General Information
Amazon Frogbit (Limnobium laevigatum) is a free-floating plant that originates in Central and Sout America and is native to lakes, ponds and slow-flowing rivers.
In its natural habitat and under optimal conditions, Amazon Frogbit can produce emersed leaves and may even flower. This is rather uncommon to happen when grown in aquariums, though. Amazon Frogbit is suitable for medium tanks and can be placed on the surface. Its leaves are smooth and round with a medium green color. The leaves grow in a circular order around a shared center (a growth form also called a "rosette").
It can grow from 0,1 to 50 cm tall. Since it has a very fast growth rate, you need to make sure there is enough nutrients present in the water and the soil - otherwise the plant will decay.
The following sections give an in-depth overview on how to plant, grow and propagate the plant in your tank successfully.
How to plant Amazon Frogbit
Amazon Frogbit is a floating plant, which means it can simply be placed onto the water surface of your tank. Just make sure that the roots are in the water and the upper side of the leaves is facing up.
Where to place Amazon Frogbit
Amazon Frogbit is best suited as a surface plant and can be used in medium tanks starting at 15 gallons of water.
How to grow Amazon Frogbit fast
Amazon Frogbit is a very fast growing plant by itself. You really don't need to do much to grow or propagate it, apart from making sure that the water parameters and lighting requirements of the plant are met. As for any plant, it is obviously still important to have the right water and lighting parameters in place.
How to propagate Amazon Frogbit
In aquariums Amazon Frogbit propagates naturally by growing smaller plants from their own stems, which then detach and develop into a new separate plant. This process is also called stem fragmentation and occurs automatically, which means you don't have to do anything to make it happen. Since the plant has a fast growth rate, it also shouldn't take too long until your Amazon Frogbit has propagated in the tank.
Common problems with Amazon Frogbit
- Yellow Leaves: In case the leaves on Amazon Frogbit turn yellow, this is a sign for lack of nutrients in the water. We suggest to check the water parameters in order to determine which fertilizer to add.
- Melting Leaves: In case the leaves on Amazon Frogbit seem to rot or melt, this might also be a sign for lack of nutrients in the water or soil. Other reasons could be too much or too little light. In these cases, it's best to measure your tank parameters and compare them to the data in the "plant characteristic" table in the top right of this page.
- Overgrowth: As propagation happens automatically for Amazon Frogbit, it can quickly overtake the whole surface area of your tank. Although this isn't a problem for the plant itself, it can cause unwanted shading for all of your other plants. You will most likely have to remove portions of the plant regularly