01
Overview
Spirodela is duckweed at its most manageable: fronds several times bigger than common duckweed, each with a fan of roots and a maroon underside. It carpets ponds worldwide and will carpet your tank too, though its size makes netting it out genuinely feasible.
02
Aquascaping use
Use it for quick dappled shade in breeding setups and low-tech jars where its speed is a feature. Anywhere long-term precision matters, choose a larger floater you can corral.
03
Planting
Scatter fronds on the surface; colonization is automatic. Rinse nets and hands afterward or it travels to your other tanks.
None
04
Light & CO₂
Grows under almost any light; more simply means faster. Cool or warm, fed or lean, it persists.
05
Substrate & fertilization
None needed; it forages aggressively and signals rich water with lush spread. Consider it a nutrient gauge with roots.
Feeding behavior: Water-column feeder. Nutrient demand: moderate.
06
Growth, trimming & propagation
Scoop most of the layer weekly, leaving a deliberate remnant. Total eradication, once wanted, is famously difficult.
Division
07
Common problems
- !Persistent; single missed fronds recolonize
- !Blocks light quickly at full cover
- !Sticks to everything leaving the tank
