# aquatic dodder?



## overboard (Mar 11, 2008)

I have a strange vining plant growing in a couple of my tanks, tangled in what I think is Didiplis diandra. It pulls out fairly easily, but I could see how it could easily get out of hand. It is the worst in a new tank, set up one month, Excel from day one. What is this, and how worried should I be? It really reminds me of dodder. I used to do landscape design and maintenance, and I had three separate outbreaks of dodder, in three different times and places... it is like the s#%@ is haunting me. Here are my specs:

20L, 48 watts of T5 suspended 2" above.
DIY CO2, not working well.
Regular dosing of Excel, 2 mil Flourish twice a week.
Tank seems to have cycled, no ammonia/nitrites/nitrates ever.

Hopefully here is a picture after I pulled it out (my first try at uploading...)


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

That is Utricularia gibba and it can be a pain to remove from your tank if you let it go but it can be removed manually. I've never tried using any other means to remove it.


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## CherylR (Aug 12, 2004)

Yep, that's bladderwort, otherwise known as aquarium VD. I killed it once with manual removal and livebearer salt, but that might affect your other plants as well.


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## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

Oh yeah, Utricularia gibba is a total pain. Manual removal is the way to go and try not to miss any little pieces that break off. I've managed to get it out of one tank (at least I haven't seen the darn thing in 3 months) and I'm still fighting to get a last defiant bit out of a large moss mass in another tank. If you keep an eye out for it and remove it whenever you see it you should be able to get rid of it.


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## overboard (Mar 11, 2008)

Thank you!

And here I thought I had found a way to garden without weeds.


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## CherylR (Aug 12, 2004)

LOL! Most of the plants we grow ARE considered weeds!


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## orlando (Feb 14, 2007)

I wonder what qualifies a plant a " Weed "?


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

orlando said:


> I wonder what qualifies a plant a " Weed "?


I think it depends on what part of the country you come from. If you find it outside - weed. If you have to buy it from someone else's outside - valuable plant! lol


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## Afyounie (Aug 10, 2007)

I have this in my 1.5 gal betta tank. Its been growing in my Indica. I pull as much out as I can find with my tweezers. That seems to be stopping it, cuz at the end of the week I find only 1 or 2 strands and its taking longer for it to grow. Thankfully I haven't seen it in any other tank.

In response to whats a weed, a weed is something that you wouldn't pay money for, whether it be a rose bush or thistle.


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## simpsota (Mar 11, 2006)

orlando said:


> I wonder what qualifies a plant a " Weed "?


I always consider a weed as something that's growing where I don't want it to grow. So that pretty much covers everything growing in my flowerbeds out front. And when I leave a for vacation and come back to a tank over-run by crypts, weeds...


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## Kaieisis (May 17, 2008)

simpsota said:


> I always consider a weed as something that's growing where I don't want it to grow.


Thats exactly what a weed is by agriculture standards. It doesnt apply to a specific plant group at all.


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