# Duckweed removal - fish



## mikebike (Sep 8, 2010)

I have an ongoing battle with duckweed in my tanks.

Yesterday while checking on my new cories I noticed the AC 70 filter fins were filling up with DW.
Then to my surprise and pleasure one of the Kribs/Kribensis . swam up and started browsing on it.


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## noodles11114 (May 21, 2010)

just received about 10 pounds of duck weed from mike thank god he has it 
this in a tank stops constipation in just about every type of fish
i would grow this in my wholesale to feed koi and goldfish the reason why was because 
most foods you feed high in protein will cause constipation
its like us eat t bone steak for a week and see what happens
eat your veggies like the fish do in nature mainly algae 
when you see something trailing on your fish its time for duckweed to come to the rescue

thanks again mike


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## Scherb (Feb 10, 2011)

noodles11114 said:


> just received about 10 pounds of duck weed from mike thank god he has it
> this in a tank stops constipation in just about every type of fish
> i would grow this in my wholesale to feed koi and goldfish the reason why was because
> most foods you feed high in protein will cause constipation
> ...


Hello. Duck Weed, you either love it or hate it. but i like the idea of the fish eating there veggies. Cheers


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## raeven (May 12, 2011)

You know, it's so funny. I bought some duckweed about two weeks ago, despite being told that once it's in your tank, you'll never be rid of it. Guess my fish absolutely loved this stuff, and within a few days there was next to nothing left. I'm to the point where I have to go buy more. Strange. I liked it for its appearance. Apparently I don't get to have that luxury lol


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## Scherb (Feb 10, 2011)

raeven said:


> You know, it's so funny. I bought some duckweed about two weeks ago, despite being told that once it's in your tank, you'll never be rid of it. Guess my fish absolutely loved this stuff, and within a few days there was next to nothing left. I'm to the point where I have to go buy more. Strange. I liked it for its appearance. Apparently I don't get to have that luxury lol


Hello. what kid of filter do you have? sometimes it gets sucked up by the filter, but if it is just your fish, then just get a bigger amount and there should be enough left over to grow so you and your fish can enjoy it. Cheers


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## raeven (May 12, 2011)

Scherb said:


> Hello. what kid of filter do you have? sometimes it gets sucked up by the filter, but if it is just your fish, then just get a bigger amount and there should be enough left over to grow so you and your fish can enjoy it. Cheers


I've got an internal filter (can't remember the make of it right now. But it sucks water from the middle of the tank and pushes it back out close to the surface, as I'm sure most internal filters do


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## Scherb (Feb 10, 2011)

raeven said:


> I've got an internal filter (can't remember the make of it right now. But it sucks water from the middle of the tank and pushes it back out close to the surface, as I'm sure most internal filters do


Hello. sounds good. i could not keep duckweed when i had a hob, but a canister is perfect for growing duckweed. you just need more. Cheers


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## Keri (Aug 2, 2010)

Well now, even more reason to get some kribs.... this stuff is the bane of my existence in my 8 gal, too small to keep kribs in there, are there any small fish that would like it?


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## Elle (Oct 25, 2010)

I feed it to the fancy goldfish and the silver dollars. No matter how much I feed them, they eat it faster than it grows.


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## Keri (Aug 2, 2010)

I love the way it looks but it grows so quickly and is blocking the light out from my higher-light needing plants!


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## waterbox (Nov 26, 2011)

*Duckweed Removal Tip*

Personally, I like duckweed, but in my tank it really does live up to the "weed" part of its name. It grows like mad, so I have to harvest it periodically to allow my submerged plants to actually get some light.

If you want to get rid of it, I've found a method that is far more effective than chasing it around the surface with a net and trying to scoop it out. Forgive me if this is blindingly obvious to those of you who know it already, but it was something of a revelation to me.

You just get any kind of watertight vessel--I used a 1-litre plastic margarine tub--and sink it until the lip of it is just a few millimetres below the water's surface. As the surface water spills into the container, the duckweed is sucked in with it. Once the tub is full of water, you just lift it out and pour the contents through a fishnet and back into your tank. The weed is trapped but you save the water. Repeat until the surface is clear of duckweed.

I find this works really well. By sinking just one side of the tub's rim, you can direct the suction and pull the duckweed from behind filter plumbing, heaters, taller plants--anything breaking the surface of the water that's hard to get around with a net.

I've found this far more effective than trying to skim it off with a net.


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## TomC (Apr 21, 2010)

If you get one of those black plastic needlepoint screens, you can skim the duckweed from the surface one square foot at a time.


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## mikebike (Sep 8, 2010)

I have used a wet/dry vacume helled just delow the sufface to suck up the duck weed.

But it also sucks up small fish and fry.

I rinse the vacum and hose before starting and dump the tank into a tub in the garage for sorting<G>


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## waterbox (Nov 26, 2011)

Mikebike -- That seems a bit drastic! But I've never submerged a wet/dry vac's nozzle completely to see how quickly it sucks up water. 

By the way, I followed your link to the CBC news item. That's quite a story!

I thought your assessment of the situation was pretty astute. They should have thanked you for your time and left. But the police in this country, despite their plummeting public image, don't seem to believe in apologies unless they're mandated by a judge or some other authority. 

Did you have to spend a lot of money to comply with the upgrades they ordered?


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## mikebike (Sep 8, 2010)

I was able to do a lot of the work.
It cost me about $1,000 out of pocket.

Still waiting for an apology<G>


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## aqua59 (Nov 9, 2011)

I have a 30 gallon Red Cherry Shrimp Tank. It's a heavily planted tank that needs it's light. how every the duck weed grows at a rapid pace. The shrimp young love it yet my bottom plants do not. I have current at one end where duck weed does not grow well. It likes still water. I basically agitate the duck weed with a chop stick and knock and small shrimp out before I take a net and just skim the top with a net. Basic but it works.


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