Whether you’re an absolute beginner or experienced in the aquarist hobby, Hornwort (Ceratophyllum) is highly likely to factor into your freshwater fish landscapes at some point or another.
Why are live plants one of the best things to have in your tank besides your aquatic friends? They oxygenate the water, help keep fish secure, and can often provide some of those omnivores with something to nibble on or for algae to bloom on.
Hornwort originated in North America but can now be found on every corner of the planet except for Antarctica, which speaks volumes about its tenacity and ability to thrive in a vast array of conditions. Just don’t ask us where it is in the Artic precisely!
It’s an easy plant to grow, hardy as we already established, and has a variety of uses for the tank. You can plant it into the substrate or let it free-float, offering you options for the types of fish you choose to have. It’s renowned for being easy to propagate, too, so you’ll only need to buy it once if you carefully plan your tank needs.
Fear not if the thought of having to grow live plants alongside caring for your fish seems daunting. It’s healthy for your fish to have real plant species for your homemade biome, and many species could not be easier to care for.
What do you need to know to get started as a successful aquatic gardener? We’ll tell you exactly what you need to do and how to keep your Hornwort plantings in perfect order.
Characteristics Of Hornwort
You can find Hornwort in lakes, ponds, ditches, marshes, and streams of the slower-moving variety, so just about every type of freshwater supply you can think of.
Many don’t know that when this plant is thriving in the wild, it can grow up to 15 feet tall or in length! Although this plant is normally floating, it can tuck roots into the substrate where there is a more noticeable current.
It grows like the wind, so it can be a bit messy if you’re a hobbyist who likes pristine order in your setup. It just might not be for you due to the amount of tidying and clean-up required as a result of the amount of shedding of its ‘needles.’
Like the floor of an old coniferous forest, you’ll end up with plenty of debris on the tank floor if you decide to go for this plant, but this isn’t always a bad thing. We’ll discuss more on the pros and cons of this species a little bit later.
This delicate plant is dense, so even though its stems and branches are incredibly thin and lightweight, they pack a punch because of their grouping.
Why is it called Hornwort? The spores that it sheds are horn-shaped. The plant can also be described by stockists as Horned Liverwort, Coontail, and Rigid Hornwort.
While this plant looks delicate by nature, the leaves or spiky, fine threads are actually quite tough in texture. This is a great deterrent to being consumed by many fish and other species. It almost resembles a larger version of the herb dill when you look at it. However, some species like shrimp enjoy devouring this plant.
Hornwort Appearance
This vivid green plant has slim but sturdy stems that form the backbone of this primarily floating plant.
The leaves look more like threads or hairs that are again delicate-looking but surprisingly hardy. The plant itself almost resembles a slim bottle brush in its shape and density.
Six to twelve ‘whorls’ of leaves form around the stem at varying but dense intervals. They fork a few times and rarely exceed an inch in length. Think of a lemur’s tail, and you get the idea of this plant’s shape.
Each plant can harbor many stems from the same root tangle, so it may look like multiple plants when it’s actually just one.
This plant flowers and has both male and female flowers on any given individual specimen. Although the coloring is dull, these plants easily propagate, which can be interesting for the newcomers to the hobby.
The fine, wispy leaves do shed, as we already mentioned. And when they do shed, they need to be cleared out regularly as part of your tank maintenance.
Pro’s To Having Hornwort In Your Tank
Hornwort Quickly Removes Excess Nutrients
At first glance, does this even sound like a good thing? Shouldn’t we want an abundance of nutrients in our tanks for our fish and other living things?
Well, the waste products of the fauna in your tank break down and become nutrients for your flora: namely nitrates and phosphates, which are things like algae-like.
It turns out that Hornwort loves to gobble up these compounds, which are harmful in large quantities to your fish and invertebrates too. So by having this plant, you’re actually helping keep your tank in better order too.
Water conditions are extremely important to have healthy fish and a healthy biome for all of your species. Hornwort won’t take away the need for weekly water changes (and cleaning out the plant shedding debris), but it will mean your water is healthier overall. And who doesn’t want that for their inhabitants?
Hornwort Helps Keep Your Algae In Check
Remember how we just mentioned that Hornwort likes the same nutrients that algae love? Well, that means it competes for those very same nutrients in the same tank.
It happens to take in those same nitrates and phosphates at a faster rate. Most green and blue-green algae like these compounds, too, so the less there is of it to go around, the fewer algae you are likely to have to contend with.
Hornwort even produces a substance that deters blue-green algae from proliferating, so the effects are two-fold.
All Manner Of Shrimp And Fish Fry Love Hornwort
Hornwort is so cozy and dense; it’s the perfect foil for larger fish who may want to predate on the littler things in your tank.
It still provides a surface for your smaller organisms to graze on as well as their own little forest to hide within.
This is especially important for newly hatched fry or baby shrimp who will need the cover. The dense underwater forest that Hornwort can provide is often ideal for these tiny creatures to find the security and cover they crave for survival until they grow large enough to dodge the larger fish.
Your Fish Are Unlikely To Consume Hornwort
Just like the Hornwort surfaces are ideal for tiny things to graze the biofilm off as a food supply, their sturdy structure also means your larger things in the tank are unlikely to eat the actual plant.
Those fish who live to root around plants and substrate are unlikely to cause any damage to Hornwort as it floats imperiously above. And for folks who love Cichlids? Hornwort is practically a godsend.
Con’s Of Having Hornwort In Your Tank
Hornwort Isn’t A Tidy Plant
This isn’t a tidy plant that will grow where you want it to, how you want it to.
Its rapid growth rates and wild branch spreading might drive you nuts if you are looking to have an immaculate tank with plant shaping just so.
It’s been suggested that you might need to trim it almost daily to keep it under control to exact requirements and shape. Which for some probably sounds like a lot of work!
There’s A Lot Of Cleaning Up To Do
Did we mention that you’ll need to do some tidying? The needle-like plant leaves will shed a lot and often.
This means a lot of debris on the tank bottom that needs removal, or you risk water fouling.
To make matters worse, the needles that break off can start up whole new plants! Be prepared to use a substrate suction vacuum to clean up the mess and keep this plant in check. Just because it can propagate wildly doesn’t mean it should if you want a healthy tank.
Be aware that handling the plant will also often result in needles breaking off, so take care as your work around it.
Hornwort Tank Requirements
The smallest tank size you should attempt to grow one in would be around 15 gallons to allow for its high growth rates. Anything smaller can get overwhelmed quickly, and it can be disruptive for your tank community to have a constant intervention to keep it under control.
Lighting should just be quite high; Hornwort prefers strong lighting conditions, or else your plant will grow more sparsely.
The best pH range is around 7 – 8, with a water hardness of about 5 – 18 dGH.
No special filtration is required, and they don’t need special substrate or supplementation for healthy growth. In fact, if you are aiming for a substrate-free tank, this plant is your new best friend.
This is a plant that can handle most temperatures successfully, from cold water right up to the most tropical of conditions. But their sweet spot hovers around 60 – 80ºF (15 – 27ºC) for maximum happiness and growth.
If you have other plant species in the tank, you might need to add fertilizer to help them grow since Hornwort is so voracious with its nutrient appetite.
Hornwort Planting And Maintenance
A fair amount of maintenance is needed for these plants, including regular pruning if you have a smaller sized tank and it starts to outgrow it.
Hornwort can grow as much as 5 inches per week, so you do need to be diligent with this.
Removal of dead leaves is advisable to avoid water fouling as they rot, but beyond that, not much else is needed.
Dead leaves are a natural part of the plant life cycle, so unless your entire plant starts turning brow, there isn’t anything to worry about.
How To Plant Hornwort
Pick any surface! They don’t need soil or substrate. They don’t need to be planted at all, and many like them to float. But depending on the types of fish you have in your tank; you may wish to anchor your Hornwort in the substrate.
How To Trim Hornwort
Essential on a regular basis, and take care not to manhandle the plant too much, or you risk spreading more debris than you bargained for.
Propagating Hornwort
There is little difficulty with propagating more Hornwort for the hobbyist. It’s an invasive plant species that knows how to get around most obstacles to establishing itself in nature, so it should provide little deterrence to someone with a tank and a willingness to let it go.
This plant will start new plants just by having a section separated from the rest of the plant, which will grow into a new one.
Compatibility Of Hornwort In The Tank
Almost any freshwater fish is suited to inhabiting a tank with Hornwort.
You won’t need to worry about plant-eating fish decimating your Hornwort population either, as most won’t be tempted by their needles and tough texture. It’s far too unappetizing for most fish to deal with.
A few do eat it, though, like Angelfish and some Gouramis.
Any type of livebearers will benefit greatly from the cover this plant supplies for when fry hatch and need somewhere to live without being consumed by other inhabitants.
Is There Any Reason Not To Have Hornwort In Your Tank?
Well, we mentioned a few.
Depending on your tank aesthetic, this may or not be the plant for your beloved tank for all things aquatic.
We think lovers of Cichlids won’t mind this plant, and they usually embrace it. Because let’s face it, Cichlids are already messy fish by nature.
But for easygoing landscapers who don’t mind a little extra elbow grease in the maintenance and cleaning department, this is a great all-around plant that does a lot for you too.
Grab some of the Horn and go!
