Excess floating plants

[tnnlynch]

I left some american frogbit in my otherwise empty quarantine tank while I was away for two weeks.  It has essentially taken over the tank.  Seems a waste to throw it out but other than Petco/Petsmart there are no nearby freshwater aquarium stores. What do most of you do with excess floating plants?

 

[Guppysnail]

Put it on Ebay…it’s where I bought my frogbit 

[GameCzar]

Sadly, we get so much water sprite that some ends up dried out and in the trash.    Once we get our porch pond set up, the excess will go there. 

[Odd Duck]

When I realized I had a Wolffia infestation mixed into the frogbit in a couple tanks, I threw it out.  In hindsight, I wish I had dried it/baked it, then I could have ground it for shrimp food or snello. 

[Jungle Fan]

Local clubs, or if you strike up a conversation while you are in the aquarium section even if your LFS is just the Petsmart. You'd be surprised how many fishkeepers you can get to know that way, and how fast word gets out about free plants now and then.

[tnnlynch]

I would have 5 to stores to choose from nearby if I was into reef aquariums. No local freshwater clubs I am aware of yet but I can bring some when I visit the petsmart/petco just in case.  

[FrozenFins]

I have a mystery snail that is has eaten every last frogbit, and is now starting to work on the salvania in my community tank.

So get a mystery snail, there fun, cute, and awesome!

I have a video of my mystery snail eating some frogbit that he stole from the surface:

 

[Guppysnail]

On 7/28/2021 at 10:49 PM, James Black said:

I have a mystery snail that is has eaten every last frogbit, and is now starting to work on the salvania in my community tank.

So get a mystery snail, there fun, cute, and awesome!

I have a video of my mystery snail eating some frogbit that he stole from the surface:

 

Hey this is not cool.  I bought frogbit two weeks ago. I thought all my mystery snails were using it like a raft …guess I was wrong! .good grief bye bye frogbit 😢

[FrozenFins]

On 7/28/2021 at 9:51 PM, Guppysnail said:

Hey this is not cool.  I bought frogbit two weeks ago. I thought all my mystery snails were using it like a raft …guess I was wrong! .good grief bye bye frogbit 😢

Yeah, I was on the hunt for a while to get frogbit and then I finally did! It started growing fast, but shortly after it started dissapering one by one. Then I saw the mystery snail eat it, so I moved it to a different tank. Then he started eating the salvania in that tank.

[CalmedByFish]

I connected with someone on a different online fish group. All I ask is that items be picked up, rather than asking for money. Works great. 

[gardenman]

I throw out a big bowlful of a combination of frogbit, duckweed, dwarf water lettuce, and salvinia each Saturday. I've got some in each of my rain barrels, my outdoor pond, and covering each of my four indoor fishtanks. I could pretty much supply everyone in the state with the stuff. It's very, very prolific. 

[mountaintoppufferkeeper]

@tnnlynch I trade / offset some costs with it at times. Normally I just toss the extra similar to the used box filter floss. My floating plants are primarily used to filter and indicate the health of my water as well as provide a bit of cover; I view removing the excess as a part of keeping the frogbit remaining colony healthy; being tossed is a better option to me than choking out the air exchange or the rest of the frogbit by limiting nutrients to each plant. My set ups get thinned back to 1/4th of the surface when it gets to 1/2 coverage of the surface of the tank. 

[FriendlyLoach]

Offerup or craigslist may take do the trick.

[mountaintoppufferkeeper]

I find all plants interesting to have in my attempted ecosystems. I have had frogbit melt to nothing in one tank and choke off the surface in the another tank with the same water and similar stocking and feeding schedules. 🤷‍♂️

Edited July 29, 2021 by mountaintoppufferkeeper

[Jungle Fan]

@tnnlynchI don't think I'd advise bringing plants along to Petsmart but if you strike up a conversation in regards to plants you can always pass along your number and arrange a meeting later.

On 7/28/2021 at 8:53 PM, James Black said:

Yeah, I was on the hunt for a while to get frogbit and then I finally did! It started growing fast, but shortly after it started dissapering one by one. Then I saw the mystery snail eat it, so I moved it to a different tank. Then he started eating the salvania in that tank.

If you can find out if that mystery snail can adjust its taste to liking duckweed you might have just found an answer to years of aquarists' prayers.

On a lighter note after proofreading this post I for the first time really noticed that the "u" is located just to the left of the "i" on my keyboard, and I'm really glad I proofread this first. 😄

[Colu]

I compost mine and  use it in the garden

[tnnlynch]

I will see if any local nerms are on craigslist or fb marketplace need some frogbit otherwise it's probably destined for the lawn waste bin.  

I have 3 mystery and 3 nerite snails in the tank. The nerites are very slow moving.  The mystery snails are very active but I have not seen them actively eating the frogbit.  They do love their weekly 'snello' and do a decent job on the spot algae on my plants so maybe they are just well fed. 

[Streetwise]

I traded Dwarf Water Lettuce to a local pet store for credit.

[Guppysnail]

On 7/29/2021 at 5:30 PM, tnnlynch said:

They do love their weekly 'snello'

Freeze it and Grind it up into your snello

[PineSong]

On 7/28/2021 at 7:00 PM, tnnlynch said:

I left some american frogbit in my otherwise empty quarantine tank while I was away for two weeks.  It has essentially taken over the tank.  Seems a waste to throw it out but other than Petco/Petsmart there are no nearby freshwater aquarium stores. What do most of you do with excess floating plants?

 

Facebook marketplace may be an easier way to sell it than listing on eBay or Etsy--also you can have people come pick it up and save yourself the postal hassles.

[Fonske]

I fed excess frogbit to my read-eared slider. If there are turtle people near you, they might be interested in some fresh turtle food. 

[Nuggets Beard]

I give mine to my goldfish.  They love it.

 

[Dawn T]

I use excess floating plants (especially my endlessly happy duckweed!) as fertilizer for my houseplants. Just drop it by handfuls into the pots and water over it. As it dries out and disintegrates, it's a natural fertilizer. The plants love it.

Also, I offer some online to folks in my local community. I recently had 2 takers for duckweed, of all things. They were really frustrated at their inability to get it, even online. One of them had been looking for it for YEARS. Mine came in as a hitchhiker on red root floaters I ordered online. I was thrilled because I wanted duckweed but couldn't find it. Love the stuff. Now I've found others who do, too! LOL

Oh, on that note, does anyone know if red eared sliders like to eat duckweed? I know goldfish love it and some turtles and such. Do sliders?

[Fonske]

On 7/31/2021 at 10:03 AM, Dawn T said:

anyone know if red eared sliders like to eat duckweed?

Mine gladly ate giant duckweed, when I had it. Pretty sure he would eat normal duckweed too, just because he eats absolutely anything that gets into his tank.