Salvinia Minima Aquarium Plant Care Guide and Species Spotlight

[@vb2377]

Wow! Channel is growing super quick.

[@AquariumPlantLab]

It really is... You’ve been there since the beginning. Thanks for staying active!!!

[@maccrimbo]

Awesome thank you. I just got a couple of handfuls of floating plants for free while buying some platys. Girl Talks Fish videos helped me identify them as Water Lettuce and Silvinia Minima and now you've shown me how to take care of them. I'm gonna submerge my sprinkler bar and make a ring out of air pump tubing, thanks again 👍🏻

[@PatrickBoatner]

Super helpful. This is good info about the surface agitation aspect. I have a small outdoor pond with a 360 degree fountain. I thought I might have to scrap the fountain (which gave me concerns about aeration), but now it sounds like I'll be fine as long as I adjust the water so it's gently pushing the salvinia away, and not forcing it underwater.

[@cherylerisher4527]

Thank you. I am definitely going to get some .

[@davidhafner3855]

Fantastic thanks

[@nayanmistry4641]

HI Will, great video, I was just wondering if there is a larger leaf variety of the salvinia for a larger tank with goldfish. Thanks

[@jmdq1]

Thanks so much for solving my floating plant dilemma 😃. I have been dealing with a tank that came as a gift , with an attached hood with light fixed on the underside of it. So I can not lift my light bar above the tank. I have a community of fish, with a Honey Gourami male, and a Plakat young betta. Schools of tetras and 4 Julii Cory. 4 Ottos. Planted 3 year established tank, 36 gallon with Aquion hang on back filter. I have added a diffuser to the output to slow down the flow. I have 18” Val, Crypts, and other stem plants that are well established. I let the Val grow and float on the surface. I want the floaters for the Betta and Gourami. My tetras are green neon 11 , 6 black neon, a school of 5 White cloud mountain minnows, 3 gold and 3 standard colour. I have an air stone. Rocks and one small piece of driftwood attached to a piece of flat rock. I use RO water, and some Seachem flourish when I do my water changes, twice a month 6 gallons. I add the Flourish once a month. I have medium sand and aquarium dirt, mix in some Controsoil every 6 months or so. Oh I have 4 Ammano Shrimp. So I’m going to put this floating tube in my tank today. 😊

[@shanabrosius4735]

Very helpful!

[@AquariumPlantLab]

Glad it was helpful!

[@brannonwinchester7054]

I found them in a local pond and I had no idea what it was. I put it in my fish tank and it took over the surface real quick.

[@Dprest-nd4yc]

I wish I had that luck. I've been trying to find wild plants for about a month and I haven't found anything :(

[@kaden.slone04_biology]

​@@Dprest-nd4yc Not even duckweed?

[@stayplanted1093]

Great content, got to get some floating plant for my next build!

[@vb2377]

My state reaches upper 90s and salvinia grows like boss. My favorite is the culcatta variation. My goldfish feeds them with their poop.

[@AquariumPlantLab]

Ya man salvinia is no joke in some states. Can be a terrible invasive plant, I should have mentioned that 🤣

[@ateteu_]

What about your forgbit? Does it grow well in lower lighting aquariums?

[@vinitsoekhai8649]

hi NW AQUAHOBBY im from south amerika and i live your videos i would reccomend you to make a life pond with al kinds of fish in it snails ect .......believe me you wil have a lot mor succes with your subscribers and views👍🏼👍🏼.........good luck 🍀🍀

[@AquariumPlantLab]

Thanks for the idea!! I’ve been wanting to setup another pond. I have a few pond videos but I want to do a bigger setup sometime soon! Thanks for watching!

[@sarahlababidi4606]

I just got into aqua plants and have no idea how to care for the salvinia I received today. I just put them in tap water and I’m afraid that’s wrong (I don’t have any fish or fertilizer if you would like to recommend one). Any tips

[@AquariumPlantLab]

I would recommend an all in one liquid fertilizer like the one I offer on my website nwaquahobby.com . Most all in one ferts will do the job though. Fish aren’t mandatory if you are using ferts but would add more interest. Lots of options there but a Betta would be good option to research a bit. The plants will absolutely need light, I would recommend a quality plant light. Or a CFL bulb that is 6500k. A window could do the job too but you may need to play around with location to get that right and be careful with overheating if you end up getting fish. Good luck and welcome to the channel!

[@Jotto999]

My overstocked 10g tank has a pothos vine, and salvinia minima. Needless to say, nitrate is incapable of accumulating, and I only water change maybe every few months. Sometimes I even add a bit of liquid fertilizer!

[@AquariumPlantLab]

You are doing it right!!! I love low maintenance setups :)

[@FishKeeperJosh]

Do you recommend any online shops for plants and such?

[@AquariumPlantLab]

Good question! I sell a small variety of plants and fertilizers on my website actually, here is a link nwaquahobby.com . I am always expanding my offerings so check back from time to time. All of the plants I sell were actually grown by me. Sales there directly support this channel. If my selection doesn’t suit your needs then there are a number of online retailers that I have bought from in the past. I would focus on the top results when searching for “aquarium plants” on google. Check reviews as an indication of quality 👍

[@collincataldo]

Will salvinia do well in a 20 gallon with medium to high surface agitation / flow ?

[@funkdaddyflex]

I was trying to grow it. But it turns out gold fish LOVE to eat it lol so now I'm back to square 1 lol

[@pandabearrahh]

I just got a few little bunches with some new sucker fish, my betta fish went right to them when they went it so I'm keeping them.. Will they do okay with the normal fish lights I have in now?

[@AquariumPlantLab]

They need strong lights for plants. Some fish lights will work, just gotta try it out!

[@southtexasSunandsea]

where to buy that clip on light from, and do you think flourish would be enough for these .. i have java fern windelov , water sprite which i left floating and some hornwort... plan to float some frogbit as well..

[@AquariumPlantLab]

Here is an affiliate link to the light: amzn.to/2MwrHmp and Flourish should work fine if your other plants are growing well. You might need to feed fairly more heavily to get my NPK 👍

[@tmargosian]

So where exactly does the mold come from or why is it there other than old/dying plants. I have to remove bunches of healthy salvinia every few days that get covered in that white fuzzy mold. It doesn’t grow on my water lettuce or frogbit just the salvinia. Is it like frogbit where the leaves need to stay as dry as possible? Is too much humidity causing it?

[@AquariumPlantLab]

Ive found that both humidity and splashing are usually the causes of mold with salvinia. The little hairs on the leaves are more prone to mold than most other floaters. So best to have some air circulation and try to keep water off the leaves. 👍

[@abigailsmith8720]

Do I need to remove my old rotting silvinia? or just wait them out? TIA!

[@AquariumPlantLab]

I would remove the nasty old pieces 👍

[@MrEvajay]

How long do you keep your lights on?

[@AquariumPlantLab]

I typically go for 6-8 hours per day for my planted tanks.

[@salon831pm]

Mine came in with some healthy white roots but the rest had brown/dark roots. I put the good ones in my tank but the rest are in a bucket of aquarium water with plant fertilizer. Not sure if they will come around even though the leaves are all green and healthy

[@AquariumPlantLab]

Did you get them from me? If so feel free to email me, I would be happy to help! Salvinia is an aquatic fern, the young roots are lighter in color but the more mature roots are more of a dark brown color and this is normal. The leaves on the other hand should be nice and green. Make sure they are getting sufficient light and nutrients and avoid excess surface agitation or splashing. Again if they came from me please contact me if you have any concerns! Thanks!

[@salon831pm]

@AquariumPlantLab thank you for that information about the roots. No I didn't get them from you, I used Dustin's fishtanks for these. Thank you!

[@AquariumPlantLab]

@@salon831pm gotcha! From what I’m hearing they sound healthy and in my experience as long as you have nice green leaves they will bounce back from stress. Just make sure to give them light, nutrient, and minimal agitation. Cheers and good luck!

[@salon831pm]

@@AquariumPlantLab 👍

[@MissGlassButterfly]

I need help with my salvinia :( I buy the tropica 12 grow and I find that whenever I add them to the tank they lose their air trapped layer in the hairs and float just below the surface or upside down :( In my pond they bounced back but in my aquarium they look pathetic. I have a bubbler and there’s a bit of flow but it’s super low and I have no flow zones but even in the no flow the plant is not floating or trapping the air Layer. I pick them up and place them and they sink just below the surface again :(

[@AquariumPlantLab]

Hmmm sounds like you might have a biofilm on the surface? If so work on eliminating that and the plants should do much better. The oils in the biofilm prevent the plants from breaking the surface tension on the surface of the water.

[@MissGlassButterfly]

@@AquariumPlantLab thanks! Though I don’t know how biofilm could build up that bad when I have a bubbler

[@nylonnite2965]

Im thinking of getting a fish tank for the cool smaller fishes I catch, I still want it to look good so do you have any advise on how I could do it without killing all the fishes or the plants?

[@Dprest-nd4yc]

Do not put wild fish on a fish tank, they don't belong there.

[@nylonnite2965]

well rip that idea il just some gold fish ig

[@Dprest-nd4yc]

@@nylonnite2965 lol don't be sad, there's tons of domestic fish you could get, just inform yourself before buying them and take good care of them.

[@OmniversalInsect]

@@nylonnite2965 there is an insane variety of fish you can buy

[@nylonnite2965]

​@@OmniversalInsect but it wouldn't be as cool as ones from a lake or river. Plus the really cool ones are very expensive. And the tank I am talking about is a 15 gallon tank. And the fish I keep stay for only 2 weeks then I release then. Instead of killing or eating them, I want to enjoy their beauty and uniqueness.

[@kenjiro2676]

3:13, tbh fish that are eating live plants just aren’t being fed enough greens. Fish that are omnivores should be fed blanched vegetables, doing so may make them less inclined to eat your aquarium plants. Feeding high quality meat sources is just as important as the greens.

[@AquariumPlantLab]

I agree that feeding a balanced diet is important, but I disagree that that will prevent fish from eating plants. Yes this is true with most fish, but some species like cichlids for example, can definitely destroy plants. Even when fed a balanced diet. But that’s just my opinion 👍

[@joselara760]

hello where can i get this plant

[@AquariumPlantLab]

check your local nurseries and ask for floating plants or pond plants. you can also pick them up online! 👍

[@joselara760]

Ok .thanks

[@firetoashes8752]

Not a fan of the duckweed or the other tiny floater (forgot name). I like the bigger floater types over the tiny ones so far.

[@AquariumPlantLab]

You would probably like Red Root Floaters, Amazon Frogbit, and Water Lettuce then! Duckweed is definitely not for everyone!

[@firetoashes8752]

NW Aquahobby - yes I have each of those much easier to deal with. As much as I like the look of the other tiny fern like floater for its red colors, it’s tiny size is a pain to try and deal with much like duckweed.

[@brunopaynebarbosa]

I'm having moth eggs infestation on mine, I currently have giant salvinia and minima, both getting destroyed by moth eggs

[@AquariumPlantLab]

Man I haven't experienced that issue! You could try using a glass lid or a mesh lid to prevent the moths from entering your setup!

[@TWilliams205]

5:25 he meant the light doesn’t have to penetrate the water

[@AquariumPlantLab]

Yup! Thanks for catching that :)

[@TWilliams205]

@@AquariumPlantLab I got you man.

[@AquariumPlantLab]

🌱

[@Chinesetakeout382]

It’s almost dangerously easy to care for. Like if a population manages to solidify in an environment they’re not supposed to be in, it can be a seriously invasive species. The hardest part is just being careful about not letting it get into a lake.

[@AquariumPlantLab]

Yup! For anyone reading this comment, do not ever under any circumstances release any aquarium plant (or fish) into the wild. Our hobby already has a bad reputation for this and it can lead to bans of species and heavy regulations. Not to mention the environmental impacts.

[@tylerdouangmala1054]

The plant just grows too fast

[@AquariumPlantLab]

Floaters aren't for everyone! They do definitely grow fast, which is a blessing and a curse 😆