# what is the best floating plant for a shrimp tank?



## Natty (Apr 2, 2008)

i love planted tanks said:


> i want some floating plants for my shrimp tanks but dont want nothing to big like water lettuce.i know floating plants are good sucking up the nitrates in the water.so what would be the best floating plant for a shrimp tank?


 
I would say frogbit or salvinia. I really dislike duckweed, hence the word weed in the name :hihi:. Out of both of them, I think I prefer salvinia, it looks nicer imo.

However, if I could go back and redo it, I probably wouldn't get them. They block too much light and the tank ends up looking a bit dark, not to mention plants underneath them get shaded out.

There are lots of nonfloating plants that eat up nitrate. Shrimps don't create much waste anyhow.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

I vote for salvinia or red root floater


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## DiscusIt'sWhats4DinneR (Apr 25, 2008)

water lettuce will stay small as long as there's no massive lighting with co2 going in the tank.


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## Natty (Apr 2, 2008)

clwatkins10 said:


> I vote for salvinia or red root floater


Red footed floaters are hard to keep, at least from my experience. I kept them in my planted tank with 4.0WPG ah supply and dosed 2x plantex and I only have one or two of them now.

I don't know if they will fare so well in a low tech shrimp tank. Maybe it's just my luck.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Natty said:


> Red footed floaters are hard to keep, at least from my experience. I kept them in my planted tank with 4.0WPG ah supply and dosed 2x plantex and I only have one or two of them now.
> 
> I don't know if they will fare so well in a low tech shrimp tank. Maybe it's just my luck.


Well, one thing I hate is how they have roots fall off evert once in a while, which gets tangled in my moss


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## resowner92 (Jul 23, 2007)

Natty said:


> Red footed floaters are hard to keep, at least from my experience. I kept them in my planted tank with 4.0WPG ah supply and dosed 2x plantex and I only have one or two of them now.
> 
> I don't know if they will fare so well in a low tech shrimp tank. Maybe it's just my luck.


i dont think rrf likes ferts of any kind i kept it in one of my tanks with high light, DIY co2, and i dosed excel and it started to die on me :icon_conf


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## BradH (May 15, 2008)

You could try some Brazilian Pennywort.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

BradH said:


> You could try some Brazilian Pennywort.


My shrimp LOVED it when I floated H. leucocephala in my tank. :thumbsup: 

I also really have taken a liking to Salvinia modesta (giant Salvinia). The bigger leaves do better holding to the surface of the water than Salvinia minima.

I love the looks of Red root floater (Phyllanthus fluitans) and am trying very hard to get it going in my 90gal, but I have the same issue that several others mentioned- it's so delicate it has a hard time holding to the surface of the water, gets pushed under, stuck in my other plants, and dies.  I have to keep my water level at the very very top of my tank to keep any of it going...


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## BradH (May 15, 2008)

lauraleellbp said:


> My shrimp LOVED it when I floated H. leucocephala in my tank. :thumbsup:
> 
> I also really have taken a liking to Salvinia modesta (giant Salvinia). The bigger leaves do better holding to the surface of the water than Salvinia minima.
> 
> I love the looks of Red root floater (Phyllanthus fluitans) and am trying very hard to get it going in my 90gal, but I have the same issue that several others mentioned- it's so delicate it has a hard time holding to the surface of the water, gets pushed under, stuck in my other plants, and dies.  I have to keep my water level at the very very top of my tank to keep any of it going...


Don't know if you would want to try this or not, but I used this technique for the same reason. My HOB filter was messing with the floater.... so I found a solution. Since I didn't want my entire top level of water covered anyways, just a certain area I did the following. 
Got two clear small suction cups. 
Put one on the front glass and one on the back opposite of each other. (They are up high enough and my water level is too, that the black rim around the tank hides them.)
Next take a piece of fishing line and tie it to each suction cup. That way you have a barrier across the top of the water. It keeps the floaters in there pretty good and you can control how much of your tank surface you want to cover in floaters.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

That's a pretty good idea, Brad, and I just might give it a try...

(Have to mount Project Eradication Duckweed first through  )


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## BradH (May 15, 2008)

lauraleellbp said:


> That's a pretty good idea, Brad, and I just might give it a try...
> 
> (Have to mount Project Eradication Duckweed first through  )



 I received some Duckweed via some plants. I thought I got it all before I put the plants in the tank, but I didn't. It wasn't alot though, but I still took out my net and scooped it all out. I didn't want to even give a slight chance at getting established in my tank. lol That stuff is a nightmare. 


Let me know how it works for you if you do that for your floaters.


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

i put some duckweed in a betta spawning tank, they loved it. but after i turned the tank into a planted tank, i just couldnt get the stuff out.


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## Rod Hay (Feb 11, 2006)

_Ceratopteris pteroides_ aka Broad Water Sprite:
http://aqualandpetsplus.com/Plant, Different Watersprite.htm

Great plant. I have it floating in my Apistogramma fry tanks. As they get large they really strip the water of all N. If I leave too many in the tank they start to grow some Blue Green Algae (cyanobacteria) on the stems, a classic indicator of too low N. So, regularly I remove the larger mother plants and leave a few babies to grow up.


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## purgatori27 (Aug 19, 2007)

I know you said you didn't want a large plant, but I always use Hornwort in my shrimp tanks. I use small pieces that have broken off my good stuff in my 55 gallon tank. Actually, that's where all my small plants and plant pieces go. Baby Java Ferns, Amazon Sword shoots, and such. All my shrimp tanks are 20 longs, and they are of course great for growing out plants. So whenever I have any small plants, I toss them in the shrimp tanks to grow out. Once they look decent, I replant them in the 55 Gallon community tank.


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## joy613 (Jun 19, 2007)

resowner92 said:


> i dont think rrf likes ferts of any kind i kept it in one of my tanks with high light, DIY co2, and i dosed excel and it started to die on me :icon_conf


I don't have a bit of problem with my red rooted floaters. I dose with exel weekly and I fertilize regular. I don't use any type of top on my tanks and also I find they don't like water disturbance either. The higher the light the redder the plant gets and it blooms very easily for me. I might just have dumb luck with it.

Frog bit is another suggestion for a floating plant it stays close to the waters surface and spreads out nicely.


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