The beauty and favorable microclimate of any aquarium is created not only by colorful fish, but also by a set of algae growing in it. One of the most common water plants today is the hornwort.
Hornwort - a perennial aquarium plant with thin graceful branches. In addition to aquariums, it is ubiquitous in nature and occurs in various water bodies around the world.
Before you start in the aquarium hornworm, decide which of its varieties you would like to grow. The most common are its three types:
- dark green - the heaviest and massive hornwort, located on the bottom;
- light green hornwort - typical type of hornwort;
- Cuban hornwort - the most fluffy species, has a red-brown stem.
How to plant a hornwort in an aquarium?
Hornwort is an absolutely unpretentious plant. It is easy to plant it - it's enough just to place a part of the stem in the aquarium.
In fact, this is an underwater algae without roots. It is retained with the help of a unique structure of stems and numerous branches. Rapidly expanding, they quite densely cover the stem, creating a beautiful and fluffy appearance of the alga.
If you plan to place the hornwort on the bottom of the aquarium - the stalk should be pinched by something - pebble or soil , then it will not float up.
Proper care for the hornwort in the aquarium
This plant belongs to the shade lovers, so a bright light is undesirable for him and can even lead to death. In nature, plants for this reason like to live in the depth. From this point of view, the hornwort is advised to be placed away from the lighting lamps. When contaminated with hornwort, it can be easily removed from the aquarium and rinsed under running water.
This plant is not demanding for the hardness of water and the level of its acidity.
If there is a sharp temperature or light drop in the aquarium, the hornwort can lose some of the leaves under the influence of such stress or darken. If it does not restore itself - you need to remove the damaged parts and the plant will continue to grow further.
Reproduction of hornfreece occurs by an elementary division of the stem.
What is the use of hornwort in an aquarium?
This seaweed is sold in almost every specialized store, it costs inexpensively and gets along well. In addition, hornwort is advised to be placed in the aquarium immediately from the moment of its formation. It actively absorbs nutrients from the water, thus helping to determine the optimum concentration of nutrients. This helps to prevent excessive growth of other algae and improve the microclimate of the aquarium as a whole.
Long needle-like leaves of the plant attract aquarium garbage to themselves. Thus, hornwort works as a kind of natural filter of your aquarium.
Great benefit brings hornwort to the inhabitants of the aquarium. In its dense branches hide fry and other tiny aquarium inhabitants. In addition, fox hornwort is covered with a special natural film,
The needle leaves of the algae adhere well to the eggs, so during the spawning of the calf, the hornwort will be an excellent place for this process.
Summarizing all of the above, we can confidently say that hornwort has a well-deserved popularity among fans of aquarium fish.