A co-worker has a nice pond in her back yard. She want to give me some Duck Weed for my tank. Duck weed floats, will this be a problem with the oscars? Anyone else have Duck weed?

in all my experience with oscars I have never found a plant that goes good with oscars.. live or fake the oscars that i have had always tore them apart...

when transfering plants from ponds watch out for transfering planaria or mosquito larvae or tubifex worms allong with the plants ........they will ruin your water quality when they overtake your tank .......i have never used floating plant,duckweed or azola fairy moss in tanks only ponds ....

I don't see why it would hurt to try. I have 3 O's and one of them never touches the plants, live or fake. The other two destroy them... Give it a shot and see how it goes..

Thanks, BIGGAMEHUNTER. I would have never thought about the transfer of other living things from the pond to the tank.

we have a large pond with 30+ fish in and having duck weed is not good it takes over and takes alot of time and work to over come it ,

floating duckweeds or mini lettuce will be fine with oscars.
they love to hang under it. what oscar doesn't like are plants
anchored in the substrate. actually doesn't like is a wrong term.
it should be "oscar loves to uproot any plants anchored in the substrate".

and those floating plants help you keep nitrite under check
with minimal water change.

tjwads wrote:

that is because fish waste produces a lot of ammonia and nitrites, a good
fertilizer (ammonium nitrates). but it will keep your water in good condition.
the greener your plants is, the better your water.

hi paul, i did not realise that ,we have never checked the pond water ,just flush out the 300ltr filter every 4-6 months,but the fish look well ,and have not lost one in over a year,but that duck weed obscures your view of the fish completly ,but in a tank it would work well as its a side view .

tjwads wrote:

in a pond, what i always suggest is to put rope with floater to
control the duckweeds in one side or to create an open space at
the center.

plants really control ammonia and nitrite. i had an experiment
with my 90 gal tank and have no water change for 17 months.
all my fishes grow huge.

that is remarkable ,my pond has a huge bullrush plant which is home to frogs newts and lots of little things which i cant name but that and a barley bail is keeping my pond clear ,i think its best to use natural rather than chemical to keep a balance,what plant is oscar proof the only thing that stays on the bottom of the pond is the 8ft bullrush and the koi and carp are just as destuctive as any oscar the carp is 20 inch and he can move the bullrush

x2 ..tjwads