# Floating plants



## Nave (May 28, 2013)

I am looking for a good and hearty floating live plant for my dempsey tank. I want something easy to take care of that grows a little more slowly. Open to all ideas thank in advance.


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## dalfed (Apr 8, 2012)

duck weed


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## TroyVSC (Aug 29, 2012)

dalfed said:


> duck weed


That will satisfy the hardy requirement. LOL, once you have them good luck ever not having duckweed in that tank.


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## kicksilver (Aug 9, 2012)

My dwarf gourami loves the water lettuce I added to his tank. All he does is swim underneath it now.


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## Nave (May 28, 2013)

The duck weed looks almost invasive for a fish tank it might be over kill. I'm looking for more of a vine plant that will stay under the surface. Does such a plant exist? The tank I have is a sea clear acrylic tank so it has an attached top with holes cut in it not allowing much room for growth outside the water.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

I let hornwort and anacharis float in my tanks and it does well.They are simple plants,that can be trimmed easily.


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Ive frogbit anacharis and wisteria that floats. It all grows fast enough but not to the point you cant get rid of it. PLus its all hardy and easy to grow.


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## Raymond S. (Jan 11, 2013)

frogbit | eBay
Giant duckweed is far less trouble than regular duckweed. I pick pieces of the regular duckweed out with tweezers when I change water and have the top off.
The giant is much easier to scoop out some/w the small fish net. I mention this because it is the only plant which took out equal amounts of nitrates as
well as ammonia from test tanks. Frogbit will be 13-14" long when mature so judge to see if your tank is deep enough.


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## jamnigh (Apr 24, 2013)

I have hornwort, grows even in my non-plant light tank. Hardy and good for the tank.


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## Nave (May 28, 2013)

I really like the anacharis can it be anchored to a rock or driftwood like some plants will.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

If not floated,best buried in substrate.It will grow tall and then float on surface.


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## Nave (May 28, 2013)

I the only reason I ask is that is going to be going in with a Dempsey and it would nice to anchor it down but If it does fine floating then I will go that and find another stem plant of sorts that I can anchor. 

Now that I found a nice floating plant any ideas as to what another good vine plant to anchor would be. I have an anubias in my other tank I like it I just don't know how much a jack will as it won't grow tall but long.


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## Nave (May 28, 2013)

Can the hornwort be anchored?


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## AquaAggie (Jan 4, 2013)

coralbandit said:


> If not floated,best buried in substrate.It will grow tall and then float on surface.


Really? I had always heard that you can't plant anacharis because the ends will rot. Then again I have killed it 3 times now by anchoring it. I would like to keep some in my tank but they keep dying off. You are the resident expert on pretty much everything so any suggestions for healthy anacharis would be greatly welcomed


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

It depends on the light. It does better floating because its closer to the light. 

Theres many stem plants out there that can be anchored in the substrate. Giant hygro is one of them. I like it because it fills in pretty fast. Not sure if the jack will nom it or not.


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## Raymond S. (Jan 11, 2013)

25cm Aquarium Stainless Steel Live Plant Tank Curve Scissors HB CS | eBay
Angled 15 inch Stainless Steel Aquarium Tweezer Forceps Shipped from USA | eBay
Amazon.com: Fluval Flora Stainless Steel Planting Tongs - 10.63-inches: Pet Supplies
I use them all but the 15" most...no wet hands. There are a few on Amazon and lots on e-bay but these are the best prices I found.
I had an anacharis that was in humps buried in the gravel like the pictures of Lock Ness with the humps in a row along the back of the tank.
New shoots came up from each hump. But true the buried part sufferred. They are usually free floating.
Hortworth comes in at least 2 types. One is a fairly heavy stemmed usually single stem plant which grows up from the bottom in up to 15' of water.
Has a well developed root system and runners. If you plant it at the sides of the tank the runners usually come up further towards the middle
as they seek light(better). The other type that I know of is common in some arias in both lakes and pet shops. It has no roots usually, breaks into
multiple stems in every direction(and is one of few plants which grows quickly). This can also be anchored in the gravel. Don't remember if it
grows roots in that way though. The single stem type is also common on e-bay but you can contact the seller on the ones without a clear picture
and perhaps one has the other kind. The single stemmed type is also fast growing and IMO at least semi-invasive...takes over if not regularly trimmed.
Any of these plants grow without much light if need be.
When there is ample light the anacharis sends out white roots from no particular spot on it but you can tell they are not the same as typical roots
which spread from around the stem in every direction like a tree mostly in one spot. The single stem hortworth are like that.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Both majerah and raymond offer good advice.I kind of wondered myself about plants and jack as Bev mentioned so here's a link
Jack Dempsey Cichlids
The paragraph above the picture says jack will eat your plants.If this is true then possibly your best choice would be java fern as many fish don't like the way they taste(I've read).


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## Nave (May 28, 2013)

Thanks for the input guys. That was a good article on jacks Tom after reading that they are notorious for earring plants as part of their diet maybe I can find a healthy plant and grow it in my community tank and propagate pieces here and there and move them into the jack tank to grow and be eaten. 

Can wisteria be grown while floating in the tank a friend of mine told me it can i just think it might look funny unlike a stem plant.


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## Nave (May 28, 2013)

I looked into it I really like the way wisteria looks floating I have a couple small pieces in my 55 that weren't doing very well I took them out and lightly tied them together and rigged em up to stay in one spot right under the light in the jack tank. We'll see what happens. Wish I could post pics but apple doesn't like AF so I will have to post a gallery link. I also put a anchored of anubias to a lava rock hope it gets looking better my poor plants don't like the 55. I moved all of them over to the side with the LED as the plants over there seem to be doing well. 

With the wisteria floating do I want to trim the roots down or just keep them on? From what I understand they are a pretty hearty plant.


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## Aceranch (Jun 7, 2013)

I took some 1/2" pvc pipe, boiled it so I could bend it, and shaped a circle. I glued a coupling in to hold the circle shape and make it airtight. I let that ring float on top like a corral and fill it with duckweed and anacharis. I also anchor it to the center post with fishing line. The blue gouramis and festivums in my tank love it and the plants stay where I want them to.


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