java fern

[blizowman1]

ok so im very very new to plants. Well the whole aquarium thing all together. i went and bought my first plant to stick in my tank. I finally decided on a java fern because really i havent been able to find alot on the whole plant info. And java fern is a name that ive seen come up alot. I put it towards the middle of the very left side of my tank is this a plant that should be stuck in the back or is there other plants that would be better suitable for the back of the tank? I have two little baby sprouts on the back of one of my leafs too, How big should i let them get and how do i remove and replant so the actually form bigger plants and arent damaged? And when i bought the plant and got it home i realized they had a rubberband loosely at the bottom right above the roots, my guess was to keep the stems up and held together, Should i have removed this before planting it in my gravel? And finally how deep am i supposed to plant it is there any kind of info on a site that would kind of explaine these things to me and any info or recommendations you all can give would be awesome too. and any recommendations on plants and there placement in a tank would be great too. THANK YOU

 

[SegadorDAlmas]

I'm also new to the aquarium trade, but I've been heavily researching.

I just recently got a 20 gallon tank and yesterday I went down to the pet store and picked up some plants.

I grabbed the java ferns because from what I've read and what the guy told me, they're extremely easy to care for, and look interesting.

He told me that they will infact reproduce, so you will see more of them start popping up. They grow slowly so you wont really have to give them much attention.

The rubberband I would say to leave on, but I'm not 100% about this. My ferns had a small net around their roots with decomposing materials wrapped inside for what I assume to be fertilizer. So I just left it on when I buried them in my sand.

The guy was pretty good about telling me how to plant them, going in depth with how they work and such. Basically what I gathered though, is that you should bury the roots (the thick green "tubes") only about halfway. It wont look fully buried, but it is. He also said that you can pretty much just let them go and they'll find their own. I nestled one in my driftwood so it would root itself there for that "natural look". And your intuition on placement is correct. Java ferns are generally considered a mid-ground addition.

Hope that helps.

 

[reefdiver]

Java fern can be tied to driftwood or stone nd don't need to be buried. You can also look for crypts and anubias

 

[abbly]

Plantgeek.net
&
Theplantedtank.net
Are very helpful resources . Learned a lot from these sites. good luck
My java fern is secured to driftwood with fishing line or thread. It will eventually root itself as previously mentioned

 

[00youknowit00]

Don't bury any plants with a rhizome, that's java fern, either let it just sit on the substrate, or tie it to dw or lava rock. I just leave mine sitting on the sand and they do great.

 

[neon-tetra]

hi don't know much bout java ferns but if you are going to get any more plants i would strongly advice getting elodea
Egeria densa (Giant Elodea/waterweed) with photo/picture

i find it is nice to look at and easily maintained by simple trimming. its fairly hardy. i leave the rubber bits on place it into the gravel, cover to bottom of plant. and can easily get offshoots without trying.

for example i got one and have six now, healthy and my fish don't eat them.

 

[blizowman1]

neither one of those sites worked

 

[SegadorDAlmas]

Try this for some brief info:
Aquatic Plants for Freshwater Aquariums: Java Fern Aquatic Plant

 

[abbly]

neither one of those sites worked

http://www.plantedtank.net/
Should work

 

[blizowman1]

so can some explain the difference between regular flourish and flourish excel

 

[Fdsh5]

Flourish is macronutrients. Flourish excel is a carbon dioxide supplement. The two can be used together. Excel is dosed daily and flourish is dosed weekly.

 

[blizowman1]

so how do I know if I need either one pod them...right now all I have is one java fern in a 29g...does it need any ferts

 

[Fdsh5]

Java fern should be fine without any fertilizer at all. The natural fertilizer (aka fish poop) should be enough. You definitely do not need excel. It is a slow growing plant and as long as it stays green, you're good.

 

[blizowman1]

so my java fern seems to be growing and the babys seem to be growing but the pieces that seem to be getting longer on the tips where im guessing the new growth is seems to be transparent is this something im doing wrong or is this normal

 

[blizowman1]

ok so I went plant shopping and got some java moss, a banana plant, a anubius nana, java fern. and a stem plant Idk what it is

...now the thing is all I have is regular flourish right now. with a 31w 6500k bulb and 31w colormax bulb, and regular gravel what do I need to fert with and how often. with as little algae as possible

 

[Atxpunx]

The plant looks like wisteria grown emersed. The flourish comprehensive should be enough. The wisteria will grow quick and the anubias and java fern slow. I have no experience with wisteria hub just leave the fern and nana alone and they'll grow, moving them too much will impede there growth. Tie them to a rock or wood and move the rock or wood around.

 

[SegadorDAlmas]

So I've had this java fern for a while, just chilling hooked up to my driftwood. But as of lately, it's been starting to get a brown powder (that's the best word I can use to describe it) on it. The weird thing is, it's only on the front of the leaves, never the backsides and it's been spawning new leaflets like crazy. I've been attempting to cycle while it's in there and I just have no idea what's going on with it. Whether or not I should do something for it. My other fern is having the same problem, but only in small amounts and is hardly noticeable. Anybody have any ideas?

Edit: Nevermind, turns out the brown powder wiped right off and was just loose matter from the driftwood. No worries.