# duckweed eating fish?



## JenThePlantGeek (Mar 27, 2006)

Most likely not a good option, but goldfish make short work of duckweed.


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## theinjected1 (Mar 8, 2007)

Certain cichlids. Most of them are not 10 gal. friendly though.


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## daFrimpster (Mar 7, 2005)

If you could borow a goldfish for a couple weeks he would take care of it. However a ten gallon is far from large enough to be the permanent home for a goldfish.


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## eon17 (Aug 30, 2007)

and neither are goldfish


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## dooboogoo (Apr 19, 2007)

yeah...i know goldfish eat them...but i don't wouldn't know what to do with the goldfish after the duckweed is gone...


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## dooboogoo (Apr 19, 2007)

theinjected1 said:


> Certain cichlids. Most of them are not 10 gal. friendly though.


yeah...and i don't think they're endlers livebearer compatible either...


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

Just take a fish net and skim the surface. I swear you can take out all of the duckweed.


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## JenThePlantGeek (Mar 27, 2006)

Or use a shop vac


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## Madfish (Sep 9, 2007)

shop vac worked for me on my outbreak of duckweed


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## Naja002 (Oct 12, 2005)

Comet Goldfish work Great for me. And if you are willing to ship them at no expense to me--I'll dispose of them properly for ya! :thumbsup:


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## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

+1 for comet goldfish.

I bought 6 from PetSmart for 50 cents each. Put them in the 20 gallon. A week and a half later, I returned them for store credit.


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## dooboogoo (Apr 19, 2007)

epicfish said:


> +1 for comet goldfish.
> 
> I bought 6 from PetSmart for 50 cents each. Put them in the 20 gallon. A week and a half later, I returned them for store credit.


wouldnt' they eat small endlers?


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## fishscale (May 29, 2007)

I'd be more worried about disease, those petsmart tanks are gross.


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## Lupin (Nov 21, 2006)

dooboogoo said:


> wouldnt' they eat small endlers?


Yes, they will.


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

Don't ducks eat duckweed?:hihi:


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## dekstr (Oct 23, 2007)

Why is duckweed called duckweed anyway? I see the weed part, just not the duck part.

Has anyone tried eating duckweed? Probably tastes terrible though.


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## fishscale (May 29, 2007)

I've often wondered about that, wouldn't it solve all the hunger problems in the world if people could eat duckweed?


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## 24fps (Oct 12, 2007)

my zebra danios ate the little bit of duckweed that piggybacked in with some fish from a LFS. it was about the size of a pack of cards in area, and it was gone in about 2 days or less.


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## daFrimpster (Mar 7, 2005)

I think a ten gallon would be too small for ducks though.


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## fshfanatic (Apr 20, 2006)

50 cents for a feeder goldfish? You can get 10/$1.00 here


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## dooboogoo (Apr 19, 2007)

JenThePlantGeek said:


> Or use a shop vac


what's a shop vac?


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## JenThePlantGeek (Mar 27, 2006)

A vacuum that sucks up both wet stuff and dry stuff


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## Lupin (Nov 21, 2006)

dekstr said:


> Why is duckweed called duckweed anyway? I see the weed part, just not the duck part.
> 
> Has anyone tried eating duckweed? Probably tastes terrible though.


Because they quack _quietly_.

As for taste, hmm...these are mainly leaves so could be plainly bland.:hihi:


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## dekstr (Oct 23, 2007)

Also,

I don't think there are any forms of duckweed that eat goldfish as far as I know.


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## fishscale (May 29, 2007)

What's a good way to get rid of duckweed in a shrimp tank? I went at it with a net for a really long time. There was some stuck in my moss and it came back.


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## jaidexl (Sep 18, 2006)

daFrimpster said:


> I think a ten gallon would be too small for ducks though.


Ducks have long necks though, just take your tank down to the park. Ask some ducks if they want some weed.


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## Mangala (Jul 23, 2006)

24fps said:


> my zebra danios ate the little bit of duckweed that piggybacked in with some fish from a LFS. it was about the size of a pack of cards in area, and it was gone in about 2 days or less.


man - you guys keep on giving me more and more arguments for why I should get a tank for zebra danios. I love them in the store - they're gorgeous! After I move, perhaps...


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## 24fps (Oct 12, 2007)

Mangala said:


> man - you guys keep on giving me more and more arguments for why I should get a tank for zebra danios. I love them in the store - they're gorgeous! After I move, perhaps...


I'll tell you what, most people discount the zebra danio as a fish to get the biological cycle in balance, but I love my 6.
I feed them Omega one super color flakes, and they are beautiful. the gold is very shiny, and they have amazing blue stripes, making them look stunning.
they are a fish that sometimes schools, covers all areas of the tank, from the bottom to surface. they play with each other a lot and are very active. I never kept them until this tank setup, but a small school of a 6 or so is a nice addition to any planted community aquarium.
not to mention they are hardy! they survived an ich outbreak when I lost a male betta and a neon or two.
go for it, you won't be disappointed
(plus they eat duckweed)


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## Zezmo (Jan 11, 2006)

Rainbowfish will eat duckweed (Lemna minor). IME "Melanotaenia splendida inornata" and other Melanotaenia sp. will make short work of that stuff. Of course, if you stuff them with flake, they wont. But feed em lightly and they munch it down.


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## TheXman (Oct 27, 2006)

Rainbows will eat duckweed, but 10 gallons is way too small for any of the Melanotaenia species. Can't you just skim the top of the tank with a net? 10 gallons is pretty small, it doesn't seem like it would take too long.


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## fishscale (May 29, 2007)

Any other rainbowfish species eat it?

I've skimmed my tanks a bunch of times, the problem is that if a tiny bit is lodged in your filter, stuck on the inside of the rim, in a mass of plants, or anywhere in the tank at all, it will come back, and very quickly. 

I have another problem with getting rid of it in a shrimp tank. My shrimp like to hide and feed in it, so I have to poke at it a bunch of times to make sure I'm not getting shrimp. I'm sure I killed a bunch of shrimplets anyway on my last cleaning, but it was more important that my plants be able to get light.


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## Kayakbabe (Sep 4, 2005)

I know the comet goldfish I have in my outdoor pond munch like maniacs on the stuff. Maybe you could get a small one and let it go to town. then when the duckweed is gone... put the little guy outdoors.

oops. I see your in michigan. prob not a good thing this time of year.


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## fishscale (May 29, 2007)

Well, it's more that it is a shrimp tank. I'd also be concerned with introducing diseases.


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## TheXman (Oct 27, 2006)

You could try threadfins or blue eyes, but I don't know if they'll eat duckweed or not, I've only kept the larger species myself.


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## limnidi (May 2, 2007)

Great danios also do eat duckweed. BUt they will eventually outgrow a 10 gal.


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