JennDFK

We have been planting our 55 gallon rainbow fish tank. We have had luck with java moss, java fern, several different types of anubias, and some cool little ferns. We recently upped our lighting from 40 to 56 watts with a new ballast. All are adjusting well.
My question is what to do with the bunch plants. We bought some hornswort in a big bunch (clasped together with some sort of clip). I just burried the end in the gravel substrate. For a few days, it looked great. I don't know if my rainbows are pulling on it, but many of the strands are pulling free and floating around. What can I do? Should I plant the strands individually or try to reclip them? We had this trouble once before with another bunch plant. It really looks cool when it is swaying and sticking together, but not so cool when half of the strands have floated to the top.
Any thoughts on anchoring bunch plants would be helpful.
Thanks.

jrod

rainbow sharks are herbivors so they might be doing it.

i dont keep live plants so idk how you would tie them down
maybe to a rock or ornament

jrod

idk if a rubber band is safe to tie it down

Nate McFin

Rubberbands are safe. Generally though you may have to wait them down a little extra until the roots are established enough to hold them down. Normally you would also seperate each stem and plant them a few inches apart to let them grow in together. The way you planted shouldn't have any ill affect however.
If you do a search for Hornwort in the plant forum here you will find some people who had horror stories bout all the needles falling off and making a huge mess of the tank. Others have had no problems at all.
I haven't tried Hornwort myself , just thought I would pass along the info.
Best Wishes,
Nate

JennDFK

As the parts have floated to the top I've taken your advice and spread them along the back instead of planting them in one large bunch. It looks really good and the plant looks a lot healthier. I noticed when it was in a bunch the center section was getting kind of brown.... once I seperated it it greened up a bit.

I have noticed that the leaves fall off and tend to stick to the filter intake... I was thinking about getting a sponge cover for the intake that I can remove and rinse every few days to help with the mess. It is a bit of a problem... but if it doesn't get too bad I think that having the hornwort is worth the mess. It is so lush and green... it grows fast... and it was only 5 dollars for a huge bunch that is almost totally filling out the back of my 55 gallon tank.

Thanks all,
Jenn

enthusiast

Hornwort is a floating plant. This is commonly sold in pet stores anchored down in the ground as if its going to grow in the ground, but this is simply not the case.

If you continue to put it in the gravel it will continue to try to float as it has no roots to anchor it, and being a floating plant needs to get the light by being at the surface of the tank.

The needles that fall off of it and the browning and breaking off your seeing is probably the hornwort dying from being half embedded in gravel and not getting enough light, not being allowed to freely float, etc. I like this plant for use in a fry tank...you can just put a pile of it in the tank to float around and the fry will run to it for cover, it reproduces very easily by clippings. You could easily just break off all the unhealthy growth, browning, and sections with no needles, and leave the rest of the healthy plant to float at the surface and it will quickly turn back into a nice bundle of healthy hornwort