Java fern, can it be planted in PFS?

[7Enigma]

I've scoured the net for about an hour and have come up with conflicting advice. The best advice (which will not work for me) is to attach the roots to driftwood, rocks, or other rough surfaces, and after a while the attachment (rubber band, rock weight, etc) can be removed as it will be attached.

In my tank however, I have no rough surfaces, only PFS and several terra cotta pots that are smooth. I have 4 small java ferns I picked up a couple of days ago, and "planted" them in the PFS trying to keep as much of the roots above substrate level as possible.

But I've read that this can be bad for the plants as they are root absorbers and not leaf absorbers like some other species (hornwort?). I'm thinking I should get a couple other plants that are leaf absorbers in case these java ferns begin to die.

When I first got them from the store, they look alright, but definately are not in pristine condition. They have some black spots that are not easily clipped off (not just at the tips of the leaves) and 1 or 2 leafs appear to be wilting. I'm at slightly under 1wpg in my 20gallon high tank (17watt bulb), so I don't expect great things from these guys, but would like to have them actually survive.

So will they be able to flourish being slightly buried in the PFS, or do I need to find another way to keep them in place?

Here's a pic (it makes them look in better condition then they appear up close). There is one on the far left, 2 in the middle, and one in the back right behind the big pot. There are also 2 sprouts that don't look so great (brown or blackish leaves) that I have floating in the breeder cage under the lights.

TIA,
justin

 

[7Enigma]

So I went back into the tank and tried to take more sand away from the roots, and 3 of the 4 are still held down but with a good amount of roots exposed. The plant in the front left of the picture, however, was taken out of the substrate completely (by accident) and it is now sitting on the bottom in the same spot. It has 3-4 barbs nibbling at its roots right now. I'm hoping they will get bored quickly....

 

[Purrbox]

You can plant Java Ferns in the substrate, you just need to be sure the the rhizome (thick tuber part of the plant that the leaves and roots sprout from) is above the substate. From what I under stand those black dots on the leaves are actually a sign that they are getting ready to produce new plantlets. From your picture, they look pretty healthy and just needs some time to fill in.

Good luck!

 

[azn_fishy55]

The surface doesn't nessisarily have to be rough surface,I have attacked Java fern too smooth pebbles and they did very good,better than they did when they were planted in the substrate.But they can still grow good in a substrate as long as the rhizome it above the substrate like Purrbox said.HTH

 

[travis simonson]

It has been my experience that Java fern roots tend to rot when planted in sand. The sand is just to densely compacted for the roots to respire properly. Of course I did use very fine sand so your experience may be different. I would recommend checking the roots occasionally for signs of rot just to be safe.

 

[BlazerFRS]

I agree-They will def prefer having all of the rhizome exposed. I think they'd look nice shoved in on of the holes on your terra cotta pieces... but that's just me!

GL

 

[Japola44]

I am keeping 2 java fern plants very succesfully burried in the substrate. One of my bigger ones so constantly growing little java ferns on its leaves.

 

[hashbaz]

I have java ferns attached to terra cotta pots.

I bought teeny-tiny terra cotta pots at the craft store. They work great for a single small fern.

 

[7Enigma]

You can plant Java Ferns in the substrate, you just need to be sure the the rhizome (thick tuber part of the plant that the leaves and roots sprout from) is above the substate. From what I under stand those black dots on the leaves are actually a sign that they are getting ready to produce new plantlets. From your picture, they look pretty healthy and just needs some time to fill in.

Good luck!

I'm familiar with the asexual reproduction scheme of these ferns (did a LOT of reading) and these are NOT those sacs underneath the leaves. The dark spots are uneven on the plant leaves, and seem to be dead portions, but since they are not all near the ends of the plant (say tips of the leaves) I can't just cut them off (unless I turn them into snowflakes ) And as I said in the OP, the picture really makes them look better than they look in person. Maybe I'll try to get a closeup on a single leaf when I get home from work and post it. Thanks!

BlazerFRS,

The fish play in and around the pots (going in and out of the holes chasing each other). I really don't want to take that away from them (since it is a pretty plain tank). I think I'll uncover all the plants and let them sit at the bottom, and as long as they are not getting pushed around or eaten too much, I'll give it a couple of weeks. If they begin to look healthier and the root systems spread, I'll try to see if I can get them to attached to the pots. Any time frame for how long this takes?

 

[7Enigma]

dbl post sorry

 

[malkore]

You can also use small river stones to anchor down the roots, and leave the rhizome exposed. I do this on my 20gallon setups to get the java's started.
Those brown roots on javas...are just anchor roots. They aren't used for feeding. Java's are pretty much exclusively water column feeders, and I've known a few people who just let em float.

 

[7Enigma]

Ha, just got home and went rummaging. I had forgotten that before hearing about PFS as a substrate I had bought a 50lb bag of pink quartz stones. I had decided against using these since the PFS was easier to maintain, and put the bag away. I dug it out and cleaned 5 small pieces and used them to smoosh the plants against different parts of the pots (gently of course). Hopefully some will stick, and it has discouraged the barbs from nipping at the roots. All of the roots look black however, I hope they weren't dead from the LFS. I also lost a large green healthy leaf in the process (it got ripped off) and put it in the breeder cage hoping it will sprout a new plant. Should I cut it up? or just leave it as is?

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

I would leaf it as is.

Java roots are usually the colour of coffee beans (dark brown if you're decaffinated)

 

[7Enigma]

Yup, that's how they look. I thought I read somewhere that they are lighter, but was reading so much about different plants I could have been confused.

Call me crazy but last night before bed and this morning the plants have REALLY brightened up. I swear parts of the leaf that had started to turn black have gotten some color back, and they leaves seem more full and stiff. I asked my wife, and she didn't see a difference. I wonder if having those roots partially buried really made a difference for the worse.

As it is now, they are all still pressed up against the pots with the small stones, and the fish have stopped picking at them.

Can anyone comment on the leaf clipping that I have in my breeder tank? Will it sprout on its own, should I cut it in half?

Thanks.

 

[BlazerFRS]

I wouldn't cut it in half- then the leaf would have no chance IMO. Java ferns aren't a plant you can cut the leaves short on... the whole leaf just dies.

I kind of doubt it will gro a new plant, but there's no harm in heaving it up there for a while to see