# Is there any way to get rid of Duckweed?



## fishbone11 (Sep 11, 2014)

It hitch hiked in on other plants and is a PITA.
I have frogbit too, which I'm willing to start over, if removing it will be required to get rid of Duckweed.


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## Bushkill (Feb 15, 2012)

Let it grow, bag it up with some pond snails and send it to me. I can't grow the stuff for beans. Pre-dime size angelfish fry eat the roots off and the plant dies within a week. I'll trade you some little angelfish, lol!

Honestly though, I don't know any better way than just being persistent with netting it out whenever you see it. It's probably tangled in with the frogbit, so if you take that out, it should make it a little easier. The stuff loves nitrates, so in a planted tank, that makes it tougher to deal with.

I'm not kidding about the trade actually.


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## MChambers (May 26, 2009)

I've battled duckweed myself, and getting rid of it is like getting rid of clover from your lawn. Keep dipping, remove all other floating plants, like the frogbit, and wash them off.

And then for the next few weeks check the surface of the tank carefully and remove whatever reemerges.

I have managed to eradicate it from some tanks, but not others.


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## CannaBrain (Oct 3, 2008)

yes, manual removal pRobably the most effective route. It does flower and produce seeds, so sometimes we think we've eradicated it and it pops back up in a few weeks. It also does not like strong current near the surface, increasing flow may help if that is a possibility. Also goldfish should devour it, maybe know anybody you could borrow one from?


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## jrill (Nov 20, 2013)

Check YouTube for using a shopvac. Do it at water change day and your done.


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## fishbone11 (Sep 11, 2014)

Angelo, angel fish are not good fish for a community tank....yes/no?

Canna Brain, how many gold fish are needed to make a dent in the DW?


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## Bushkill (Feb 15, 2012)

fishbone11 said:


> Angelo, angel fish are not good fish for a community tank....yes/no?
> 
> Canna Brain, how many gold fish are needed to make a dent in the DW?


It depends on the community. 

They lose their taste for it to a degree as they get older. Not completely, but they do. I've had 20H's carpeted with duckweed go completely clear within two weeks of a batch of angels taking angelfish shape. As they get older they never lose their taste for softer greens and become browsers. 

I suggested this kind of "tongue in cheek". Not too many folks can accommodate a bunch of these little guys, but they really do work.

Honestly, the easy way is to "rent" a goldfish from a LFS.


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## HDBenson (Jan 26, 2015)

Surface agitation, low-no nitrates and, manual removal.


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## herns (May 6, 2008)

i scoop them up everyday with fish net and pick the remaining few every single day with long tweezor.


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## Tinanti (Aug 25, 2005)

Everyone should have a surface skimmer of some type for every aquarium using injected co2 for other reasons besides controlling duckweed. Controlling duckweed is a nice bonus.


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## lochaber (Jan 23, 2012)

Just remove as much as you can using whatever method you like, and then get a cup or bottle, and almost submerge it, and use it to skim off the surface water. do this around the cords, plumbing, hardscape, etc. - the water drawn in will pull the duckweed out from behind/around things. 

Just do that every day for about 5 minutes or so, even if you don't see any duckweed - you'll probably find some hiding behind cords/filters/etc.

I've done this on a couple tanks, about 3-5minutes a day for a week, and after that I couldn't find any more duckweed, and never had it come back.


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## JMN16150 (Jul 21, 2012)

For me, Duckweed never had a chance to grow in my aquarium, like what HDBenson said, due to surface agitation. Choking your aquarium may kill duckweed off also, but may in turn, kill/stress your desired-to-be-kept aquatic plants.


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## Aquatic Delight (Mar 2, 2012)

i have to echo the surface agitation.....i can not grow it, or any floaters in two of my tanks because they have so much agitation.....it can take a couple weeks for you to really notice a difference....if you don't have one, purchase a small power head and aim it at the surface, and allow it to run 24/7.


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## amcoffeegirl (May 26, 2009)

I just netted mine all out one day then again a couple days later. 
Persistence pays off
And yes goldfish do love this stuff.


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## CannaBrain (Oct 3, 2008)

fishbone11 said:


> Canna Brain, how many gold fish are needed to make a dent in the DW?


Honestly, if it's mouth is large enough to eat em, one small one would probably do. But, again... I'd only do that temporarily.


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## GoodOldDays (Mar 24, 2014)

"Is there any way to get rid of Duckweed?"

NO!!!! Dang it!


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## dindin (Mar 4, 2009)

Yes. Goldfish eat it like crazy. So do rainbowfish and mollies. We are trying to remember what we got that ate it so well.... perhaps gold rams?


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## Lyana (Aug 4, 2014)

My big cichlids eat it like crazy, but none of them would I trust in my planted tank for even a second.
I almost got rid of it by netting all I could get out and then everyday going back and netting out the stranglers. But I got lazy and a few must have survived because now it's taking over again.


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## Okedokey (Sep 2, 2014)

Use a fish net


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## micheljq (Oct 24, 2012)

Fish net and patience those are pests!

Michel


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## roadmaster (Nov 5, 2009)

Fish net for me .
I have found that the stuff is not fond of vigorous surface movement and seems to diminish considerably with the more agitation.
soon as I lower the angle of the spray bar's back down creating less disturbance,it return's= more netting.


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

I've had excellent luck with the use of an old water bottle and a fine mesh fish net. Place the empty bottle against the surface then slowly bush the bottom under water with the opening just barely under water, it will force water into the bottle, sucking duckweed in with it. When the bottom about to overflow and spew duckweed back out I lift it up and dump it into the fishnet places over the tank so water goes back in but not the duckweed. Repeat until you aren't getting any more duckweed. If there is any place for it to hide (filters, heater cables, emersed driftwood, or other floaters ) remove those items or do your best to work around them and get it all. It may take a few sessions to get rid of it all, but it does work. If you have floaters like riccia with duckweed in it just push the riccia below the surface and gently rub your finger over it to loosen the duckweed so it floats up. Keep the riccia pushed down with a finger(s) and suck up the duckweed in the bottle.


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## mach_six (Sep 12, 2005)

Buenos Aires Tetras devour them but will also devour your other plants too.


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