South American Floating Plants

[fltcrew21]

I would like to try some floating plants in my Amazon tank.

Would like to hear some suggestions with pros and cons.

Also where I can get them and how much I should start with for a 30"X14" 36g bow front.

Btw, I am cycling.


Thanks!

 

[Fibsog]

Duck weed perhaps

 

[azmodan]

Amazon frogbit. You can find them typically for sale in the classified section here for pretty cheap, or people often ROAK them too. I like them because they stay large enough that you can easily take them out when needed (unlike the duck weed). They reproduce quite quickly as long as your lighting isn't terrible so you wouldn't need many to start. Just make sure your tank doesn't have a ton of surface agitation.

 

[jestes]

I've kept both. The duckweed would look good in a nano tank, but in my 55 the frogbit looked much better. Plus, like it was pointed out, the larger size makes it drastically easier to clean out and remove. You will be throwing lots of it away.

One word of caution though, some floating species of plants are considered invasive. So, when you do throw some away, wrap them in a bag several times or let them dry out completely before you toss them.

 

[jtez]

Another option is Brazilian Pennywort (Hydrocotyle leucocephala). You can grow this a number of ways, not just floating. I have some in my 37g, personally I'm not a huge fan of it but I thought I'd suggest it anyway. I just think it's a little messy.

 

[Fresh2o]

Water lettuce. Regular or dwarf.

The type I have (regular) stay small indoors (1-2") but when I put them outdoors, by the end of summer they are 6-8" across. I just gave away 90-95% of what I had to other members; I only have dregs now
Also, mine seem to go through growth cycles. Sometimes they are robust looking and reproducing at a tremendous rate and other times of the year they appear to go dormant.