# The most ridiculous plant thread you will ever read.



## allegoriest (Jul 9, 2010)

Okay. I have the touch of death. I have killed algae. I have a marimo who is dying from neglect. ...My java fern is doing pretty well right now though. Generally I have a 50-75% change of plants living. One of my tanks is even lush with moss and grass and stuff. But this is about something else. Something really really shameful.


I keep killing duckweed.


If you give me duckweed, rest assured, I will murder it. I don't know how. I don't know why. I have tried to grow it on purpose, and it KEEPS DYING. I am a killing machine for it. I don't know if I have a current that sucks it under until it dies, I have gotten the saddest duckweed in the world, or if my fish are sabotaging my efforts. But I am killing it. They're not eating it, I've seen them sorta shrink and just... die. I have light. I have water. I even have darkness and water. I've tried every tank. My water isn't made of acid. My duckweed isn't synthetic, though I did have a tank once with plastic duckweed. (Don't ask.) I've tried growing them in ridiculously low tech nanos, outside in a pond, in a cup of water, in an average well lit and filtered tank, in froggy filth, in my salamander's water dish. Nothing. Only death.

Why am I killing duckweed?


----------



## Da Plant Man (Apr 7, 2010)

I don't know. Do you dose excel? I've killed it with it. 

Want some of my duckweed? I'll give you some of mine, I hate it.


----------



## salmon (Apr 14, 2011)

I have to say, that is really a blessing in disguise.

you can have ALL of mine!

really odd though for such an invasive floater. do you dose at all? I really cant think of why it wouldn't grow for you :icon_ques

Where are you getting it from? What kind of conditions was in it prior to the tank(s) you put it in?


----------



## Zefrik (Oct 23, 2011)

I have tried to grow duckweed a few times and it just shrivels up and dies.


----------



## allegoriest (Jul 9, 2010)

Water conditioner is pretty much all that goes in my tanks. For me to add anything into one, I'd probably have to have some type of serious disease going around. Most my plant deaths or sadness is due to me not using CO2 or fertilizers, or being far too delicious.


----------



## mindfestival (Jul 23, 2011)

allegoriest said:


> Most my plant deaths or sadness is due to me not using CO2 or fertilizers, or being far too delicious.


yeah some of those plants do look pretty tasty!


----------



## sevenyearnight (May 1, 2011)

Sounds like possibly a lack of fertilizers?

Sent from my LS670 using Tapatalk


----------



## nokturnalkid (Apr 3, 2007)

Lol. I've never had luck with duckweed either. All the tanks I wanted it in, it always died. The tanks that I did not want it in, voila, grew like there was no tomorrow.


----------



## allegoriest (Jul 9, 2010)

nokturnalkid said:


> Lol. I've never had luck with duckweed either. All the tanks I wanted it in, it always died. The tanks that I did not want it in, voila, grew like there was no tomorrow.


I think it knows. That is the only explanation.


----------



## zergling (May 16, 2007)

Maybe you have good surface current? The current keeps on getting the whole duckweed plants in the water and then it dies? That's how frogbits don't survive in my tanks LOL!


----------



## VivaDaWolf (Feb 5, 2012)

I had a lot of my duckweed die off (insert lots of pale stringy melty duckweed floating eeeevreywhereerere) when I moved it from one tank to another. Not sure what it was, maybe a nutrients thing, but they are springing back after a few weeks.

Same thing with a lot of other hardy plants, anacharis, a bunch of dwl from a ROAK.. leaves turned yellow and withered, but now..baby plants hanging off everywhere. Try some different plants? Some people oddly have better luck with other plants that are supposedly less hardy but thrived with em. I have some random duckweed leaves in a cup filled with nasty rotting plant water(a CUP!) and they look greener than a bunch in my tank.


----------



## jkan0228 (Feb 6, 2011)

Just from my experience but when I didn't have duckweed I though why is my tank so boring? Then I got some moss from Howard(shrimpnmoss) that had maybe 10 little leaves of duckweed in it. And now? BAM it's everywhere. In my moss, it just ruins the look. Obviously it wasn't Howard's fault but I still blame him :hihi:


----------



## ElBoltonero (Jan 18, 2012)

zergling said:


> Maybe you have good surface current? The current keeps on getting the whole duckweed plants in the water and then it dies? That's how frogbits don't survive in my tanks LOL!


This. Duckweed dies quick in 2 out of my 3 tanks. The third it grows like mad. Surface current is the difference.


----------



## kirin (Sep 28, 2010)

I used to kill duckweed too! I think it was because it was too close to my light, so it burned to death. ._.;


----------



## DesmondTheMoonBear (Dec 19, 2011)

My duckweed seems to love current, grows fine stuck under the fronds of my weeping moss, and still seems to be multiplying, lol.


----------



## Robert H (Apr 3, 2003)

Floating plants grow naturally in still water, they can't multiply in moving water, just carried somewhere! They seem to live forever when tangled in something though.


----------



## AirstoND (Jun 17, 2011)

Robert H said:


> Floating plants grow naturally in still water, they can't multiply in moving water, just carried somewhere! They seem to live forever when tangled in something though.


+1 Agree, would also like to add temperature range and light proximity affect root growth & leaf reproduction.


----------



## ArabTanker (Jan 22, 2012)

Sorry for hi-jacking this thread. Dont want to start a new one then get flamed for not searching.
Im having the same problem. My duckweed is turing yellow and dying in my 2 new shrimp tanks. They are cycling right now. About 15 hours of light at 80-84F. Agh. Im so annoyed. How does that happen? Too much light? I haven't dosed anything. Help pwez.


----------



## jkan0228 (Feb 6, 2011)

15 hours of light is way too long. Try 8 hours. How much flow do you have? Duckweed should survive in some flow but generally floaters don't like flow.


----------



## ArabTanker (Jan 22, 2012)

Flow is minimal. Just a sponge filter.


----------



## jkan0228 (Feb 6, 2011)

Then I'd try and reduce your lighting to 8 hours. What lighting do you have and how close is it from the surface of the water?


----------



## aweeby (Oct 1, 2011)

Duckweed loves light. (let's assume you _don't_ have a small sun over that thing) Just not heat. Stick your hand under the light, see if it's unpleasantly hot.


----------



## jkan0228 (Feb 6, 2011)

I forgot to add. 84F might be a little on the warm side for plants


----------



## raven_wilde (Jul 12, 2006)

What other plants do you have in your tank? According to Walstad's book there are some known alleopathies between duckweed and other aquarium plants. Some species of Nymphaea will kill duckweed. Camboba and Myriophyllum are also known to inhibit its growth.


----------



## shrimpNewbie (May 6, 2011)

15 hours is too much and 8 is too litle for floaters =p am for a little more especially if your lighting isnt high.


----------



## ArabTanker (Jan 22, 2012)

Only plants are frogbit that also dyed and javamoss what is still alive.


----------

