Salvinia minima
By Ghazanfar Ghori
Ok – its not much of an article, but what the hey.
Salvinia minima is a floating plant that I received as a two leaf stowaway with one of my plant trades. It looked interested, so I tossed it into my ‘trimmings tank’. It grows FAST! Within a few weeks, it had covered half the surface area of my 20G(long) tank. It’s almost as invasive as duckweed but a lot easier to keep in control. A great way to keep suck out excess nutrients from a tank and cut down light. I’ve used fishing line – strung out just below the water surface and held in place with suction cups to confine it to one area of my tank. Like most floating plants – it won’t do well if there is too much water movement at the surface. The roots are about 1″ long and hairy. A great place for young fry to hide and find food. Propagation is by division. Each leaf is capable of growing a new plant. Looks good on open top tanks!
A few pictures:
