# Growing Azolla caroliniana



## Red_Rose (Mar 18, 2007)

Yesterday my sister picked some duckweed(yes, I'm trying to grow it one more time!) for me after she got off of work and what she brought home was not only a bit of duckweed but Azolla caroliniana as well!

I've been wanting that plant for quite some time now! What I would like to know is how well does this plant grow in moving water? On the Plantfinder, it says that Duckweed doesn't like a lot of water movement but nothing is said for the Azolla.

Will this plant grow okay in a tank with a moderate water flow(give or take)?

Thanks.


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## HeyPK (Jan 23, 2004)

Azola should be similar to duckweed. If the one grows, so should the other.


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## Red_Rose (Mar 18, 2007)

Oh crap! I hope Azolla will do well for me.

Thanks.


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## HeyPK (Jan 23, 2004)

Most people find duckweed far too easy to grow, and they are trying to get rid of it. Are you actually having troubles growing it?? What happens to it?


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## Red_Rose (Mar 18, 2007)

It's like it just slowly disappears on me. First I'll have quite a bit then after a few months, I have none left. It doesn't start to change color like some plants do when they suffer from deficiencies. It just eventually fades away.

I've noticed this when our tap water changed when we had construction on our street. We now get our water from a different underground source. Even though our water is still quite hard(well over 20dGH) it's nothing compared to what it use to be. Could this be what's causing it to die off?

It use to grow extremely well in my very first tank that was loaded with tannins. The GH was close to 30 and the KH was anywhere from 17-22dKH. Now the GH is normally in the 25 range and the KH is around 8-10.


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## HeyPK (Jan 23, 2004)

Doubt that less hard tap water could be the cause. Do you have any fish that might be eating it? Are you adding any iron? Are all your other plants growing well? 

One thing you might try is to get a small aquarium, fish bowl or gallon glass jar that you can put on a windowsill. Put about 2 inches of ordinary topsoil in it and cover the soil with two to three inches of water. Put some of your duckweed and azolla in that and place where it gets good light.


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## Red_Rose (Mar 18, 2007)

I don't know if guppies and endlers eat it but I had some in the tank that my betta is in so I know he wouldn't care for it. Can snails like small ramshorns or pond snails eat it? All of my plants are growing well aside from that. I don't add any fertilizers since left over food and poop is what gives my plants everything they need.

That would be an interesting test to try. I'm actually somewhat giving it a try right now. I filled up a bucket with water and put the remaining Duckweed and Azolla in it to see if I can grow it outside. So far, the Azolla is getting a nice red hue to it.


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## HeyPK (Jan 23, 2004)

Put some dirt in the bottom of the bucket, and the duckweed and Azolla will grow a lot better.


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