Help! My hornwort's dying...

[NanoTankGuy]

My hornwort is dying in my newly set up tank (~10 days). So, I was wondering why, naturally. I mean, all other plants are doing fine. But hornwort is dying, it's dissipating to the point where leaves fall off the plants and get caught in filter media. And today, one of the plants just broke in half and the top part is floating on the surface...
T=27-28 lately, btw.

Now I'm thinking - should I replant it or totally take it out. Cuz, the way it looks to me, it's just all gonna end up in my filter and I know that dead plants are ba-aa-a-d for any fish tank.

[Lady Hobbs]

Hornort is really not meant to be planted but can be placed on the bottom and held down with a rock. I have mine with a lead weight holding them down. I don't like them floating at all. Always caught in the filter strainer.

[NanoTankGuy]

ok. But I mean I can see that some leaves are just falling off the plants and floating. That's bad, isn't it?

[Lady Hobbs]

Maybe not. I think they are a very messy plant, at best. They remind me of a dying Christmas tree with thousands of those needles on the floor.

[Drip Loop]

I have the same problem. However, it appears that the plant does this on purpose. At least thats how it looks in my tank. It will break itself in half and both parts will grow independently. As far as your leaves dying, if most of them are dying off than I am not sure. I can only speak for the root stem breaking in half.

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

What is you pH and KH? Hornwort is native to Lake Malawi and as such it prefers very hard water. It's been my experience that in very soft water the needles will fall off and the plant will not do well.

[Drip Loop]

Does this mean hornwort would do well in my cichlid tank? Its not setup for plants, but if it will thrive there and the fish wont uproot it, I may give it a shot.

Nevermind, found this on the net.

Distribution:
Hornwort are found worldwide.

Water conditions:
Temperature: 50-77° F (10-25° C)
pH: 6.5 - 7.5
dCH: 5-15°

Lighting:
Light level: Medium

Propagation:
Cuttings and side shoots.

Availability:
Hornwort is readily available.

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

That dCH (should be dKH) number is the key though. When I've had it fall apart the dKH of the water was <5.

Where did you find that info Drip Loop?

[Drip Loop]

http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/plants/StemPlants/hornwort.php

I admittedly didnt do any further research so if that site lacks credibility than :shrug:.. Still, my tank doesnt have a dkh of 5 so makes sense to me. Then again, I was thinking of a different plant entirely so my previous post was way offbase.

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

Well, I don't know much about the site, but I do have to question their credibility. Hornwort will grow at any light level, the higher the light level the more densely it will grow, however I have grown this plant at just under 2/3 wpg (40w on a 75g) and it grew great.

Maybe it's more common than I realize, but the dCH vs. dKH seems like a bit of a credibility issue as well. As far as I know, dCH is not a valid abbreviation for the measurement. dKH = degree Karbonate Hardness (German in origin)

[NanoTankGuy]

My KH is 6, maybe that's why. And pH=7.5

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

That would rule out the low KH being an issue. I've read of another reason that happens and I can't remember what it was. However, it is probably a safe bet that there is something missing.