Why are my floater roots so big?

[shawnkissed]

Hi guys! Just curious why the roots of my floating plants are growing so crazy. My parameters for the tank are 0 NH4, 0 NO3, 0 NO3. This is a 10 gal tank. I know I should get a test kit for the more specific things, and in you guy's experience, is this because too much nutrients in the water?

[Yoshi]

Some of it I imagine would depend on what kind of plants you have.  Some are going to have longer roots than others.

I know I read somewhere that long roots can actually be a sign of nutrient deficiency.  The roots are expanding trying to find more nutrients to absorb.  But don't quote me on that one.  

[T. Payne]

My dwarf water lettuce has always had short roots while my frogbit has had longer roots. I have found that the frogbit root length can vary depending amount of light, water flow, density and amount ot nutrients.

[shawnkissed]

On 5/31/2024 at 6:45 PM, T. Payne said:

My dwarf water lettuce has always had short roots while my frogbit has had longer roots. I have found that the frogbit root length can vary depending amount of light, water flow, density and amount ot nutrients.

Those are dwarf water lettuce. 😆 I see posts on Google that say it's due to too much nutrients in the water and, I also see the opposite, that it's due to a lack of nutrients. I'm attaching a top picture too. 

Billboard is small. There are two adult WCMM, and 6 fry (1/2 inch big), a few bladder snails and a few ramshorn snails.

 

[T. Payne]

The plants look healthy so thats all that matters, but I cringe when I see all that duckweed.

[Yoshi]

Are you running any kind of filter?  One thing I'd worry about with that much floating plant cover is whether there's enough gas exchange going on to keep appropriate oxygen levels in the water.

[shawnkissed]

On 5/31/2024 at 7:11 PM, T. Payne said:

The plants look healthy so thats all that matters, but I cringe when I see all that duckweed.

Yeah, duckweed grows like crazy. I collect it every other week and give it to a friend who has goldfish. Her goldfish love to gobble 'em. 

On 5/31/2024 at 7:19 PM, Yoshi said:

Are you running any kind of filter?  One thing I'd worry about with that much floating plant cover is whether there's enough gas exchange going on to keep appropriate oxygen levels in the water.

I am not, this is an almost no tech tank (except for the light). I do collect the duckweed every other week.

[JoeQ]

Bigger floater clusters grow bigger roots, nature of the beast.
Light + nutrients = growth.

Light without available nutrients equal decay. A plant does not grow roots in the hopes of finding nutrients.

Disclaimer : At least not that im aware of.

[shawnkissed]

@JoeQ your plants look amazing! Are your floaters frog bits? 

[JoeQ]

On 6/2/2024 at 9:58 PM, shawnkissed said:

@JoeQ your plants look amazing! Are your floaters frog bits? 

Thank you, yes its frog bit. Right now one of my favorites

[johnnyxxl]

My frogbit has long roots like that 

[shawnkissed]

I just went ahead and trimmed those long roots. They were taking too much space and the fish were struggling to get around the tank. 🤷🏽