Question on java fern

[Pongeer247]

My java fern, that I have had for about a month now, is doing amazing! My question is: it is growing new plants off its leaves, how do I go about removing these to replant? I don't want to damage the leaves. Thanks for the advice in advance!!

 

[Jev12]

Just brab the new plant down where the roots are and pull it off it shouldn't cause any damage to the original leaf but just be careful when you do it

 

[BBradbury]

Hello Pon...

Once the new plants have 3 to 4 nicely developing leaves, you can clip them from the mother plant. Just clip the mother plant, though. Don't damage the black threads of the new plant. Keep trimming the mother plant, it will eventually die off.

You can attach the new plants to pieces of lava rock or driftwood with long strands of black sewing thread or a thin rubber band works well. No need to plant these in the substrate.

B

 

[Pongeer247]

Hello Pon...

Once the new plants have 3 to 4 nicely developing leaves, you can clip them from the mother plant. Just clip the mother plant, though. Don't damage the black threads of the new plant. Keep trimming the mother plant, it will eventually die off.

You can attach the new plants to pieces of lava rock or driftwood with long strands of black sewing thread or a thin rubber band works well. No need to plant these in the substrate.

B

If I were to clip the mother plant, I should just clip the leader below then new plant or should I clip down near the stem? I was thinking of placing the newbies into my daughters 10 gal. and placing on one of her decorations. Is there anything special for placing in a different tank? Will I have to acclimate the plant?

For the attaching process, I have the mother plant attached to a small piece of drift wood with some fishing line. Is this ok, or will this cause damage of any kind? How long do I leave the plant tied down before it attaches itself and I can remove the string/line?

 

[BBradbury]

Hello again Pon...

I typically wait until I change the tank water to trim any plants. When the water level is low, I take a sharp bladed scissors and clip off the part of the mother plant that holds the new plantlet. There's no other reason to disturb the mother plant.

I use thin thread or a rubber band to attach the new plant to a piece of lava rock and just drop the plant on the substrate. Driftwood is fine too. The wood can be weighed down with a rock or two. I like to float the driftwood for a different look. The thread or rubber band will dissolve in the tank water. By then, the plant has grown into the pores in the lava rock or into the substrate.

Fishing line is fine, but won't dissolve in the tank water in this century. It will likely be covered by algae in time.

B

 

[Pongeer247]

Hello again Pon...

I typically wait until I change the tank water to trim any plants. When the water level is low, I take a sharp bladed scissors and clip off the part of the mother plant that holds the new plantlet. There's no other reason to disturb the mother plant.

I use thin thread or a rubber band to attach the new plant to a piece of lava rock and just drop the plant on the substrate. Driftwood is fine too. The wood can be weighed down with a rock or two. I like to float the driftwood for a different look. The thread or rubber band will dissolve in the tank water. By then, the plant has grown into the pores in the lava rock or into the substrate.

Fishing line is fine, but won't dissolve in the tank water in this century. It will likely be covered by algae in time.

B

Thanks! I did read that if I leave the plantlet. The leaf will eventually break off and plantlet will float around using the leaf as nutrients untill attached some where. Should I leave some of the leaf?

On an off topic question, is it bad that I take my drift wood( no more then 5 or six inches long and 2 inches wide) and plant out during WCs?

 

[BBradbury]

Pon...

You'll just leave the little bit of the mother plant attached to the plantlet. Then, you can attach the new plant to the lava rock or piece of driftwood. The roots of the plantlet will take in nutrients from the old plant and fish material that dissolve in the water. This is why you don't want to vacuum a tank with live plants. You'll remove nutrients the plants need.

Everything eventually dissolves in the tank water. So, all you need to do is remove and replace half the water every week or two to maintain healthy fish and plants. It's best to leave everything undisturbed when performing a water change. Just remove and replace the water, nothing else. If you disturb the substrate by vacuuming, the result can be cloudy water and possibly damaged plant roots.

Hope this makes sense. If not, I can certainly clarify something.

B

 

[Pongeer247]

Pon...

You'll just leave the little bit of the mother plant attached to the plantlet. Then, you can attach the new plant to the lava rock or piece of driftwood. The roots of the plantlet will take in nutrients from the old plant and fish material that dissolve in the water. This is why you don't want to vacuum a tank with live plants. You'll remove nutrients the plants need.

Everything eventually dissolves in the tank water. So, all you need to do is remove and replace half the water every week or two to maintain healthy fish and plants. It's best to leave everything undisturbed when performing a water change. Just remove and replace the water, nothing else. If you disturb the substrate by vacuuming, the result can be cloudy water and possibly damaged plant roots.

Hope this makes sense. If not, I can certainly clarify something.

B

Makes perfect sense. At first I thought because the java is on drift wood the roots would stay there. After reading your advice, it struck me that plants in an aquarium are exactly the same as in the garden, and it makes sense that when the plant grows so will the roots.

The only tank I have planted right now is my 1 gal. fry tank. It has an under gravel filter. I've heard different things about UG filters and plants. The suction doesn't seem to be too much though. I will however stop vacuuming the gravel.

Thanks a lot. You cleared up a few hazy spots I had with plants. I will be doing more research as i need to learn some more about maintaining plants.

 

[Pongeer247]

Just brab the new plant down where the roots are and pull it off it shouldn't cause any damage to the original leaf but just be careful when you do it

I might try this with a couple of the plantlets I plan on leaving in the tank with the mother plant. There's lots of nutrients in the tank for them to survive with out the leave they grew on.

 

[Pongeer247]

One question I haven't seen answered yet. Do I need to acclimate plants when transfering to new tanks? Seems like I should, but not sure if its necessary.

 

[Pongeer247]

One question I haven't seen answered yet. Do I need to acclimate plants when transfering to new tanks? Seems like I should, but not sure if its necessary.

Nvm! I looked it up. After reading, my questions sounds a little dumb lol. Thanks for all the advice bbrad!