Mystery floating ?Plant?

[GoGreen]

I was doing some feeding and noticed a new, and random, surface something, and I was hoping to get help figuring out what it is.  A little background... this is a 10 gallon shrimp tank that has been running for about a year. I have not added anything (other than water from my tap) in several months, which has added to my confusing.  I had to get pretty close because the dots are quite small... so small that I thought they were bubbles for several days as there is a lot of green in the tank.  The floating plant around it, is water Sprite. 

[Guppysnail]

It looks like miniature duckweed but please don’t take that as fact. 

[GoGreen]

I was thinking it was duckweed too, but it's so small that I was skeptical. I did not know there was a miniature version, so thank you.   Scale is so difficult in pictures.

[Phantom240]

On 7/14/2021 at 9:55 PM, Guppysnail said:

It looks like miniature duckweed but please don’t take that as fact. 

 

There's an even worse form of duckweed?

[Odd Duck]

@GoGreen That looks like Wolffia sp.  It is the world’s smallest true plant, apparently.  I’ve recently had reason to do some research on it because I had some invade one tank, then make it’s way to 2 others before I even realized what it was.  It can definitely become a pest, but it has its good side, too, just like duckweed.  Fairly nutritious for those fish that will eat it.  But it can also spread like wildfire.  It doesn’t float as well as duckweed so it’s a little harder to eliminate.

Edited July 16, 2021 by Odd Duck

[Guppysnail]

On 7/15/2021 at 11:01 PM, Phantom240 said:

There's an even worse form of duckweed?

I doubt there is an actual miniature version at least I hope not. It just looked like a miniature version of….

[Guppysnail]

On 7/16/2021 at 1:48 AM, Odd Duck said:

@GoGreen That looks like Wolffia sp.  It is the world’s smallest true plant, apparently.  I’ve recently had reason to do some research on it because I had some invade one tank, then make it’s way to 2 others before I even realized what it was.  It can definitely become a pest, but it has its good side, too, just like duckweed.  Fairly nutritious for those fish that will eat it.  But it can also spread like wildfire.  It doesn’t float as well as duckweed so it’s a little harder to eliminate.

I love learning cool new things I found some pictures of the Solis. If it were not so invasive it’s really cool looking

[Phantom240]

I hope I never encounter that hellspawn plant

[Odd Duck]

@Phantom240 Yep.  I had to throw away about a half gallon (between 3 x 10 G tanks) of Amazon frogbit in order to have any chance of controlling it.  There’s no way I could have rinsed it all enough to feel like I was going to get rid of the Wolffia.  I don’t feel it’s under control, yet, but I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I wouldn’t wish this stuff on my worst enemy!  It’s so tiny it took me forever to realize just what it was.  I kept looking at the first tank with it and wondering what was going on.  It’s a tank that the water surface is above my eyeline so I was seeing it from underneath.  It was abundant by the time my brain finally snapped into place enough to figure out it was not duckweed that had snuck into the tank.

Then I googled “tiny green dots in aquarium” which got me green spot algae (🤦🏻‍♀️), made a couple other tries, then finally “floating green dots” which finally got me to the Wolffia on page 2 or so.  I now know there are 11 species of this stuff and it produces the smallest flower in the world!  It runs about 20-30% protein on a dry matter basis and has been studied as a fish food source and even a potential human food source since it’s so easy to grow.

It is apparently an excellent food for plant eating fish, but my carnivorous pea puffers have, of course, not helped me in any way to get rid of it that I can tell.  Why would pea puffers in any way make my life easier?  Somebody please remind me why I have pea puffers?  🤦🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️😉

Once the pea puffers are out of the Wolffia infested tanks (theirs are the 2 worst infested tanks), they are going to get cleaned like no tanks have been cleaned before!  😆  I’m just watching like a hawk on the shrimp tank that had a few in there.  I haven’t seen any in there for a couple weeks.  🤞🏻 

Edited July 16, 2021 by Odd Duck

[Torrey]

@GoGreen here's a link to the plant. It's one of my favorites for unheated tanks, and is the world's smallest flower *and* the smallest fruit.

 

https://www.loc.gov/everyday-mysteries/botany/item/what-is-the-smallest-flower-in-the-world/

[Torrey]

@Odd Duck I am not laughing at your struggle, your writing is phenomenal!

Maybe you need a single goldfish to shuttle from tank to tank as a wolffia eater / clean up crew?

The wolffia is fabulous to throw in the blender to make frozen treats for plant eating fish, shrimp, and bottom feeders. Throw in a few frozen vegetables and a little gelatin for it to hold form, and your fish will love you. 

[GoGreen]

I think it's defintely wolffia. My situation was exactly like yours @Odd Duck. I kept seeing small dots, but overloooverlookeds bubbles from the sponge filter.  It took me weeks to realize they were small plants.  Thank you everyone for the identification.  

 

Now for the real question, since identification wasn't real difficult... how on earth did it get in my tank. I've not had so much as a net put in months. No new shrimp/fish, no hardscape, no plants.  Literally, other than changing water and feeding, the tank has been idle. 

[Odd Duck]

@Torrey  Thanks, I’ll take that as a complement!  I was hoping to entertain as I educate.  I didn’t know about the smallest fruit although it certainly makes sense going along with the other records that Wolffia sets.

If I was smarter or maybe just quicker on the uptake (you did just read how long it took me to figure out it was a new plant), then I would have saved all that Wolffia and frogbit and run it through the blender, added some gelatin and, “Viola!  Who needs algae wafers?”  I just bought spirulina, calcium powder, gelatin, etc, to make snello.  I could totally have added frogbit/Wolffia slurry.

Would the Wolffia have been sufficiently macerated by a blender, though?  I wouldn’t put it past the tiny Wolffia to survive the blender then proliferate in every tank (have I ever mentioned I like snails?).  For all I know it’s a conspiracy by the hive mind of Wolffia to worm it’s way into every tank.

Oh, and no to the goldfish in with my QT’d pea puffers and the other tank with my blue dream shrimp.  I did do a fair amount of reading to try to find a fish that would eat the Wolffia and not baby shrimplets, but nothing seems to be safe.

 

@GoGreen  Exactly what happened to me.  I have no idea how it got into my tanks.  The stuff is so small it never even crossed my mind that it was a new plant I’d never seen before.  In retrospect, it took me waaaaaay too long to figure that out.  😆 😂 🤣 

Edited July 16, 2021 by Odd Duck

[Torrey]

@Odd Duck if you don't want it reproducing I recommend dehydration first. Or just bake at a low temp, like making kale chips... minus the seasonings. 

 

Then it's safe to puree, and minimal nutrient loss.

 

[Yes, absolutely intended as a compliment]

To manually eliminate from a tank, turn off filtration and air stones. Slowly and carefully use a cup or a bottle to skim the surface of the entire tank.

Carefully select the plants you actually want, wash them well and examine with a magnifying glass. Floaters will grow new roots, so dig out every green spot.

 

Wash again under strong running water, collecting the water in a bucket so as to protect water ways. It's tedious work, so I recommend only salvaging the healthiest looking specimens. 

 

Pour the water from  the bucket through a sieve with a paper towel (or industrial coffee filter) to collect any duckweed, micro Wolffia, and either put all the discarded plants in a gallon ziploc bag in the freezer, or spread on parchment on a cookie sheet and cook on lowest available temp in the oven.

Make the snello, or sprinkle the cooled, cooked leaves in omnivorous or vegetarian tanks. My guppies will seriously chow down on the dehydrated Wolffia when I take the time to make it.😅

[Odd Duck]

@Torrey  Thanks fir the suggestions.

I spent nearly an hour today with my finest, tightest weave net scooping Wolffia out of one tank.  Got maybe a teaspoon all together (🤦🏻‍♀️) and certainly don’t feel like I got everything out.  I probably need to buy one of those surface skimmer filters and clean it frequently.  There is much less in the other 2 affected tanks but I don’t know if I’ll ever feel Wolffia free again.

Next time I have a bunch of plants to discard, I’ll remember to bake then pulverize to add to the snello but I’ve also got a bunch of spirulina to use up and it’s already powdered for me.  😆 

Edited July 20, 2021 by Odd Duck