Bought hornwort, I think some of it arrived dead but don't know how to tell - help?

[ezziecat]

Hi guys.

Yesterday some Hornwort arrived that I'd bought from ebay. It arrived in a plastic bag with very little water (as if it'd just been taken out of a tank and put in the bag with no extra water, just whatever dripped off it), and immediately I could see that the bit towards the top of the bag away from the water was very brown.

I cleaned it and put it in my tank yesterday anyway. The greener parts have mostly started bobbing towards the top and some of it is pearling. The brown bits are sat at the bottom of the tank, doing nothing as far as I can tell.

I emailed the seller to say that I'm pretty sure those bits are dead, and he said that they'd take a few days to 'come round', and that he doesn't post in water because it puts the cost of posting up. When I asked for assurance that he'd replace if they didn't come around, he said they'd take about two weeks for them to 'get going' and 'once they do they won't stop'. Is this true? Do I need to give the plants more time to come around, or are they dead as I suspect and the seller just doesn't want to admit it? Isn't it a bit dodgy to post aquatic plants in no water??

Summary: How do you tell if Hornwort is dead?

Thanks, Erika.

 

[AfishIonado]

Most sellers will soak newspaper in water and wrap that around the base to keep the plant safe, if he didn't then I would think twice about the seller. My hornwort arrived with a brown spot here and there and I simply put it in my tank added some excel plant fertilizer and within a few days he was green and growing.

If the plant does not liven up (depending on how bad it is) then I would snip off the dead parts. And contact the seller and have them refund your money


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[AfishIonado]

What's you WPG?


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[ezziecat]

Most sellers will soak newspaper in water and wrap that around the base to keep the plant safe, if he didn't then I would think twice about the seller. My hornwort arrived with a brown spot here and there and I simply put it in my tank added some excel plant fertilizer and within a few days he was green and growing.

If the plant does not liven up (depending on how bad it is) then I would snip off the dead parts. And contact the seller and have them refund your money

I'm already thinking twice about this seller! The dead-looking parts are already broken apart from the more lively looking stuff. By my description, do you think it's dead? I don't know how to tell. I don't have any fertilizer and I have some sick fish at the mo so I don't want to add anything. I've had hornwort in the tank before and it was fine.

 

[ezziecat]

What's you WPG?

Does that mean Wattage Per Gallon? If so I don't know how to tell - we inherited the tank including the lid and light. I checked the bulb but couldn't see any markings to tell me what wattage it is It's the kind that's integrated into the lid - a long cylindrical tube bulb.

 

[ryukin_5]

if they are brown and broken off its a lost cause to say the least....

however if you have a good amount left and they are green and looks like they are catching themselves then i suppose you are ok and you could give the seller a pass..... (i am not him and that's definitely your call though)

well having said that hornwort is a fast grower and usually does well....(at least for some)...
if all goes bad in about a week - week and a half then i would get a refund or whatever you do your call...

Good luck.

 

[AfishIonado]

It should be on the actual fixture, my old one for my 55 gal was a 17 watt (I had two)

Hornwort can live in lower light but a safe WPG is around 2-3, if you don't plan on having a lot of plants the you may get by with what you have just buy a plant spectrum light there like $6 a bulb and they give off a bluish purple tint. But I would fertilize it though and the fert is relatively cheap $6 a big bottle at my LFS. If you could post a pic of the plant we could help out more to see if your plant still has hope


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[Star_Rider]

hornwort often has big die off when first placed in a new tank...that's pretty normal..
it may take some time to get established and die off till it does.
once it gets established ..that's a different story.

 

[ezziecat]

hornwort often has big die off when first placed in a new tank...that's pretty normal..
it may take some time to get established and die off till it does.
once it gets established ..that's a different story.

But my point was that I think some of it was dead before it even got in my tank, and if I'm right I should get it replaced. I'll upload pics in a bit.

 

[ezziecat]

Okay, update:

The light is a 240 Volt, 50 Hertz, 20 Watt. It's a 3-foot tank.

Here's a pic of one of the sunken pieces, which roughly shows how brown and un-hornwortly it looks!