Duckweed OMG this plant newbie needs advice

[earhtmother]

So I was picking up fish from someone & they asked if I minded that there was *a little duckweed* in with them, poor uninformed fool that I am I said no as I knew it was a floater and I was looking to get some for fry cover. Now almost every square inch of non moving surface area in my tanks is covered in duckweed. I scoop as much as I can but as there are fry in most of these tanks & one is a shrimp tank I am extremely nervous of just scooping and dumping. I also hate just throwing it away when there might be an alternative use for it I haven't thought of - maybe now that the weather is warming up it could be a top dressing for the garden? HELP

[drjallen3]

Duck weed is a great little floating plant. If you know anyone that has a back yard koi pond, the koi and golfish will devour them. They are also indigenous to US so even if you have a natural pond or lake nearby, it's not illegal to dump it there. You may even want to see if the pet shop wants it back to sell portions to fish pond owners.

Originally Posted by earhtmother

So I was picking up fish from someone & they asked if I minded that there was *a little duckweed* in with them, poor uninformed fool that I am I said no as I knew it was a floater and I was looking to get some for fry cover. Now almost every square inch of non moving surface area in my tanks is covered in duckweed. I scoop as much as I can but as there are fry in most of these tanks & one is a shrimp tank I am extremely nervous of just scooping and dumping. I also hate just throwing it away when there might be an alternative use for it I haven't thought of - maybe now that the weather is warming up it could be a top dressing for the garden? HELP

[earhtmother]

I'm in Canada so not sure about regs on dumping here but will check it out

[ZxC]

Originally Posted by earhtmother

I'm in Canada so not sure about regs on dumping here but will check it out

Use it in a flower bed, why ruin a fishermans summer by dumping this annoying weed into a pond/lake???

[Brookster123]

Don't dump it!!! Don't flush it. Throw it in the trash or compost.

[drjallen3]

Oh...sorry. I'm ny sere how far north the plant can survive the winters anyway. But it's still great for anyone with contained fish ponds an you could still offer it to pet shops. Otherwise throwing it out is your only option. I would take some off your hands and send you the postage...but accross a national border would possibly be not worth the hastle of what customs would require and allow.

Originally Posted by earhtmother

I'm in Canada so not sure about regs on dumping here but will check it out

[drjallen3]

Originally Posted by drjallen3

Oh...sorry. I'm ny sere how far north the plant can survive the winters anyway. But it's still great for anyone with contained fish ponds an you could still offer it to pet shops. Otherwise throwing it out is your only option. I would take some off your hands and send you the postage...but accross a national border would possibly be not worth the hastle of what customs would require and allow.

Well...the duck would add extra nutrients to your garden. Look at what the waste water from water changes does for my houseplants...and this is ater being kept indoors all winter with 1 west facing window!