generally come back up and keep growing. And even if they get tangled in other plants and stay underwater they generally don't die.


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## tamsin (Jan 12, 2011)

Leeatl said:


> Could you elaborate on that please....IE: which stems . Thanks



Hornwort and wisteria as mentioned, rotala rotundifolia doesn't seem to mind it. I've pennywort growing as a floater too - that's pretty rampant and currently trying to escape the tank. 



Riccia fluitans grows as big floating mats but it can be a bit messy as bits break off so not everyone's idea of a good plant.


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## Leeatl (Aug 8, 2015)

tamsin said:


> Hornwort and wisteria as mentioned, rotala rotundifolia doesn't seem to mind it. I've pennywort growing as a floater too - that's pretty rampant and currently trying to escape the tank.
> 
> 
> 
> Riccia fluitans grows as big floating mats but it can be a bit messy as bits break off so not everyone's idea of a good plant.


Thanks.

Bump:


Desert Pupfish said:


> IME hornwort (grows like crazy & can be a challenge to keep up with) water wisteria & water sprite. And I've got some mermaid weed that's been floating around for months that's not growing much, but looking green & healthy. Whenever I plant some in the substrate it starts growing again.


Thanks.


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## Nature Freak (Sep 30, 2019)

Try red root floaters









Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk


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## knife2240 (Sep 24, 2019)

I've been putting the water wisteria clippings from my 40 gallon in my 20 gallon and they are doing fine floating.


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## TheOne (Apr 30, 2019)

I see that someone beat me to it but I wanted to give a second mention on behalf of water wisteria. It's a fast grower so it can soak up excess nutrients and nitrates, so it helps in the battle against algae. It grows well floating and provides fish and inverts a nice floating jungle to explore. Just let it grow and if you want more just cut some off and let it grow again. Doesn't even need much light.


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## aquanerd13 (Jun 22, 2019)

Where do you see floating plants? Swamps and marshes along with some very slow-moving rivers. This shows that they don't like a current.


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## RWaters (Nov 12, 2003)

LonelyJoe - I have a bunch of floaters that I can send you to try out. Giant duckweed, Salvinia minima, Dwarf Water Lettuce, Wisteria and Hydrocotyle. Just pay shipping (in a small flat rate priority box).


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## YSR50 (Jul 31, 2007)

I have Soft hornwort (Ceratophyllum submersum) and Najas/Guppy Grass (Najas Guadalupensis) floating in my 125g that has 2 large power heads down low, an Emperor 400 hob, and 2 Eheim canisters. As been mentioned, it grows fast.


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## Desert Pupfish (May 6, 2019)

If you want regular hornwort (Ceratophyllum demersum), I'm happy to send you as much as you want. 



YSR50 said:


> I have Soft hornwort (Ceratophyllum submersum) and Najas/Guppy Grass (Najas Guadalupensis) floating in my 125g that has 2 large power heads down low, an Emperor 400 hob, and 2 Eheim canisters. As been mentioned, it grows fast.


How do you like your submersum? Couldn't find any when I was setting up my tank. Is it less brittle, and does it also grow out of control like the demersum? I find it will take over the entire top third of the tank in the course of a couple of weeks. The submersum is much prettier IMO.


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## YSR50 (Jul 31, 2007)

Desert Pupfish said:


> How do you like your submersum? Couldn't find any when I was setting up my tank. Is it less brittle, and does it also grow out of control like the demersum? I find it will take over the entire top third of the tank in the course of a couple of weeks. The submersum is much prettier IMO.


Agree, I like the look of it more than demersum, been keeping it for years. It grows out of control just like demersum and actually I think it's more delicate. You don't see it very often in pet stores for some reason, maybe because it doesn't travel well. You need to bag it like fish, in water, or it will fall apart even on the shortest of trips.


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## CharleeFoxtrot (Jan 29, 2004)

JJ09 said:


> Ditto the great duckweed- spirodela polyrhiza. Mine is in a covered tank. Incidentally, I've tried amazon frogbit and salvinia and both melted and died on me. My tanks are pretty gentle flow- sponge filters- but it wasn't until i put some salvinia in a fry box that it started to thrive. I realize it needs an area of _very_ still water. I'm going to bend a plastic hose piece into circle and corrall it, try again where it can be shielded from the surface movement (did this before with airline and it wasn't thick enough to keep the surface absolutely still I guess)


I found a better way to make that "calm zone." I'd tried to make it work before using airline hose to to make the "floater corral:, but had the same result-it failed to contain the plants. Then I had an idea, I used a couple of old in tank heater holders with suction cups like this style:










I used this type because I had it handy  I made a loop of clear fishing line that I threaded through the air line floating plant corral, and between the 2 suction cups of the holder-think interlocking rings. I used the 2 holders to stabilize the corral and keep it where I wanted it. Threading the clear fishing line from the corral to the suction cup holders made the arrangement very stable because it allowed the corral would move up and down with changing water levels. Wasn't very obvious or intrusive.


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