Random buys but are they good buys

[Guyb93]

Today I have some random bought plants for my 500l it’s currently lightly planted but has lots of artificial and I’m in the process of going all natural , I currently have 5 Amazon swords and 5 Marimo moss balls , today I’m introducing hornwort , Java fern and yes more Marimo moss , Iv heard good things about hornwort a very beneficial plant , question being as a floating plant will the reduced movement of the water surface from the plant effect oxygen or will the plant replace the lost oxygen

 

[Essjay]

Before my hornwort grew out of control and took over the tank, I had it twined round some branchy wood to hold it in place. Every couple of months or so I had to remove it from the tank (it filled a bucket) and go through it stem by stem, keeping the good bits and throwing away the less than good bits. The bits of stem that were next to the wood always looked a bit threadbare so I just cut the stem to remove that bit. In a couple of months I had to do the whole thing again. In the end I got fed up with trying to separate it from the water sprite which also made a bid for world domination, so one of them had to go and the hornwort went. The water sprite followed suit a couple of years later and was replaced by frogbit.
As the hornwort stems grew, the free end did float on the surface. It didn't seem to harm the fish. The frogbit I have now covers almost all the surface and the fish are OK with that.

 

[Retired Viking]

I currently of 2 tanks with hornwort in them. It is great for fry to hide in especially if it is floating. One down side is when it gets old and turns brown and the needle/leafs fall off and cover the bottom of the tank. Hornwort does a decent job oxygenating the water but it is good to run a aerator especially at night I also have marimo moss in my tanks. In my main tank I have salvinia floating, frogbit is very good too if you can get it.

 

[Guyb93]

I currently of 2 tanks with hornwort in them. It is great for fry to hide in especially if it is floating. One down side is when it gets old and turns brown and the needle/leafs fall off and cover the bottom of the tank. Hornwort does a decent job oxygenating the water but it is good to run a aerator especially at night I also have marimo moss in my tanks. In my main tank I have salvinia floating, frogbit is very good too if you can get it.

I did put some of the hornwort in my fry tank , it’s just bare tank and thought any vegetation will benefit them

 

[Guyb93]

Before my hornwort grew out of control and took over the tank, I had it twined round some branchy wood to hold it in place. Every couple of months or so I had to remove it from the tank (it filled a bucket) and go through it stem by stem, keeping the good bits and throwing away the less than good bits. The bits of stem that were next to the wood always looked a bit threadbare so I just cut the stem to remove that bit. In a couple of months I had to do the whole thing again. In the end I got fed up with trying to separate it from the water sprite which also made a bid for world domination, so one of them had to go and the hornwort went. The water sprite followed suit a couple of years later and was replaced by frogbit.
As the hornwort stems grew, the free end did float on the surface. It didn't seem to harm the fish. The frogbit I have now covers almost all the surface and the fish are OK with that.

At the moment the hornwort is around 5-6inch long and it’s just being washed around the surface of my tank , I’m using a 3ft light on a 5ft tank so there’s a ft either side that only really gets small amounts of lights and trying to keep it in the light is a task to be honest , will it grow submerged until it’s long enough to wrap around the filter

 

[Essjay]

It will grow submerged if you find some way to keep it under the surface. I gave up trying to plant it in the substrate (no roots at the bottom of the stem so it kept coming out) which is why I resorted to twisting it round the branched wood I had then. The thickest, greenest growth was always the part of the stem at or just under the surface, though that could have been because it was the youngest part of the stem. I regularly had stems over two feet long when I thinned it out, and the poorest looking bits were always the oldest.