Java fern ?

865 Views 3 Replies 2 Participants Last post by kzr750r1, Aug 26, 2007

greenleaf888

Discussion Starter · Aug 25, 2007

I purchased a large java fern that was really beat up, but had many healthy looking plants growing off of it. I pulled off the babies, planted them on a piece of drift wood and threw the adult plant away. It has been a month now and they have done nothing. My cabomba and my banana plant thrive, but my java ferns do nothing but grow terrible black furry algae on some of the leaves. A few of them started growing new leaves, but I notice the sprouts seem to be melting now. The original leaves that aren't covered in algae, are firm and green and they seem healthy.

I have been told java ferns are super easy to grow and sometimes it takes them a little while to get started in a new tank, but I am beginning to wonder what the heck is going on. Some advice would be great, I keep thinking I am doing something wrong..

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kzr750r1

· #2 · Aug 25, 2007

How old is the tank?

If the mother fern rhizome was not rotten you could have striped it of leaves and it would have come back.

Make sure your bio filter is working as it will help with ammonia spikes that can cause melting.

BBA can be cured with a little excel spot dosing.

Are you adding any ferts to this tank?

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greenleaf888

Discussion Starter · #3 · Aug 25, 2007

My tank is around 1 1/2 years old, but has only been planted for about 6 months.

There were about 8 smaller plants, so I really didn't think about slvaging the mother plant. I have seen a java fern after a year of growth and if I keep all of them, my 20gallon tank is going to bust.

I was dosing a small amount of ferts, but I have discontinued sine I removed a bunch of cabomba and added another bag of Flourite to the tank. I have also been having some issues with my DIY CO2 and I have been having a minor issue with diatoms as well.

I only have 2WPG right now, and with the plants I have, I don't find it necessary to dose fertilizers all the time. I have 22 fish in my tank, so the bio-load provides an ample supply of N and PO most of the time.

As for the ammonia spikes, I suppose that is what could have caused the melting. I would suppose when I made all the changes, it may have caused a spike. Normally my test kit reads around 10 ppm for nitrates and since plants avidly seek ammonia before nitrates, I never feel the need to test for ammonia.

As for my filter, I only use an aqua clear HOB filter with a couple of sponges in it.

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kzr750r1

· #4 · Aug 26, 2007

At 2wpg you will need a stable C02 source. If your DIY CO2 setup is not consistent you could set up two or three reactors. This way you can mix new solution a couple days apart from each other thus keeping production a little more consistent.

If the plants kept are mostly slow growers it would take a long time or all of them to bust out of the tank.

I replanted my 55 a few months back and it's now time to pull several stem groupings and re scape. None of my fish have any swimming room. My white clouds are pretty much forced to the top of the tank. When startled by activity out side the tank some have a tendency to me come floor jerky.

Can you get excel from seachem in Greenland? That would be another alternative to augment your C02 reactor. Plus it acts as a algaecide.

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