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duck weed problems


tbunting

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why is it not illegal, its not a native is it?

I dont know where it comes from but every ditch and creek round here is full of it and every dent in the ground is full of water at the moment so the stuff is everywhere.

I saw an auction add for it recently and thought if someone can sell that then I might list an auction for Onehunga weed. :)

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duckweed is good for fry to hide in and I think it adds a natural look to the right kind of tank.

When I was looking for it the only free stuff I could find, without knowing every creek and backwater in auckland, was western springs and I got about a 10cm square blob worth. I did manage to buy some later but it was hard to find. Now it's growing really well and I'm starting to net out what is not needed.

Bilbo I think you should try auctioning onehunga weed, market it as a deterrant against people walking on the lawn :P :evil: :P

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why is it not illegal, its not a native is it?

It is native, well some species are. IIRC the ones with one root per platelet are native.

I love it. Really handy as surface cover for lurking fish, and dims the light a bit.

Admittedly removing it is a pain if you have other plants.

I have some azolla in my tanks now - a freefloating fern with symbiotic cyanobacteria! Really cute but a bit more temperamental.

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a weed is really only a plant growing where it is unwanted. ie duckweed in some peoples fish tanks depending on your preference lol

I suspect it does alot of good for some of our waterways.

all plants have their uses, duckweed is great stuff imo, sucks up unwanted nutrients, great food source for the larger fish such as goldfish etc. Turtles love it, its even used in sewage plants overseas.

even if your fish appear not to eat it, they often will be grazing on the roots, even platties and guppies will do just that.

sometimes by cutting back on other foods will help encourage the fish to eat it all.

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The azolla is doing pretty well in one tank, and ok in two others.

Mine seems to like:

high light levels

still water

low humidity (I think. Azolla in the tank with a closed lid is growing fast but often going mouldy)

really gentle treatment (breaks easily)

Oh, I meant to say with the symbiotic cyanobacteria, the cyano is nitrogen-fixing, and the fern needs more nitrogen, so it has evolved little pockets for the cyano to live in. It even grows in a way that encourages the cyano to move to the new pockets as it grows. The genome of the cyano is now very reduced because it doesn't need to look after itself. Very cool!

(I have so much respect for cyano, annoying though it is)

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It seems to do best if harvested often or before it gets to thick, otherwise it seems to self harvest/starts to go to mush etc

The cyano side of it is fascinating, I never knew that :hail:

My azolla outside has gone red in the last couple of weeks, I use to think nutrients made it change colour. But I havent added anything. Must be a sign the suns out more or something?

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hi there i dont know if this is in the right section but im wanting to know if there is any fish out there that will eat duck weed

Severums eat it, I couldn't keep my tank stocked with enough for them. Put in so much the tank looked like a green blizzard and a couple days later all gone.

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It seems to do best if harvested often or before it gets to thick, otherwise it seems to self harvest/starts to go to mush etc

Useful, thanks :)

My azolla outside has gone red in the last couple of weeks, I use to think nutrients made it change colour. But I havent added anything. Must be a sign the suns out more or something?

Yep, more sun :) Mine was pink when I put it is the tank but has faded back to green now. Hopefully over summer it will redden again, as the tank is next to the window.

An interesting blog post about azolla and cyanobacteria: http://sciblogs.co.nz/bioblog/2010/08/0 ... symbiosis/

I would like to read the paper one day, but the terminology is somewhat offputting! :o

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