# help! are my hornworts still alive?



## newguy (Mar 18, 2006)

hey guys, my first order of plants (6x large stems of hornwort) came. And frankly i hope the rest of the plants that are enroute are in much better shape!

Anyway need help on what to do next. I opened the wet newspaper wrapping and it seems the hornworts are all rotting? half the package are just loose leaves which i assumed died and fell off the stems. The actual stems are in bad shape too and have very little leaves left, and the lower portion are brownish in color. 

There is no way i can put that into my main tank. So they are in a bucket of dechlorined water right now (at room temperature). Do you guys think the hornworts are still alive? should i shine my CF light on it? dose with flourish? or let it sit there without doing anyting for a few days? how do i tell if it's alive or dead? (man fish is so much easier to tell  )


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## titan97 (Feb 14, 2005)

Hornwort is very resilient. Put it somewhere with good light, and it should recover. Eventually, it will start growing from one (or both) end(s). The stem can turn brown under high light (it is actually red, but very dark). I have had very small stems (under 1/2" long) eventually grow to several feet long before I remove them.

-Dustin


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## newguy (Mar 18, 2006)

thanks, i have my 96W CP on top of the bucket right now. Hmm that's about 20 WPG


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## newguy (Mar 18, 2006)

hey guys, the hornworts arent doing too well. They just seem to be stalled with brownish / really stiff leaves. If you touch the leaves they will just break and fell off.

*Can i just cut off ALL leaves and plant the bare stem in my main tank? and let it grow back. *

If i just put it in with the leaves, my filter will be dead in a day guarenteed from hornwort leaves. It's crazy, when i got it, half the package are eaves..then i soak in bucket #1 - the entire bucket's bottom/surface then become covered with leaves, then i put the stems into a much larger bucket #2, now the whole bucket #2 is covered with loose leaves... So far i am liking the anarchis a lot better.


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## HeyPK (Jan 23, 2004)

If the leaves have not yet fallen off on their own, I would leave them alone. Even totally defoliated hornwort stems can recover if they are floating where there is good light.


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