Pistia stratiotes

Family
Araceae

Common Names
Water Cabbage, Water Lettuce

Planting Area
This is a floating plant and should never be planted in the substrate.

Propagation
This plant propagates by division, the daughter plants will divide away from the mother plants on their own without any help from the keeper. They also produce flowers but these are hidden in the leaves and are often missed.

Difficulty
Easy

Short Description
This plant is often described as an aquatic weed and is invasive if given the chance. In the USA it is well known for blocking water ways and has to be cleared on a regular basis. In the aquarium it is important to never allow it to cover the entire water surface as it will reduce the gaseous exchange dramatically, starving the fish of oxygen plus it will diffuse too much light from the submerged plants below the water. If keeping this plant, always dispose on it properly when thinning out, never throw it in the local waterways but place the plants in a refuse bin.

Information before profile update
Very beautiful plant which guarantees stability of bubble nests! Keep the water current at slow rate during introduction, but as it grows, you can turn your filter to it's maximum speed. Pistia usually reaches 5-6 cm in diameter in aquariums, but in fish ponds it can grow up to 60+ cm.

Reduce it's growth as it can take over the entire surface and plants at the bottom will not have enough light.