Aquarium Floating Plants DYING or GOING YELLOW? Here's 3 reasons WHY Floating Plants Don't Grow

Aquarium Floating Plants DYING or GOING YELLOW? Here's 3 reasons WHY Floating Plants Don't Grow
Aquarium floating plants tend to be bulletproof and normally grow really well. This is why floating plants are so popular in an aquarium, as well as the many benefits they have for fish and shrimp.
However there are things that can go wrong with aquarium floating plants which can cause them to die or not grow well. Too much or not enough light will damage the floating plant and prevent growth. Aquarium floating plants do not like to be wet on their leaves and if they are wet for a long time they will start to rot. Aquarium floating plants generally grow excessively fast and due to this remove huge amounts of nutrients from the water column, if these are not replaced then the floating plant may be hindered in growth.
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[@michaelmckay8719]

I think plants are harder to keep than fish.

[@schafable]

I 100% agree

[@vloadedr]

Fact

[@sandidsaman7723]

can i keep water lettuce inside a circle attached to a suction cup if there is a good amount of water current in my tank? can the floaters survive this way?

[@ickaal-yusof8819]

💯 agree! The plants keep giving me headache.

[@jamescapb3795]

I have real soil In the tank (1 inch) covered by about 2 inches of sand and the plants get to have kind of their normal environment and my plants like it. I don’t have a good light though

[@DanielKeepingFish]

The road to success is built on failures from the past. Three in a row makes for a good video too. 😉👍

[@EverydayAquarist]

Nice!!!

[@TitanChromeE]

In short 1-overexposure to light (make sure there’s a dark period) 2-condensation on leaves (take tank lid off) 3-lack of nutrients (add fertilizer) Funny enough, I have 2 separate tanks both containing water lettuce and water hyacinth, but the tank with a lid that’s covering the plants in water is doing way better than the lidless tank

[@彡Anonymous彡]

My water hyacinth and water lettuce that I get from pond doesn't survive. You have any suggestion? The lettuce keeps melting. And hyacinth leaves keep rotting from edges.

[@EverydayAquarist]

You thought floating plants were un-killable? Think again as I almost did it three times in three different ways! Leave a comment below what you think of my video and a like if you enjoyed it, many thanks!

[@SequoiaElisabeth]

Well done, so to review: Light intensity and duration should be balanced, they don't like the leaves to remain wet, and they can suck down the nutrients unless supplemented in most aquariums. If the roots get too long, can you trim them?

[@EverydayAquarist]

Yes, yes, yes and yes!

[@sandidsaman7723]

can i keep water lettuce inside a circle attached to a suction cup if there is a good amount of water current in my tank? can the floaters survive this way?

[@Jim-fe6gl]

Thanks for sharing the great hints. Condensation would have gotten me for sure.

[@williamneill5441]

Great video. I plan to add frogbit to my tanks once the weather warms.

[@suee031]

Great video. I had frogbit in my spec V Betta tank, just a few, and they did really well for a while. Then my Betta discovered the joy of flying. I was right there when he sailed through the air with the greatest of ease so he survived unscathed but shortly after I put the lid on the tank my frogbit had issues. Perhaps it was a combination of the condensation and a potasium definiency (tiny holes in the leaves). I had my light on a timer but the Spec V light is very close to the water and bright so perhaps that was an issue too. I will try again but I have reduced the light with electrical tape. Maybe I can make a lid with plastic craft mesh and that will solve the condensation issue while making sure Sigma isn't a frequent flyer.

[@NicoleShalan-ue3yw]

My beta loved Frogbit too. Same issues, the lid to my 5-gallon has a top, tank is like a safe. It's beautiful. I keep trying, & buying more. Frogbit, duckweed, water lettuce. I keep trying. My bank is sad. I'm trying to grow a snail family too, for my puffers.

[@Muppet92954]

I recently got some floating plants so it’s some good info for me to hear 🙂

[@EverydayAquarist]

Awesome

[@sandidsaman7723]

can i keep water lettuce inside a circle attached to a suction cup if there is a good amount of water current in my tank? can the floaters survive this way?

[@Kyddoemiko13]

Ah that explains it. Why mine are turning black the lid is on and condensation 😮🤦🏽‍♂️ thank you for sharing Friday I will need to do the first water change. I don't have shrimp but I have two Golden snails to eat the white fuzz on the driftwood Thanks for sharing 🫶🐌🐌✨✨✨

[@Pitter919]

Great video! My floaters were great until I added a lid due to evaporation. I couldn’t figure out whether to replace the evaporation with tap or RO. So I guess the lid wins out! No floaters! 🙁🙁🙁

[@EverydayAquarist]

Thanks, use RO

[@blackseaandothers]

Thank you for this very useful information about a topic not discussed very often.

[@EverydayAquarist]

Glad it was helpful!

[@sandidsaman7723]

can i keep water lettuce inside a circle attached to a suction cup if there is a good amount of water current in my tank? can the floaters survive this way?

[@FoolyLiving]

My salvia turns almost black and I can't tell if its alive or not lol. It just looks terrible. I took it out and put it outside and I'm pretty sure its dead. My water lettuce is always looking dead in my tank but great looking outside in the vat.

[@kellyd3364]

I really like the wild look of Frogbit, & tried it in two of my tanks. In a short time, all of it became spotted & then melted away. I couldn't figure out why. 🤔 I really thought I'd done everything right. (Low flow, good lighting on timer, good ferts). After watching this video, I am certain that it's due to all of my tanks being covered 🙄 & having condensation on the leaves. Kind of a shame, as I plan on keeping my tanks covered... but at least I now know what happened. Thank you for the info! 👍 It seems you have several other interesting videos as well... New sub! 🙂 Love from Canada 🇨🇦

[@EverydayAquarist]

Thanks for watching and welcome!

[@joenic4303]

I heard they like potassium and iron. My water is hard so has calcium and magnesium already.

[@jackhb7552]

I am currently having a huge issue with my frog bit. Previously I had all luscious green growth - huge leaves and massive roots. So much so that I was having to sell lots of it off regularly and getting a lot of compliments from buyers. Skip to today and my roots have pretty much died off completely, only a few green leaves left, mostly all gone. Because of that, the roots were no longer there as a hiding place and I think this spurred on some nipping which lead to fin rot. I am not sure if it is down to introducing new plants from a different tank - be that something they brought with them or just upsetting the balance, or maybe my new filter is just too much for them (although its not getting the leaves that wet) or only other thing I can think of is having fed a lot of live brine shrimp. Tank is otherwise okay so I think most likely it'll just be the end of my floating plants for now until I decide to keep more in future as I can't see them coming back from this. I have upped my usual fertiliser routine but doesn't seem to help.

[@EverydayAquarist]

I would imagine some sort of micronutrient deficiency or / amd being outcompeted for resources from other plants.

[@scoria1755]

The problem could be increased salinity from feeding lots of live brine shrimp, while not compensating with water changes.

[@sandidsaman7723]

can i keep water lettuce inside a circle attached to a suction cup if there is a good amount of water current in my tank? can the floaters survive this way?

[@harryme472]

More good information , thank you !

[@jessegee179]

Isn’t copper a bit risky with your shrimp? Good info, thanks, hope they perk up 👍 I’ve had better luck with water lettuce.

[@EverydayAquarist]

Copper is a necessary element in plants (and shrimp🦐), the concentration is low. Nothing like adding copper medical treatments which would harm invertebrates

[@dangerine73]

Helpful, thank you!

[@EverydayAquarist]

Thanks for watching

[@akhileshthapa_fishbro86]

Done it all... Good video. Cheers!

[@blairwilliamson4152]

Very useful, having just purchased some frogbit myself. Do you think setting the perspex lid at a very slight angle, so that the condensed water runs off back into the tank would prevent the leaf drip problem? BlairW

[@EverydayAquarist]

Yes that would help

[@blairwilliamson4152]

@@EverydayAquarist I also have the same brand fertiliser you used in the clip. Do you know if Elodea densa can deprive other plants of nutrients, out-compete them, so to speak?

[@EverydayAquarist]

Certainly would have thought so, it's a very fast growing plant

[@blairwilliamson4152]

@@EverydayAquarist I floated a bunch of Elodea densa in an aquarium for surface cover where I was introducing some new chocolate gouramis, and since then some crypts have melted and Anubias showing signs of nutrient deficiency, and meanwhile the Elodea densa has almost doubled in length!

[@insomniacraccoon]

THANK YOU!!! I have been pulling my hair out trying to figure out why my frogbit has been dying!!! It was the glass lid and the few times I accidentally left the lights on too long... 😔The snails have loved my mistakes however haha... munching on dying leaves..

[@mariorma8900]

Love your videos as you always keep it real not like some you tubers with “magic water” lol, this something I can relate too. Cheers m8.

[@EverydayAquarist]

Thanks I appreciate it. My channel is about keeping fish and aquariums, not pretending to be a god of fishkeeping 😂

[@ESF19791111]

GREAT EXPLANATION VIDEO :) THANK YOU FOR SHARING :) I DID A THUMB-UP ABOUT THE VIDEO :) THANK YOU FROM ISRAEL :)

[@WorldAquariumSingapore]

cheers nice vid there

[@ZioStalin]

I'm having the same problem with Salvinia auricolata and Lemna minor. Luckily I've found this video and now I am fixing a couple problems: I was keeping the lights on 24/7 and should also increase the nutrients in the water or maybe reduce the floaters population, since they have saturated the surface. Thanks!

[@stankeylips9822]

Mine are turning yellow too. I think the light to close to the water I ordered a new one

[@hilojackgame]

This was an interesting watch. Two things: 1. How did you end up mitigating condensation in your shed, after you re-removed the aquarium lid? 2. The closing music was way too loud and just about blew my ears off, mate. Please consider your audience may be using headphones that were adjusted to the volume level of your speaking voice. Thanks!

[@muhdilyas3348]

What floating plants is this with long roots?

[@GeeZerLyse]

Hi Everyday Aquarist, thank you very much for you always nice and interesting video's. So refreshing with your UK accent, compared to the noisy and annoying American videos. Also thank you very much for the cool intro theme song! Been looking for that one for years. 👍 Always hate it, when my timer not doing what I think I programmed it to do.

[@craftwanderer8802]

am I supposed to remove the yellowing leaves?

[@laceyhardesty1831]

I have floaters in a 20 gal aquarium with the light that came with it for over a year now and they won't stop crowding my aquarium. They are thriving. They are in my pea puffer tank. They are keeping the heat in my aquarium too well. I do nothing for them except 12 hour with lights on and 12hrs without. They also work as an amazing natural filter. I've never had these issues.

[@sandidsaman7723]

can i keep water lettuce inside a circle attached to a suction cup if there is a good amount of water current in my tank? can the floaters survive this way?

[@MIKEZGAMER-g8b]

Appreciated

[@sauravdey7893]

Is the fertilizer safe for shrimps?

[@TheMertolumert]

I didnt discern Dwarf Water Lettuce with frogbit plant. what is their difference with. how to i easly say this is frog

[@kenaultman7499]

Get some Brawndo. It has what plants crave. Electrolytes.

[@weebolddavy]

I've had water lettuce in my aquarium for around 2 years. I inject CO2 and add a general fertiliser once a week. The only other plants are anubias, Java fern and some crypts, good strong LED lighting 11 hours a day and 25% water change once a week. I throw out half a bucket of the lettuce every water change. The tank has been beautifully balanced with no issues. No algae problems until 2 weeks ago. I now have green slime growing between the floating plants and giving a thick coating to their roots. The water's surface has a thin coat of slime which sticks to your hand when you touch it. No other algae anywhere. All plants are thriving. How many can say that?!! I've changed nothing so am at a loss as to the cause, unless I've accidentally overfed, but having cherry shrimps to tidy up would have helped prevent this issue. How do I get rid of that type of algae?

[@EverydayAquarist]

Maybe something changed in your tap water or possibly you're suffering from something like 'old tank syndrome' and the chemistry is out of wack

[@weebolddavy]

@@EverydayAquarist I'm having a stab that it's cyanobacteria, something I've managed to avoid in my 50+ years I've kept fish.

[@joenic4303]

There is a green slime remover you can add to the tank that takes care of cyanobacteria. It uses oxygen though but works well.

[@weebolddavy]

@@joenic4303 I bought some blue/green slime remover 2 weeks later, some amano shrimps and cut back the light by two hours. After 2 weeks the slime was gone and the tank has been as sweet as a peach ever since👍👍

[@sandidsaman7723]

can i keep water lettuce inside a circle attached to a suction cup if there is a good amount of water current in my tank? can the floaters survive this way?

[@JustJulie-cz8fs]

Do you just pull off the brown leaves?

[@EverydayAquarist]

Can do

[@Isaacperezis1248]

Can you do an update on your macro tanks please

[@EverydayAquarist]

There will be many macroalgae videos in the future

[@AQUAGUYUK]

flow is key so put a feeding ring round them and lower light to no more than 7 hours

[@sandidsaman7723]

can i keep water lettuce inside a circle attached to a suction cup if there is a good amount of water current in my tank? can the floaters survive this way?

[@NicoleShalan-ue3yw]

I like floating plants myself. I'm on my 3rd, try w/ frogbit. Crazy thing is my fish don't like light. All of them. All 5 tanks.😂

[@mk-xh8rm]

Did you kill your shrimp with the copper?

[@Mrtom40]

What is this floating plant

[@EverydayAquarist]

Amazon frogbit

[@glenisold79]

Idiocracy joke. Love it 9:00

[@akvasvet]

👍

[@criffermaclennan]

I've killed every floating plant I've tried to date....including frogbit,red root floaters and water lettuce

[@ZehraanBarmare]

Try duckweed🤣

[@EverydayAquarist]

Do you know why?

[@criffermaclennan]

@@EverydayAquarist I do now.....condensation as I've got a hood on the tank

[@EverydayAquarist]

Never again!

[@StuEvans]

I used to have no problem until I changes my lights. Not just the type but the distance from the light.

[@EverydayAquarist]

What did you have and what did you change to?

[@StuEvans]

@@EverydayAquarist I dimmed them down and raised them up . Raising them up I think was the fix because of the heat from the light. Any moisture like you said causes them to go brown. Same as watering your grass or plant in summer don't do it at high heat. Beads of water acting like a mini magnifying glass.

[@rebecamesa1623]

@@StuEvans o

[@welshdragon2001]

Copper with shrimp tank i thought invertebrates don't like copper ??

[@EverydayAquarist]

All things need copper, it's an essential element. It's high levels of copper shrimp don't like

[@ryanwaters3780]

Electrolytes its what plants crave.

[@weedes0001]

I want some frogbit!!!! I have water Sprite

[@sandidsaman7723]

can i keep water lettuce inside a circle attached to a suction cup if there is a good amount of water current in my tank? can the floaters survive this way?

[@weedes0001]

@@sandidsaman7723 yes they can

[@weedes0001]

I had a house fire and lost everything I'm starting over, the fire started in the attic I was not home.18 aquariums Lost in the blaze.i now have 2 aquariums that I set up yesterday.wish me luck

[@leesutton1845]

If they are turning yellow it needs potassium and iron

[@mossyart6435]

I cut the unhealthy leaf

[@smartchanneltv2312]

DON’T PUT COPPER IN A SHRIMP TANK!!!!

[@no-knickers-emma1112]

Wow this topic is perfect timing. I have 4 aquariums all with floating plants, Things were going well then my floaters started to rot away in 3 aquariums. Frogbit would go brown and transparent then die. Don't think it's a flow problem. Don't think it's condensation. These Dennerle tanks had lids and were growing plants fine beforehand. I put it down to very low stock of fish which produce nutrients for the plants and not enough dosing of Easylife. My main tank which is a Roma 125 which runs a 207 cannister filter. Flow aimed slightly to the rear glass of the tank. I run the standard led light that came with it and a Aquasky. Think the combine wattage is 30w which is on for 8 hours via timers.The Iights are only a few inches away from the plants. Tank has been running for at least 4 years and is my favorite tank. It's fully stocked with fish and shrimps. I do dose Easylife but not often enough. My floaters here are brilliant I believe lack of nutrients in the other tanks is the key, especially shrimp only tanks. You said about buying your plants off eBay but I'm in competition with you on there.🥰 Talking of easy plants not doing well. I struggle with Brazilian Pennywort. I gave up in the end.

[@EverydayAquarist]

Haha plenty of people needing plants lol. They certainly suck out nutrients really quickly and constant dosing can be required

[@blairwilliamson4152]

If you buy plants off eBay, do you quarantine them first, and if so, how ? I have some really good water lettuce that I got from eBay, but I've been keeping them in yogurt cartons on windowsill for 3 weeks, hoping that will be enough quarantine. Haven't dosed them with anything though I have read that some people treat new plants with permanganate.

[@no-knickers-emma1112]

@@blairwilliamson4152 From experience treating snails on plants is very difficult. I've been down this road before. I have successfully treated plants with Alum powder. Trust nobody on ebay especially sellers with huge feedback scores. There are a few gem sellers on eBay but they are few and far between like me 😃 3 weeks should be fine if you see no tiny snails. Use a torch and have a look at the plants. Give them 1 more week and that will complete the cycle of snails hatching. Just buy vitro plants. Some plants obviously don't come in vitro like Crypt Albida. I successfully treated it with Alum along with water lettuce.

[@EverydayAquarist]

My plants come with snails and I charge more for them /jk

[@sandidsaman7723]

can i keep water lettuce inside a circle attached to a suction cup if there is a good amount of water current in my tank? can the floaters survive this way?