Will My Hornwort Float?

I decided that I wanted something that would float and eat up some ammonia and nitrates so I bought a good bit (prolly wayyy too much) of this Hornwort.

I released it into my 55 and some sank and some seems to be hovering in the water column but near the surface. I may have bought the wrong plant for what I was wanting to do.

Does it need some time to acclimate? My thought is that maybe due to heat/stress from being shipped that some of the cells have broken down and it is a bit "water logged" for lack of a better description.

What I was wanting was something that would sit on the surface but this is just kind of a blob right now.

 

In my experience it does float unless you weigh it down.

It may depend on how it is grown before you purchased it.

Perhaps it just needs time to adapt.

 

this is what mine does. it floats and sinks, kinda goes all over. majority of it floats and gets trapped under the filter and tangles into a big mess.

 

Hmm.... Lol, I got nothing but time, I think I'll try individual sprigs. If they float they stay, if they sink? Sayonara!

In my experience it does float unless you weigh it down.

It may depend on how it is grown before you purchased it.

Perhaps it just needs time to adapt.

It's like it's ALMOST buoyant, but not quite. Looks a lot like babiimoore 's stuff does. Not what I envisioned. On the other hand, my Brazilian Pennywort (unwaxed) is looking good, making a raft maybe 4-5 inches thick across the top of the tank and fairly uniform in appearance.

 

This is mine...




...weighed down at the bottom of the stem.

 

Hmm, thanks for posting the pics, both of you. I may still be able to use it, just not as I had first thought. Right now the Pennywort seems to be providing the cover and appearance that I wanted. I think I might try weighting the Hornwort as a bunch and see it the stems will open up and look a little more "tree-like". If it will grow vertically it might still be useful.
Shrug. I'll find something to do with it!

 

My hornwort does not float.

It also made a huge mess when I first added it and 98% of it died.

 

have you tried cutting it up into smaller pieces? I started off with just one strand that I saved. it grew too long and was starting to sink so I cut it in half. it'll still look kind of suspended in the water, not floating perfectly on the surface.

 

have you tried cutting it up into smaller pieces? I started off with just one strand that I saved. it grew too long and was starting to sink so I cut it in half. it'll still look kind of suspended in the water, not floating perfectly on the surface.

That actually crossed my mind, momentarily. I decided that what I didn't need was twice as many little pieces of Hornwort that didn't look right so I nixed the smaller pieces idea. But it occurred to me. Eh, I'll just go make another entry into the "How Did I Spend So Much" thread. Live and learn.

 

Hornwort tends to have a sort of neutral bouyancy, not really floating, but not sinking to the bottom, either. This and Guppy Grass are similar in this way, and they will grow to fill any empty space. If you are breeding livebearers this is great, as it gives young lots of hiding places.

It will control the ammonia, as it is a fast grower so long as it has plenty of light.

 

Hornwort tends to have a sort of neutral bouyancy, not really floating, but not sinking to the bottom, either. This and Guppy Grass are similar in this way, and they will grow to fill any empty space. If you are breeding livebearers this is great, as it gives young lots of hiding places.

It will control the ammonia, as it is a fast grower so long as it has plenty of light.

After having it in hand I'm pretty sure that this is what we as kids called "moss", at least as far as aquariums went. It was the stuff that the fish department at the stores had in all of their tanks. And like you say, it had grown in most of those to nearly fill them. That along with snails are what I remember from the 60's fish department at various department stores. I've got what I bought in a 5 gallon bucket right now, still not sure what I want to do with it.