Plant ID

[jessipanda]

So, a friend of mine had a small backyard pond, but the liner got a large hole in it. She has since given away all her fish and most of the plants. Some plants aren't as healthy as others. She gave me a hyacinth for my moms pond which I am currently housing in a tub with old water from my fish tank. However, there were a bunch of these tiny lily pad looking plants attached to it that have started free floating since the move. When I asked her about them, she said she had no clue what they were but they were all over the plants in her pond. I've tried searching the internet but haven't had any luck identifying them. Hopefully someone here may know! They look almost like they may be carnivorous due to a “fuzziness” on the tops.

Thanks!

 

[Nils]

That would be salvinia minima. Grows like no tomorrow. Be prepared to find a place for it on it fills in!

 

[jessipanda]

Awesome! Thanks for that! Sad it's not carnivorous though lol
It's definitely interesting...but if it's that invasive, do you think a roughly 2,000 gal pond would be big enough? Is it safe for koi?

 

[Nils]

Yes, 2000 gallon should be enough Going to be a while till it fills that in. Koi may even see it as food, as I know goldfish love to munch on duckweed. I don't know though, they might.

 

[jessipanda]

Lol I guess we'll find out! Thanks for all the info, Nils

 

[Nils]

You got it.

 

[jessipanda]

So I know this is a bit old, but I actually kept a bunch of this salvinia minima in a tub and have been growing it. I'd love to add some to my tank since they are such great nitrate absorbents. However, I HAVE to clean/disinfect them first since they were in an outdoor pond. I know how to clean regular, fully submerged plants, but these guys have tiny fine hairs covering their surfaces... I don't want to kill them by cleaning them and I can't seem to find anything online on how to go about this. Any suggestions?

 

[jessipanda]

Guess not! Lol maybe I'll just try my normal routine on a select few and see if they survive! ?