Dealing with dwarf water lettuce issues

[Sivaso]

My dwarf lettuce has gone downhill since I got back to work and couldn't keep up with the dosing. I used to do potassium and Seachem Flourish but now I'm just using Flourish. It was looking good before but now it's a mess. The main problem is all the tiny leaves everywhere. Anyone got any advice?

[bronze_shield]

No, I'm pretty sure it's not baby dwarf water lettuce. The tiny leaves are just a mess from my main plant, I've had it for a while now. I've been dosing potassium and seachem flourish, but since I went back to work, I've only been using the flourish. I'm thinking maybe the lack of potassium is causing this issue.

[Burgermuncher]

Your dwarf lettuce does seem to have a mix of growth, almost like duckweed is sprouting up in there.

[sSjey]

I'm with you on that, it does resemble duckweed. I had a similar issue in my tank, ended up with duckweed somehow and it caused my frogbit to look exactly like that.

[boomer]

I agree with the others, those tiny plants do indeed appear to be Duckweed. Water Lettuce, on the other hand, propagates via a rather delicate whitish runner, from which a new plant grows at the end.

As a side note, it's worth mentioning that there isn't a separate species known as Dwarf Water Lettuce. The only species, Pistia stratiotes, can grow to varying sizes - anywhere from an inch in diameter to a foot - depending on the conditions in the tank, such as light and nutrient availability.

[bronze_shield]

I agree with the others, those tiny plants do indeed appear to be Duckweed. Water Lettuce, on the other hand, propagates via a rather delicate whitish runner, from which a new plant grows at the end.

As a side note, it's worth mentioning that there isn't a separate species known as Dwarf Water Lettuce. The only species, Pistia stratiotes, can grow to varying sizes - anywhere from an inch in diameter to a foot - depending on the conditions in the tank, such as light and nutrient availability.

Just to clarify, I'm not trying to be pedantic here. There's a wealth of information out there, and I just happened to stumble upon this one - it's just one of many references, actually.

[Burgermuncher]

I've got a tank where I spend a few minutes daily plucking out duckweed I, in hindsight, foolishly introduced. Thought I'd eradicated it, but it's almost back to its original levels now.

[boomer]

You will notice the author relies on a single scientific name, as I mentioned earlier. This is what truly matters - the scientific name of a species. Different plant species have distinct accepted names. If a plant's growth varies depending on tank conditions, it remains the same plant. I've personally experienced this with plants that were under 2 inches in my tanks, yet grew to over 12 inches in my outdoor pond during the summer. They are, in fact, the same plant.

This serves as another example of citing "references" from individuals lacking knowledge. I recommend consulting reputable botanists like Kasselmann, Hiscock, and authoritative databases such as the International Plant Name Index and Kew Gardens.