My Susswassertang Sunk

[John Collins]

Yesterday, I was delighted to pick up some Susswassertang from my LFS. (I needed a floating plant that would work well in a covered aquarium and I thought this would do the trick.) It promptly sunk when I put it in my aquarium. Will it start floating again?

[Tanked]

On 5/13/2023 at 9:02 AM, John Collins said:

Yesterday, I was delighted to pick up some Susswassertang from my LFS. (I needed a floating plant that would work well in a covered aquarium and I thought this would do the trick.) It promptly sunk when I put it in my aquarium. Will it start floating again?

I don't think Susswassertang is intended to be a surface floating plant.  It will drift around in the flow until it finds a place to attach itself.  Or you can attach it yourself.

[Seattle_Aquarist]

+1 for @Tanked comment.  I've had susswassertang and it was not a 'floater'.

 

[Odd Duck]

I’ve not had suss float except for occasional random pieces that are blowing around in the current.  It will eventually get caught someplace and attach itself.  If you want it in a specific spot either tie it, glue it, or tuck it in someplace.

There really isn’t anything else that has that same texture as suss that floats.  It depends on what appeals to you about the suss for making another plant recommendation.  Is it the color, the shape of the “frondlets”, or were you mostly going after a subsurface floating plant?  Look into pearlweed as a possible alternate.  It has small, rounded leaves that can give sort of a similar effect to suss, it’s about the right color, and is perfectly happy growing as a subsurface floater.

What traits were you wanting when you got the susswassertang?

[nabokovfan87]

On 5/13/2023 at 6:02 AM, John Collins said:

Yesterday, I was delighted to pick up some Susswassertang from my LFS. (I needed a floating plant that would work well in a covered aquarium and I thought this would do the trick.) It promptly sunk when I put it in my aquarium. Will it start floating again?

Susswassertang is very similar to a "freshwater kelp"  it would grow and act like moss.  I am not how the confusion may have happened, but I think there may have been a mixup with the floating plant recommendation.  I would suggest looking into Salvinia minima.

 

[John Collins]

On 5/13/2023 at 10:00 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

Susswassertang is very similar to a "freshwater kelp"  it would grow and act like moss.  I am not how the confusion may have happened, but I think there may have been a mixup with the floating plant recommendation.  I would suggest looking into Salvinia minima.

 

I have some salvina. It hasn't been doing as well since I added a lid to my aquarium. Was looking for a plant that would float near the top but wouldn't mind being dripped upon. All the descriptions of Susswassertang said it was floating and I assumed it could be grown like guppy grass just floating near the top. It not what I thought I was getting, but I like it, I'm just going to do do something different with it. Thanks for the video!

On 5/13/2023 at 8:04 PM, Odd Duck said:

I’ve not had suss float except for occasional random pieces that are blowing around in the current.  It will eventually get caught someplace and attach itself.  If you want it in a specific spot either tie it, glue it, or tuck it in someplace.

There really isn’t anything else that has that same texture as suss that floats.  It depends on what appeals to you about the suss for making another plant recommendation.  Is it the color, the shape of the “frondlets”, or were you mostly going after a subsurface floating plant?  Look into pearlweed as a possible alternate.  It has small, rounded leaves that can give sort of a similar effect to suss, it’s about the right color, and is perfectly happy growing as a subsurface floater.

What traits were you wanting when you got the susswassertang?

I was wanting something that would float and not mind if water from my new aquarium lid dropped on it. Susswassertang isn't what I was looking for, but frankly it's pretty great. I'll look into pearlweed. Thank you!

 

[Tanked]

The confusion probably begins with multiple references to Susswassertang being a "free floating" plant.

[Odd Duck]

On 5/14/2023 at 5:29 AM, John Collins said:

I was wanting something that would float and not mind if water from my new aquarium lid dropped on it.

Frogbit is probably the most tolerant of some dripping on the surface as compared to other surface floaters.  Red root floaters will tolerate a little dripping once it gets built up a bit.  Either will definitely tolerate more dripping than Salvinia.  I’m not sure of the drip tolerance of dwarf water lettuce.

Pearlweed will grow quite happily submerse or emerse - it does like some humidity when grown emerse.  I have some growing as a dense mat on the surface of a sponge filled HOB that doesn’t have a cover.  It grew itself right up the outflow and out of the water but there’s plenty in that tank still growing submerse, too.  I’ve left it in the HOB to see how well it tolerates being emerse with not too much humidity.  A section of it did get too dry and die off but mostly it’s perfectly happy in the HOB.

[JettsPapa]

On 5/14/2023 at 5:29 AM, John Collins said:

I was wanting something that would float and not mind if water from my new aquarium lid dropped on it. Susswassertang isn't what I was looking for, but frankly it's pretty great. I'll look into pearlweed. Thank you!

Pearl weed is a great plant.  Guppy grass and hornwort are two other plants that will do well floating.