Java Fern slowly dying

[VancePants]

Hi, I have a 200lt tank with the following stock;
Two dwarf gourami
Two Bolivian Rams
Two dwarf chain loaches
Three pearl danios
One adult female bristlenose and 3 baby bristlenose
Reason for the low number on a few of these is they're rescued from people who no longer wish to house them


For a few weeks my java ferns have slowly started getting holes that grow bigger and bigger till the leaf stem breaks and the leaf falls off, there is no discoloration other than the brown outline in the holes and brown melting on the edges, all my other plants are doing amazing and my fish are happy enough to breed, the java ferns are still propagating well yet dying, I dose one cap flourish a week and two caps leaf zone a week, which is my interval for water changes, my nitrates are low, around 10, nitrites and ammonia non existant, I have a large LED light overhead which has around 80% white LEDs and 20% blue and is 160 to 250v and 50Hz

Any questions or recommendations are welcomed, thank you

[Aiken Drum]

How long have you had the java ferns?

Are you seeing any healthy new growth?

Could be a potassium deficiency.

[VancePants]

Originally Posted by Aiken Drum

How long have you had the java ferns?

Are you seeing any healthy new growth?

Could be a potassium deficiency.

This is one massive java fern that was broken in two and sold to me and I've had it about 2 months, it's what I'd assume a very very old plant, it's still got super-fast growth along the rhizome, but the new leaves also have little tears, not growing pinholes, but from the edge of the new leaf growth to the center it is torn, I dose leafzone which contains iron and potassium which doesn't seem to be helping all too much, I've been thinking of making my own potassium mix and dosing that too, though I'd have to do more research first

[Aiken Drum]

It could be a CO2 deficiency. Plants like those use carbonates to convert to CO2 instead of taking disolved CO2 from the water, so if you have low KH and dont replenish it often through water changes, that could be it.

Ive also seen java fern go like that when i took it out of the tank and forgot about it, and it dried out a little to much. A week or so later it went like that and it never recovered.