Types of duckweed

[Xavier Johnston]

I live in Jamaica so been searching for duckweed, I finally came across some at a local plant store. I notice that most people use rootless duckweed. My own definitely has small roots hanging down and the leaves, though not huge, are a bit larger than the rootless and common species. Any advice as to whether or not this is a suitable food for Tilapia or do i definitely need to get the other species?

[Chi Ma]

I've used lemna minor.

 

http://waynesword.palomar.edu/1lekey.htm

[TCLynx]

I think most duckweed actually has little roots hanging down but some of it is so small that they are hard to see.  Ya can always see if they eat it.

[Kobus Jooste]

"Duckweed" is a bit like "carp", a loose terms encompasing a large number of different species.  Duckweed is the common name for the group Lemnaceae, containing around 40 different species of Wolffia, Lemna, Spirodela and Wolfienna.  Wolffia are typically the smallest of the lot, and Spirodela the largest.  I use fat Duckweed or Lemna gibba, therefore my observations may be biast towards these guys.  The size of the frond (leaves), length of the roots, and number of the fronds on the little plant is highly dependant on the nutrients in the system, growing conditions and age of the plant.  With a lot of nutrients around, the roots can be quite small, as is the case with a fast-growing colony.  An older colony, or a colony in low nutrient water can have very large root systems.

 

All of these are nice food sources for tilapia, but you may have to grow a lot to keep a tank full of fish happy - remember that around 80 - 95% of the duckweed is water.

[Xavier Johnston]

Thanks much for your replies guys. I'll try my luck with the duckweed I have growing now. The roots are short and the leaves are big compared to what ive been seeing around. They also have a lot of algea growing on the roots. I started it in a koi pond and now transfered to a pond on its own. The koi didnt eat it but lets see how the tilapia does. Thanks again for the input.

[TCLynx]

my tilapia only ate the duckweed if I wasn't feeding them much.  For instance If I had 12 tilapia in a 16 foot long by 2 1/2 foot wide tank with the surface covered in duckweed; if I threw a hand full of pellets in every day, the duckweed remained but if I didn't feed the tilapia in that tank for a week, all the duckweed would be consumed.  That was a big shallow tank too.

[sheldon whorms]

Hi Xavier

Do you know where is Jamaica I can get duck weed?

Thanks