I think there's a huge stigma around floater plants for beginners and I kinda wanted to make a post regarding it???
Hello!! I've been keeping betta for 3 years so I am a little past beginner myself, but I wanted to talk about floaters since I've encountered a couple of new betta parents who are scared to use them!
To start, many are scared of floating plants as they reproduce quickly and often overtake the top of your tank, which is a valid concern!
However; As a beginner, floaters are possibly the easiest plants you can keep alive in your tank, especially if it's one where you may not have done great research before hand.
They absorb lots of the nitrates that are in your water, and often their roots can even provide space for beneficial bacteria to cling onto!
If their multiplication is a problem, they are typically very easy to cull, literally just scooping them out of the water or trimming their roots
And yes I'm sure you have seen tons and tons of post of people complaining about pesky duckweed somehow making it into their tank, but please keep in mind those are usually experienced fish keepers! The duck weed can take up precious nutrients that their other well maintained plants could use! But some floaters in your tank will not kill off your couple of ferns, anubis, and onward!
Anyway, this isn't to say floaters are for everyone, but I definitely recommend looking into them and possibly finding one that suits your tank as a beginner!
Some Popular ones:
– Duck Weed (infamous however)
– Frogbit (has multiple different species!
– Red Roots!
I personally enjoy Frogbit as their leaves are a lot bigger than duck weed and therefore easier to spot (plus I like their appearance). However I will warn their roots grow LONG! and likely will need to be trimmed.
I like keeping the ones in the back and/or empty mid ground parts of my tank longer just to fill the space and provide safety for my betta:)
Anyway, here's my novice tank!!!! I'm just a stranger on the internet so do what you will with this post, but I'd thought I'd spread some helpful information I used myself
https://i.redd.it/z6484xu2b1rg1.jpeg
Posted by LampBroby
4 Comments
First timer here, I got some floaters just a few days ago because I didn’t want the light to bother my boy, but also provide some lights to other, and I’m on the almost complete fish in cycle. He seems to like them. I have removed a few that look like they may be dying off. I feed my boy some fruit flies and I’ll put them on the floater, and my boy will hunt for them. They haven’t grown long roots yet but thanks so much for the information and what to keep an eye out for. It’s so helpful!
https://preview.redd.it/5kyx8umxg1rg1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3b1d9561e4ecf579b9eb873601db51bf01d91f86
Salvinia is easier then duckweed, RRF (the fussiest) or Frogbit 🙂
Idk how people are getting their floaters to reproduce. I’ve had mine for over 3 months and I have less than I started off with
I am once again only judging my tank once I have posted a photo LOL, water change and mulm cleanup has taken place since the photo in the post