> From: "Gary Lange" <gwlange at stlnet.com>
> Reply-To: rainbowfish at pcug.org.au
> Date: Thu, 10 Aug 2000 00:04:34 -0500
> To: <rainbowfish at pcug.org.au>
> Subject: Re: [RML] Wolfia
>
> I sincerely sincerely DOUBT that you have wolfia growing in your tank,
> especially in the amounts you are suggesting. It's hard to grow and takes a
> lot of light. THis is not the common crap duckweed that I have to wash off
> of the fish that come into my fishroom :-) common duckweed, without looking
> in the books, is about 3 mm in diameter. Wolfia is REALLY small about 1mm
> in diameter. It is almost impossible to keep this stuff going in a tank
> with much water movement as it gets pulled under the surface. Some bows
> will eat duckweed but so far all that I've fed Wolfia too eat it.
> Unfortunately my batch died out and the stuff growing in the pond must have
> lost out to the shade tree.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Taylor, Ralph <taylorr at Marshall.edu>
> To: 'rainbowfish at pcug.org.au' <rainbowfish at pcug.org.au>
> Date: Tuesday, August 08, 2000 1:39 PM
> Subject: RE: [RML] Wolfia
>
>
> For you folks who do not know about wolfia (duckweed) it is a pain in the
> arse for aquarium keepers. I fear the day that it will come into my
> fishroom again. Once it gets started it takes over everything. It is a
> great little plant if you have something that eats it. I have not noticed
> the five species of bows that I keep eating it. I wish that they did!
> I will sell a giant bag of the stuff to anyone for $5.00 plus $3.50 shipping
> (priority).
> Ralph Taylor
> Huntington WV
> Taylorr at marshall.edu
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: PETER.UNMACK at ASU.Edu [PETER.UNMACK at ASU.Edu]
> Sent: Tuesday, August 08, 2000 2:24 PM
> To: rainbowfish
> Subject: [RML] Wolfia
>
>
> Here is an article I wrote a few years ago on it. Should
> tell you all you
> need to know about it. It can likely be picked up in the US
> via biological
> supply houses like Carolina Biological Supply.
>
> Peter
>
> Wolffia: Great Green Food For Rainbowfish
>
> by Peter Unmack
>
> Many rainbowfish keepers may be unaware that rainbows are
> omniverous,
> meaning they eat both animal and plant material. Providing
> sufficient
> animal material is not a problem, unfortunately though, some
> aquarists may
> fall a little short in feeding them their veggies. There
> are several ways
> of overcoming this deficiency without going to too much
> trouble.
>
> My prefered option is to feed wolffia, (family Lemnaceae,
> genus _Wolffia_).
> This is the worlds smallest angiosperm or flowering plant at
> around 1/16 by
> 1/8th of an inch or 1.5 by 3.0mm. This plant apparently has
> a world wide
> distribution, although, it can be hard to come across. The
> most likely
> place to find it is in still water habitats along rivers,
> (i.e. billabongs,
> lagoons, swamps and oxbows, in other words habitats isolated
> from the
> current most of the time). Wolffia is similiar in many ways
> to the better
> known duckweed, (family Lemnaceae, genus _Lemna_) and can be
> cultured in a
> similar way. I usually grow it in 3x4x1 ft ponds in which I
> also culture
> daphnia or something similiar. Only a few individual plants
> are required to
> start a culture, although the more you start with the
> quicker things will
> get going.
>
> Basically that's all you need to know to get started.
> However, there are a
> few things that can be done to boost production. All plants
> need a source
> of nutrition, thus it helps to add rotting leaves, only a
> few are required,
> some experimentation will soon teach you what levels are
> adequate without
> fouling the water. Plenty of sunlight is desirable, if
> algal problems
> develop then there is probably too many nutrients present.
> I don't know
> what the temperature tolerance of wolffia is, but I had no
> problem
> maintaining it in Melbourne, Australia where daily maximum
> air temperatures
> may reach 40°C (104°F) and the minimum may get down to
> freezing. Wolffia
> generally grows best in the low to mid 20's (70's °F) but
> once your culture
> is up and running you should have more than enough for most
> of the year.
> One trick is to cover the ponds during Winter, (preferably
> with glass to let
> the light in) as when rain hits the wolffia a significant
> proportion of it
> will sink, (probably an adaptation to stop it being washed
> away). (Ed.
> note: I can't resist commenting at this point. I live
> where outside ponds
> are frozen most of the year. Well, at least the wolffia
> will not sink.
> Also, wolffia is native to Michigan so it is hardy to our
> winters.) When it
> sinks it does not die, it is just harder to collect. If you
> have problems
> with sinking wolffia a little trick that I found was to stir
> up the pond,
> this would usually cause some of the wolffia to float, once
> I had collected
> what had come to the surface I would stir things up again
> until I could no
> longer get any more. Always maintain a pure culture of
> wolffia, do not mix
> duckweed or any other floating plants in with them as they
> are typically
> inferior foods and they will overtake the wolffia.
>
> Also, I prefer to avoid snails unless you want them
> throughout your
> fishroom. To feed it to the fish I just collect it of the
> surface of the
> water with a fine net and put it in the aquarium. The
> quantity you put in
> doesn't really matter as the fish will eat it as they desire
> and it probably
> won't last very long anyway, (depending upon how many fish
> you have of
> course). There is some variation in which species of
> rainbows will eat
> wolffia, i.e. species such as all the _Melanotaenia
> splendida_ subspecies
> love it, while some others are not quite so keen, although,
> I am yet to see
> a rainbow that will not eat it. Other plants that make
> suitable rainbow
> foods that I don't believe are as good as, but could be used
> instead of
> wolffia are, duckweed, riccia, (familly Ricciaceae, genus
> _Riccia_) and
> probably azolla, (family Azolaceae, genus _Azolla_). Of
> course rainbows
> don't mind eating kitchen scraps such as par boiled spinach,
> silver beat and
> probably any others that any other fish will eat. However
> these have the
> disadvantage of being dead and fouling the water, you will
> not have problems
> with uneaten food if you feed your fish live plants. Best
> of luck finding
> some wolffia now!
>
> Reprinted from The Rainbowfish Times, journal of The North
> American
> Rainbowfish Study Group. Volume 8(3): 15-16. 1994.
>
>
>
>
>
>