My Natural Secret WEAPON For Keeping Aquariums Healthy

Duckweed is a "great" plant for helping to balance an healthy aquarium. Unfortunately, it's super annoying and sometimes impossible to maintain and remove. Today I'll give you some tips and share my favorite and best aquarium floating plant that helps keep my aquariums and fish healthy!
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[@AQUAPROS]

🦐 LEGIT. Fish Food ► geni.us/shopLEGIT 🍀 Floating Plants 3 Pack (w/Salvinia) ► geni.us/rWqWGF

[@anodyne.7024]

Can't wait for floating plant rings! Hope I didn't miss them.

[@MT-oh4fw]

I know you have a science background, but you did a great job with the nitrate segment around 13:00 where you made a hypothesis and showed how we still learn something when hypotheses are incorrect, and around 21:00 when you pose various hypotheses. Well done with the subliminal teaching of the scientific method!

[@josemontalvo4532]

Going back to basics: certain Aqua plants do battle each other. In Diana Walstad’s book, “Ecology of the Planted Aquarium,” Chapter 3, Pp. 43-49 of the 3 edition: some plants poison neighboring plants to take over the territory. Allelopathy does exists in the substrate and water column to prevent Algae and aquatic plants species to grow. FYI. There so many factors to consider with plants in the aquarium. You may have justified reasons with your plants. I think we are all learning about the aquarium life. I enjoy your videos, so thank you for sharing. Talking about floating plants is, one of my biggest caveat is that Lemna minor (Duckweed) is a plant and not a weed. Sure it grow like crazy, but it’s plant not a weed. We need to change its name to Sweet delicious plant, because Goldfish eats it like candy.

[@RF_NY1]

Just my observation from keeping and selling floating plants online........when you see very little root development in frogbit or salvinia, there is something in excess in the water. I suspect nitrate, but it could be something else. I've run some tests by putting the above mentioned plants in varying containers containing only tap water (Which has some things in it), but very minimal, aquarium water with low nitrate levels, tap water with a certain amount of drops of ammonia, even diluted amounts of miracle gro formulas to name a few just to see results. I've found that any time you put these plants in water that has minimum to almost no levels of nitrate/ferts, the roots will grow like crazy. It's probably in an effort to find nutrition.

[@roycormier5494]

If you have high nutrient levels for plants in your aquarium the floaters may not need to grow an extensive root system to obtain what they need to grow. I'm from La. and I went and got salvinia out the bayou.

[@EclipticFactions]

⁠@@roycormier5494I’m also from la, we rarely collect samples of salvinia minima, it’s very often salvinia molesta (giant salvinia).

[@roycormier5494]

I've seen the giant salvinia. It's all over Pintail's Bird Sanctuary but in the Mermentau River there is a lot of minima.

[@jessicawalden]

What is the name in the hobby for red root floating plants

[@rjhemedes]

I am blessed to have every type of floating plant mentioned in this video including salvinia, but as you mentioned they thrive in different growing conditions. In my outdoor pond, all the types of floaters grow just fine, but in aquarium setting, I noticed that red root floaters really need strong lights for them to thrive.

[@whatever833]

I added red root floaters and lucky bambo to my tanks a year ago to soak up excess nutrients. The lucky bambo did so well I had to remove it.

[@lkawaiteacher]

I grow all of the small floating plants (duckweed, salvinia, azolla, frogbit and redroot floaters), and it is true that they don’t grow equally well in all the tanks. I’m not sure why that is, but that’s true of my stem plant as well. Low light does matter because the floating plants growing in the ponds outside don’t really grow. They are replenished every so often. That’s not a problem because once you have floating plants growing, you’ll end up throwing away a lot every week, at least I do. Floating plants are definitely worth getting.

[@johnjwedrall4290]

Thank you for your honesty in all your videos. 👍

[@FatherFish]

Thanks for a great rteview of natural systems.

[@jodypurrington1935]

Topping off all the tanks for an even water level? Very satisfying! Really enjoy your channel

[@marcuswhitmore6622]

I don’t have a problem with duck weed, like you say it does the job. I scoop it out of my aquariums, tubs and other ponds and add to my koi and goldfish ponds, brilliant food source and it’s free. I’ve finally brought the Medaka fish inside this week, kept them outside for as long as possible but the temps in the UK have really dropped especially at night.

[@AQUAPROS]

ya duckweed aint THAT bad... heheh How cold is it getting????

[@marcuswhitmore6622]

@@AQUAPROS it’s dropped to -3 here, the Medaka can deal with the temps but as I only use plants in their tubs as filtration I’m more concerned about how thick the ice will get. They are now in the conservatory, turned heating off in there so the temps will still drop down they should still feel like they are getting the full range of seasons as o don’t want to shorten their lifespan.

[@johnjwedrall4290]

Found your channel today and subscribed to it today 😊 👍

[@AQUAPROS]

Welcome aboard!

[@XIxCaptainKRulLT]

I've got Monte Carlo that got uprooted almost a year ago, died off, then became a small, slow-growing floater with greenish-yellow roots. I quite like it. Almost like a mini version of duckweed without the negatives.

[@AQUAPROS]

Thats tight, ya any plant that has access to the air is gonna do great for ya! 🤠😎

[@peadookie]

Bacopa monieri is awesome as a floater. My betta was PISSED when I rescaped the tank and removed his sleepy betta hammocks.

[@laurabustos6560]

Same. Randomly transplanted monte carlo to the natural light kitchen tank to see what would happen and it got huge leaves (comparatively, roughly the size of pearl weed or Bacopa rotundafolia) and grew 8-12" tall over a few months. So I chop it down and throw it in other tanks as a floater. 🤣✌️

[@DylanRenke]

Salvinia is so cool. Floating aquaric fern, and the "roots" are actually a modified leaf!

[@itsjohnny4267]

Salvinia minima’s my favorite floater. It has a more complex structure compared to frogbit and duckweed, so it takes longer to grow until you have to take a handful out. Although, I did find that SM took the longest to acclimate in any tank. I bought some and it almost completely melted away. But the pieces that survived the transition turned out to be robust and dependable in keeping the nitrates in check! Instead of removing handfuls everyday (duckweed and frogbit), it became just a weekly task. AND my favorite part about this plant is the short roots! I love the look of FB overhead, but I couldn’t deal with the long roots (I had nano tanks). The only other floated I’d probably like more are red root floaters. But it all depends on the aesthetic I’m going for in the tank.

[@AQUAPROS]

Agree!!! X100000

[@crystalgrzelak]

I have duckweed or red root floaters in most of my tanks for that reason. The 1 tank I have without those kinds of floating plants has a dwarf lily. The dwarf lily tank has not had any nitrites ever and the nitrates are always under 25ppm. It only has a few pads on the surface but it’s incredibly good for nitrates.

[@quackchung]

I have Salvinia in both dirted tanks, it grows abundantly. Called water spangles too.

[@FinnRenard]

Check to see if your online retailer carry "in-vitro gel" grown plants. If so, they can easily ship floating plants. Old school plant growers do not have the infrastructure to securely package and ship floating plants. Luckily, in Europe we have both Dennerle in Germany and Tropica in Denmark. These brands are available throughout Europe, and floating plants are held together by the roots by a plant gel. Salvinia is of course not illegal, nor are moss balls btw :)

[@AQUAPROS]

Thanks for sharing!

[@jessicab391]

I just received my Legit Fish food! Looking forward to seeing how they like it. Thanks Mike.

[@AQUAPROS]

Thanks Jessica! Let me know 😎🤙

[@rgilroy1909]

love Salvinia, but also Red Root Floaters, just paid for the "free" sample shipping. can't wait to try it

[@andrewsullivan8003]

What are the plant hangers you use to hold the house plants on the outside of the tank? Also the floating circles? Is that for the floating plants

[@andreaashcroft8216]

Hi the circles are for keeping an area free for feeding

[@andrewsullivan8003]

Where can I get them?

[@curvingfyre6810]

One that I often find wild is Greater Duckweed. Its like if duckweed and red root floaters had a baby. Leaves are a hair smaller than salvinia minima, and they have rosette pattern that duckweed has, but instead of only like 2 roots tops per plantlet, they have dense but short clumps of roots, with that red tint to them, and especially to the underside of the leaves. Root shape makes them much less annoying to clean off things. Less virulent than lesser duckweed too. I'd consider it a direct upgrade.

[@henrikwannheden7114]

I have a 20 gallon tank catching a lot of sunlight from a nearby window which led to lots of algae. So I bought perhaps a palm sized patch of Salvinia to combat this, which worked great. So great in fact that I remove one or two fist fulls of salvinia daily (not to steal light from the other plants). It grows insanely fast in my tank so I get why it's illegal in some areas. My tank is perhaps a bit overstocked to be honest but I can hardly even detect any nitrite or nitrate in the tank since I got the Salvinia. The health of mine seems a bit better than yours, they are greener and the roots are long and fluffy.

[@BenOchart]

Hornwort seems to love my water conditions and it's growing like weeds. Water sprite seems to struggle a bit. Thanks.

[@codysterling7695]

There both weeds.prob something wayy off if water sprite isn't booming by itself.

[@laurabustos6560]

10:39 as a lifelong garden science and horticulture nerd mom, I love it when science people "just kind of make stuff up"! I do it all the time, I sort of know I have a basis in facts and then just roll with it. 🤣✌️

[@alialjarwan8679]

Hello, how do u have clear water with wood, I’m suffering from tannins although I soaked it for days in hot water 😢

[@laurabustos6560]

You might just have a really tannic wood. I've had pieces of mopani driftwood in a bucket outside soaking for 1 month and they still turn the water almost black within a week. Some wood types are just like that😑. I got a piece of "spider wood" at a shop one time that turned the tank purple!?! ✌️

[@ana-bananainca790]

I am only one year new into the fish keeping hobby and I love floating plants- including duck weed. I cannot get any to thrive in any of m to guppy tanks. I’m not sure if it’s because of the HOB or the guppy’s eating the roots or the water being too hot at 80-84 degrees Fahrenheit?

[@lindapeppin2441]

So glad you topped the tanks up to the same level, I was worried for a minute 😂

[@AQUAPROS]

hehehehe :)

[@-EJ00]

I have salvinia minima in my tank, I'm not supposed to because im in Texas. I wish i could get it to cover like yours does

[@natesmith6413]

If you need to get rid of duck weed just get a tiny surface skimmer filter. Does the trick in a couple of hours and polishes the water a bit in the process.

[@ErikWhyRock]

Salvinia is awesome!!

[@AQUAPROS]

Some people flip coins, I flip Salvinia.... :)

[@alt7244]

I have co op strips and another brand. I also use api master test. If I use all 3 in same aquarium, I get 3 different results for nitrates.

[@azntactical4884]

I have red roots. One tank grows reall well. Another tank, duckweed out grows it. Such a pain as they grow under the same light.

[@whatever833]

I've heard so many people talk about duckweed like it's an unavoidable plague but I've been back in the fish hobby since 2018 and have yet to come across duckweed. And ive had a lot of new plants come into my tanks over the years.

[@66bigbuds]

You are that 1 in a million you heard about.

[@laurabustos6560]

You must be the luckiest person ever! I dip plants in salt and hydrogen peroxide and I've still managed to get bladder snails, hydra and duckweed!!?! You should go buy a lottery ticket. 😂✌️

[@whatever833]

Fun little update I finally saw what I think is duckweed. Came in on some anubius. Never ended up in my tank tho.

[@whatever833]

@@laurabustos6560 actually encountered duckweed for the first time ever earlier this month but it never ended up in my tank. On top of that i actually used the reverse respiration to clean the plants.

[@whatever833]

@@laurabustos6560 look up reverse respiration is how I sterilize my plants and hard scape now.

[@randaldavis4880]

just checking out some of your videos, here. and i see these black rings floating in the top. what are those ?

[@AQUAPROS]

theyre feeding rings, they keep floating plants away so feeding is easy :) coming soon to legitfishfood.com !

[@wildandwackywade]

I am new to watching your videos and I've noticed circles in each of the tanks you showed. What are they, are they food of something on top? Is it food or omething to help the tank, are they as they looked like mirrors, what do they used for?

[@AQUAPROS]

They are a product coming soon to legitfishfood.com ! So they are "feeding rings" and they have a few uses, I really like em for keeping floating plants out of the way (easy feeding portal) you can also do the opposite and fill them with a floating plant to try and prevent them from taking over a tank, or you can use them to block a skimmer so you dont have to unplug it. Stay tuned!

[@devman1950]

Where did you get those black floating circle things ?

[@oioioioioioioioio]

On the black floating rings, make clear ones as ppl want something aesthetically pleasing in our aquascapes and not a chonky black thing floating.

[@AQUAPROS]

Tried too, but they always look really bad, one day when I can get em injection molded maybe.... Got white ones too, but they get super "algaefied"....

[@lisasparkman2924]

​@AQUAPROS maybe a camo colored one with the different greens and Browns would kind of blend in

[@johneverson5538]

FYI,frog bit is illegal in Louisiana, so are mystery snails.

[@boges11]

Great video mate. You and Corey need to work on international shipping. Been wanting to order some Legit for awhile now.

[@AQUAPROS]

Thanks! and ya i know... its just hard with the food... one day I hope to get a distributer over there... 😇

[@danielbennett5195]

Don't know if anyone said it. It's the light. If you moved the end tank to the middle. It would do the same with the roots. It's my opinion based on experiments with terrestrial plants in different types of media and the effects of lighting patterns, types and colors, strength and distribution.

[@rishabhmishra2510]

Seeing your videos after a long time .looking u in a beard is quiet amazing

[@AQUAPROS]

Welcome back! :)

[@benbarnett5684]

Ive briefly kept salvinia in a few tanks and it generally seemed to not like the flow, in other tanks of yours that have filters with flow have you had reduced success with it? These longer form videos are really enjoyable. If theyre easy for you to make+edit and you like making them, i wouldnt mind more

[@AQUAPROS]

Thanks for that video feedback Ben! Yes and yes! Youre right about the flow, I kinda forgot to talk about that, you def need low to NO flow to keep a lot of the floating plants happy....

[@benbarnett5684]

That's fascinating, thank you

[@itsjooooe]

I live in alaska. The nice thing is that nothing in the hobby is banned here because nothing will survive outside, on the flip side it's kinda hard to get stuff here

[@AQUAPROS]

Never thought of it like that! 🤔

[@ourlifeonthefarm1971]

I have a question for you - I have a 150 gallon cow trough that I turned into a goldfish/koi tank outside. Most of the time I don't have an air pump on as mine is too powerful and I don't have electricity where tank is and have to use a power charging battery back-up. The tank keeps getting a lot of algae, do you have any suggestions on keeping out the algae or at least minimizing it where I can see the fish? Thanks

[@AQUAPROS]

Light is gonna be the biggest factor, id consider relocating it somewhere where you can minimize direct sunlight. Also try to fill it with as many out of water pond plants you can to also minimize the Nitrogen and Phosphorous load 🤙

[@ourlifeonthefarm1971]

@AQUAPROS Thank you, I did buy a lavender something, can't remember name, but what other plants would you recommend? I live in North Central Florida if that helps for plant suggestions. Thanks again

[@AQUAPROS]

@@ourlifeonthefarm1971 ohhhh you got sooo many choices with that climate, variegated water celery is one of my favs, other than that, id just go nuts at a local garden center.....

[@ourlifeonthefarm1971]

@AQUAPROS Lol..thank you

[@terrygorsch386]

I like Hornwert 🤓🐠

[@codysutherland4379]

I find it so wild that people get nervous about not touching their aquarium for multiple days. I drop some food in MAYBE once a week, and top ups once or twice a month. Other than that, I literally don't do anything. And I've maybe had a handful of fish die in 10 years. (I've had hundreds)

[@Theseus294]

I keep water lettuce and duck weed in my pleco tank. I have to net out about half of the plants every week. It’s worth having such a huge nutrient sponge in that tank tho. 😂

[@yashtapase3821]

I literally want to grow duckweed but it isn't growing for me Salvinia natans doing so good for me And red root floaters are also great option 👍

[@AQUAPROS]

Ya ive had hit or miss luck with red root floaters, when its good, its good!

[@Eden_Rivers]

I have had success with dwarf water lettuce. Tried red root floaters a million times, but I can't grow it anywhere. Now the water lettuce, when it's little and starting to grow is very, very duckweed-like. Messy! I look forward to the floating plant rings.

[@AQUAPROS]

yaaa red root floaters are super hit or miss for me... wish I know what the trick was! :)

[@problemaquarium]

What is the black circle floating in the beta tank at 0:46 ? Anyone know?

[@laurabustos6560]

His feeding rings? He sells them.

[@AngelFlores-zm4ub]

Would buying 1 community and 1 bottom feeders 2oz get the 2 for free as well or it just need to be of one type ?

[@AQUAPROS]

b2g2 of the same type, so 2 2oz bags of Community will get you 4 2oz bags. Just clarified on the product pages on legitfishfood.com Goal was to get people more food for less, in a form that could be shared easy (like holiday gifts for fish keeper friends). If you have any issues shoot me an email! Cheers

[@vampgaia]

Fish are tougher than we give them credit for. I had a family emergency and was out of state for most of June. I came back once a week and fed my fish. That was it. I credit my seasoned tanks, duck weed, algae, and pathos for my tanks' stability and my fish's survival. My fish and I both love the legit food. Duck weed and frog bit love my water. Salvinia.. not so much. Happily my excess duck weed goes to my rainbow cichlids who love it.

[@AQUAPROS]

Awesome to hear, ya its sometimes a little tricky to find what works, but when ya do its smooth sailing!

[@insanebmxthomas]

You both love the legit fishfood? Man that sounds weird lmao i've never tasted it 😅 @aquapros good to see the food is getting good results man! im in Europe, but i'd support you in a heartbeat! I dont even want more fry! 😆

[@insanebmxthomas]

i asked my LFS for some duckweed and the lady looked at my like i was crazy. Not a single word 😆told her i needed just a little, for a 6gal, could have filled a 250gal with the amount she gave me. Still cultivating that stuff, it's in a glass vase (a gallon maybe?) where my fry go the first couple weeks. its going hard and the fry seem to be doing well! They love getting stuck in the duckweed when its time for food. Lmao

[@AQUAPROS]

hahaha!

[@gustav24-7-52]

Odd random question. What are the orange, baby blue, green donut looking things with the pool noodle fingers sticking down from the center hole? I'm intrigued.

[@AQUAPROS]

Ricefish breeding mops!

[@ranjanty]

What are those black rings floating in your tank?

[@swirvinbirds1971]

I believe they are supposed to keep an area clear of the floating plants.

[@raykolinski3155]

I have about every variety of floating plants like all of them It looks like your Salvinia needs some more light might be the camera thing

[@RussellHaines-ek5xe]

How can you go weeks without feeding? I'm new.

[@Pipsissewa]

I cringed when you threw the salvinia in the trash, but not for the reason you might think. There's no reason to send it to the landfill, where it will like decompose anaerobically and make methane. Compost it!

[@66bigbuds]

I wish I could have some red root floaters. They dont survive shipping. And the shippers have done their best to package them. I guess floating plants that get water on top of their leaves die off.

[@AQUAPROS]

That can happen, red root floater are def finecky

[@Kyddoemiko13]

I destroy my red root duck weed the Selvinia follow suit with hair algae attached to its roots 😢.... I want to try it again.

[@caewalker9276]

Red root floating plants are amazing outside in full sun. They turn green in low light. We should have called duckweed butterfly wings. 😂. People might like it better than duckweed 😂

[@AQUAPROS]

hahaha love that!!!!!!

[@amplifiedlarry5449]

I can’t keep duckweed in my tanks,it keeps disappearing…is something eating it?

[@MarinaMichaels]

Alas, I just checked. Salvinia minima is illegal in California.

[@gardockis.playground]

Hornwort .. best water filter/floating plant

[@Verfault]

Until it sheds everywhere.

[@AQUAPROS]

I need some hornwort in my life... its been a while...

[@gardockis.playground]

@@Verfault I’ve had it make a mess before… but if you manage it it’s a great plant Ideal for Shrimp

[@JaySouth3]

I have it. I love it but it gets overwhelming after a couple of weeks. I think I prefer guppy grass

[@jessicawalden]

My red root floating plants don't survive and i only have a hob i want floating plants

[@sairvinginthestacks]

Salvinia and red root flooters do not grow well for me. Duckweed and Frogbit grow like crazy for me.

[@66bigbuds]

If the nitrate is too low, the plants can't eat. And Cory will try to make you fertilize.

[@tylerjohnson4600]

Sal min I got for free this round of tanks thank youuuuu pet quarters he he he they didn't see it sneak on the plant I bought lol 😆 I also rock sal cuculatta and a smidge of duckweed in one tank 🤞 that's if it doesn't sneak aboard some how someday lol

[@justinferguson9779]

Why is duck weed illegal ? Thanks

[@Smokeyddth]

Just purchased some legit fish food!

[@AQUAPROS]

Cheers! Shipping out Monday 👍😎

[@deborahcollis9814]

india water fern makes a good floating plant

[@mesmerize2o9]

Are those really basket fillers??

[@AQUAPROS]

Ya, its apparently an old school trick, and something they still do a lot in other countries 🤷‍♂️

[@-AndrewR]

👍🏻👍🏻

[@tinaszmurlo4358]

Maybe some fish have better poop 😂lol

[@stevemarquis5532]

My guppies are on flakes and my aquarium is full of babies

[@synthesaurus]

I find they tend to starve other plants of nutrients :(

[@plantlady1557]

I got my floating plants from Etsy.

[@AQUAPROS]

Ill have to check out the selection! Cheers :)

[@deneng0259]

I love saliva . It has its purpose

[@AQUAPROS]

Theres some other species of it I want to try, got any experience with em?

[@melissaskinner4501]

Only one floating plant at a time.They out compete each other,chemically

[@peadookie]

Does the job, but holy hell is it a plague unto itself.

[@melissaskinner4501]

Duckweed and Val don’t do well together

[@andrewgarrett3555]

Evil cousin? Those plants aren't even of the same order, let alone family.

[@davidhafner3855]

You just keep repeating yourself

[@crawfordwice]

Oh my god. I cant stand this guy

[@MeanOldLady]

Yellowing... I'm assuming a magnesium deficiency...