can anyone tell me what this is on my java fern?

[Joe5688]

Trying to figure out what it is lol

 

[pleechford]

Your java fern is having babies!

 

[Joe5688]

Haha awesome! What do I do now?

 

[Coursair]

Haha awesome! What do I do now?

Nothing. It will get several babies and then the main leaf will rot to drop the babies. You can tie them to wood or rock and let them grow.

 

[Joe5688]

I have sand and I don't have any real drift wood. Can they just sit on top of the sand or will have I have to burry them?

 

[cichlid.greenhorn]

Do not place in substrate/sand, java fern gets its nutrients from the water column. Try attaching to a small rock with a rubber band or thread.

 

[Joe5688]

I don't have any rocks either lol. The ones I have more are like 1/2” in to my sand

 

[gmanova]

You can weigh it down on top of the sand using a button or something similar.

 

[KaylNeko]

Or you can let it float until it has roots then attach it to that bit of wood in the background of your tank.

 

[Joe5688]

Will plants attach them selfs to fake wood?

 

[KaylNeko]

They will, yes. Some string tied around keep it on there should do it--by the time the string rots away, the roots should have attached.

 

[Joe5688]

Thanks I will try that

 

[Joe5688]

Can I pull off the babies or do I have to wait till the leaf rots?

 

[ahelmes71]

Joe,

Java Fern is truly the plant that keeps on giving.

I had a girlfriend give me a Java for my tank way back in the early `90s, and 15 years later I still had plants in my tank that were descendants of that original fern.

Even if you think you've gotten rid of them, you'll find one little baby floating around somewhere that eventually takes hold and starts the whole process over again. Very easy plant to maintain!

 

[cichlid.greenhorn]

Joe,

Java Fern is truly the plant that keeps on giving.

I had a girlfriend give me a Java for my tank way back in the early `90s, and 15 years later I still had plants in my tank that were descendants of that original fern.

Even if you think you've gotten rid of them, you'll find one little baby floating around somewhere that eventually takes hold and starts the whole process over again. Very easy plant to maintain!

That's funny, you literally have to try to kill it.

 

[Joe5688]

Haha thanks for all the help

 

[Joe5688]

One thing I don't think anyone answered. Can I pull off the plantlets or do I have to jet them fall off naturally. When the leaf starts to Rot do I have to take it out of my tank?

 

[KaylNeko]

You can pull them off (gently) and tuck them into a piece of driftwood or something. Going that way, the leaf is supposed to keep growing for a while. If you leave it on there, the mama leaf will "lean" until it find something for the plantlet to attach to, then start to die off once the new one is doing ok.

 

[P_Wrenn_12]

I had the same thing happen about four years ago when I first set up my tank. If you plant java ferns around rocks and driftwood, it will grow onto those things. My tank looks really cool with a tall piece of driftwood (just about to the top of the water) with java ferns growing on it. I notice that the fish love to hangout in that area and it looks cool. So I would suggest getting some driftwood, it looks awesome and the fish seem to like it.

 

[Joe5688]

Yeah I just can't get my self to pay like 40-50 for one. I'll see what I can find at a creek by my house lol