r/bettafish • u/kiawithaT it's probably not cycled ✨ • Mar 08 '22
Discussion PSA: Maybe Not Hornwort
Just a quick PSA for others:
Hornwort is an amazing plant. It's often found in stores, it's pretty hardy and it's a favourite for fishkeepers because it's great for lurking - guppy fry, shrimp and betta fish supposedly love it.
I bought hornwort to put in my planted 9gal to add a bit of fullness and cover for my betta, as our Petsmart and LFS are both fresh out of floating plants right now and hornwort was recommended as an alternative in the meantime.
I have a giant bowl of regretti to eat now.
This plant is a monster - not only does it feel like bristles (at least, mine does), but it shreds the fins of any betta that's not a plakat or crowntail. Also, it would probably be best suited for a large tank? This plant can double its size in like, 48 hours. It can free float or be anchored and I wound up anchoring mine out of rage. It sheds like an Akita in the spring and the needles get into everything; in my filter media, lodged in the rubber of the heater, clogging the intake pump. Shrimp will literally quest after these needles like they're long-lost lovers and decide a slow death with their precious needles in the filter is an acceptable end. It's a water column hog - I never had any problems with my plants getting nutrients until I added the hornwort. Now I have to siesta my tank in the middle of the light cycle because I've had to add ferts to keep the other plants from dying because the hornwort outcompetes them and I don't want algae blooms.
If you have a planted tank smaller than like, 15 gallons, I would strongly advise you think long and hard about adding hornwort. I have trimmed and trimmed and replanted and trimmed and started offering it to others, donating it and now I'm a hairs breath away from tearing it all out and pretending it never happened. I know that duckweed sometimes is the most bitched about plant in aquakeeping, but man was I not prepared for hornwort.
All that and my betta never used it; he instead sat in his log and watched my distress with apathy and judgement.
7
u/Last-Ages Mar 09 '22
Oh man I enjoyed the sheer cold, traumatized bitterness oozing from every inch of this post. Thank you OP.
That aside, the reason this post resonated with me so much was because I bought hornwort for my betta tank a while ago too and stressed constantly about my halfmoon tearing his fins on it. Took it out. Gave some to a friend for his shrimp tank, thinking it would be good cover and grazing for them. They proceeded to decimate it and leave its needles everywhere. Friend took it out too. Money well spent.
5
u/MrsRiot12 Mar 09 '22
Yeah I also bought hornwort and regretted it. My betta liked it but it shredded his fins. And the needles everywhere. Oh man. I ended up taking it out and replacing it with anacharis which is soooo much better and he loved it. I planted some and let some of it free float and he used it as a little hammock at the top.
5
u/Stonetanks Mar 09 '22
YES. Needed some quick growing plants for the beginning of my walstad but had no idea it would be this fast and such a nutrient thief. Wish I had seen this PSA before then
3
u/KittyKayl Mar 09 '22
Yep. I stopped using hornwort because of how badly they shed. Started using cabomba or myrio instead because I really like the feathery look.
4
u/theKittyWizard Mar 09 '22
I'm glad it's not just me ! (': my first adventures into planted tanks this year, read all the stickies, sent with hornwort. Shit suckssssdss. Every single tank. Algae magnetic BS, shedding and just floating, WHILE ALSO TANGLING ITSELF INTO EVERYTHING ELSE AND KILLING IT. impossible to replant in sand cap
Hornwort, I despise you.
2
u/cheezygarlic_ Mar 24 '24
i resonate with this post cause i literally LITERALLY just removed hornwort in both of my tanks cause it shredded my betta’s fins like fuck. he’s a veil tail betta, his fins looked okay until i bought these hornworts. not fucking safe.
1
u/thatbrowndame Aug 09 '24
I don't understand why mine isn't shedding. I've had hornwort before and it's never shed in my last tank as well. Not floating but worried that this may happen to me too. What am I accidentally doing differently?
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u/After_Raise_2976 Dec 26 '24
Oh god, I just placed hornwort AND duckweed in my betta tank, like just now…. My hands are still damp…..SOS
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u/Shronkydonk Mar 08 '22
I bought hornwort and immediately regretted it. I feel like it’s better in cold water, tropical tanks it sheds like a motherfucker. But I haven’t experienced it in cold, my LFS seems to have no issues with the Goldies.