Here’s my experiences with four popular floating plants. Duckweed has a rapid growth rate and can use up large amounts of nitrogen compounds in your tank to help keep your water parameters safe. If left to grow, it will form a surface carpet over the tank and may prevent light getting to the plants beneath it. Thankfully, it can use a comb to quickly and easily remove excess duckweed. Red root floaters can look beautiful if they turn red. In my experience, they have a medium growth rate, but should still be able to help maintain stable water parameters. If they get caught in your filter’s water flow and end up submerged, they might start to melt. Amazon frog bit can look great in jungle style aquacapes. As its roots hang down into a wild, unkempt set of plants, but these roots do require regular trimming. It usually only takes a couple of minutes to trim these roots. The rapid growth rate of this plant should help to maintain stable water parameters. My fish love to hide underneath it, and my shrimp love to graze on the roots. Salvinia is my favorite floating plant and it tends to have most of the advantages of all of the other featured plants without any of their downside.