# General Hornwort Question



## LessThan3Fish (Jan 21, 2013)

Hello!

I'm actually super new to keeping live aquatic plants, I only switched over earlier this week and I've been keeping fish for about 10 years haha.

The purpose of this post is to confirm that I'm not doing anything wrong, and that hopefully what I am doing is a viable idea that is not completely stupid.

So okay. I bought hornwort for several reasons. My plan is for it to grow all over my tank and be the main plant, and I'll be trimming it often (weekly), alongside a few leaves of java fern. 

reasons: 
- I heard hornwort is nearly impossible to kill, and grows like a boss.
- I'm on a really low budget and I want a tank with a lot of plants, so propagating them is the only way and I don't want to wait so long.
- I heard hornwort is amazing at dealing with nitrates and ammonia and creating an h20-filled environment for the fish while keeping algae levels down (but i'm not sure if this will give not enough nutrients for java ferns)
- I love having plants so that my fish can be interactive with the environment of my tank, ducking in and out and around of my plants. This is the effect I'm trying to achieve with hornwort.
- I'm too lazy to use a plant substrate/root ferts

I'm letting it float btw.

I'm using only Flourish Seachem atm, on med-high light for around 7 hours a day.

Will there be any problems in the future for me, if I go ahead with this? as I said I'm really new at keeping plants so I don't have any foresight at all. Any feedback would probably help out a lot!! 

Main concerns are that somehow it might be bad for my fish? Are there any major downsides to this? 

Thank you!!


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## ZebraDanio12 (Jun 17, 2011)

Sounds like your doing everything right. Hornwort is a great plant for breeding fish, btw 

No downsides to hornwort in my eyes... The only thing I can see is it will block light if you never root it down.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

hornwort is one of my favorite plants...great for fish babies...although plants produce oxygen , it is only while there is light...when it is dark , they consume oxygen...
i wouldn't worry about it blocking light as java ferns will almost grow in the dark...just make sure you don't put the ferns into the substrate...they need to be attached to a piece of driftwood or a rock..


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

My hornwort always ends up floating. IME the only bad thing about hornwort is when it is in trouble, it makes a real mess. If algae grows on it or pH gets too low, it can start dropping needles. When the needles start falling, you need to pull it out before they clog up your filter intakes. It you see needles falling, put the healthiest piece in a glass jar on the windowsill and throw the rest away. When the best-looking piece recovers, put some back in the tank.


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