java fern windelove question

[thrujenseyes]

I got this plant because because I was looking for low tech easy to care for plants that don't need co2.
I run a little fluval edge 6 gallon that anubias does really well in but I wanted a little more variety in leaf style and I loved the shredded lettuce type look of this one.

I bought it from a tube (pest free) and attached to various places in my tank on wood and such, making sure the rhizome isn't under any substrate.

It looked amazing until recently when it started getting brown.

I googled it and it says the lighting might be too much?!

It's just the factory lighting and my anubias are so big that it blocks most of the lighting anyway...
Is it not getting enough?

I also use to dose Flourish Comprehensive but only at half dose once a week (.25 ml) because I was told that I didn't need it with the plants that I have.

The only skipped dose was last week but the plant started getting brown about 2 weeks ago.

I've attached pictures and my tank parameters are:

PH = 7.6
KH = 40 - 80 ppm
GH = 75 - 150 ppm
TDS = 187
chlorine = zero
Ammonia = zero
Nitrite = zero
Nitrate = 0 - 10ppm
water change once a week.

 

[Byron]

I've not kept the wendelove variety (never see it locally), but I have had Java Fern for many years. It is a shade plant; I have floating plants in my tanks so this seems to deal with the light. But I do have Java Fern in four or five tanks now, and even with near-identical conditions I see differences.

I would use a minimum dose of Flourish Comprehensive once weekly; by minimum I mean maybe half of what they recommend as one dose.

Sometimes this plant reacts to being moved to a different tank. In spite of our thinking of "identical" conditions, each tank is unique in biological terms. Once it settles, it generally rebounds.

 

[thrujenseyes]

Hi Byron!
I'm glad to hear that it might rebound. It's beautiful and quite a different look than all of the smooth waxy type leaves of the anubias.
I did just get it a month ago, so hopefully it's settling like you mentioned!

As for dosing Flourish comprehensive, I was dosing once weekly but only for the volume of water I'd change out (and even then it was a half dose at .25ml).
Should I be dosing for the entire volume of the tank or just what new water goes in?

And I'd love to have floating plants but I believe it was you that told me a while back it might not work for me because of my tank's aesthetics. I have the fluval edge and there is only a small opening where there is air. Most of the water goes all the way to the top glass.

We thought it might help my large anubias leaves from getting too much light.
I did cut back on timing for the light which has helped but they do still get spotted.

 

[Byron]

I would calculate the Flourish Comp for the tank volume (keeping in mind that substrate, wood, etc displaces some water) and then half that, roughly. I just finished dosing my tanks for this week, the water change was yesterday. I put 1/2 tsp in my 70g, which is the dose for 30 gallons, so that's about half the tank volume.

If the light is not too bright, or you can control it with duration, fine. I have found algae an issue with JF and Anubias under direct light, though even that varies from tank to tank.

 

[thrujenseyes]

so that's about half the tank volume.

gotcha! thanks!

you can control it with duration, fine

how many hours a day would you leave on a little tank like mine?
right now I do 10am to 8pm. I was doing 10-10 and realized it was too much.

 

[Byron]

how many hours a day would you leave on a little tank like mine?
right now I do 10am to 8pm. I was doing 10-10 and realized it was too much.

I use algae as the guide to duration. Once you have the intensity, you want to balance that with sufficient nutrients (may or may not mean adding fertilizer, it depends upon the plants, fish load). Then you want to ensure this balance stays fairly stable. Problem algae is a sign something is out of balance, and usually this is light. I worked back to 8 hours, 7 in the 70g, as the longest duration I can have given my light intensity and plants/fish load. If you are not having algae issues, I wouldn't worry, though these plants being low light requiring must be kept in mind.

 

[thrujenseyes]

I use algae as the guide to duration. Once you have the intensity, you want to balance that with sufficient nutrients (may or may not mean adding fertilizer, it depends upon the plants, fish load). Then you want to ensure this balance stays fairly stable. Problem algae is a sign something is out of balance, and usually this is light. I worked back to 8 hours, 7 in the 70g, as the longest duration I can have given my light intensity and plants/fish load. If you are not having algae issues, I wouldn't worry, though these plants being low light requiring must be kept in mind.

Actually it doesn't even seem to be algae?
The leaves close to the lighting up top seem to be pitted, like they're being burnt maybe?
pic attached:

 

[Byron]

Too strong a light can burn leaves. Not saying that is what this photo shows, frankly not sure.

 

[thrujenseyes]

the leaves that are not under the light directly are perfect and beautiful.
I have to imagine they're burnt.
I'll google and see what I can find and if it's dangerous to the entire plant....
although this plant grows like a beast and is constantly shooting new leaves and roots.

 

[Byron]

the leaves that are not under the light directly are perfect and beautiful.
I have to imagine they're burnt.
I'll google and see what I can find and if it's dangerous to the entire plant....
although this plant grows like a beast and is constantly shooting new leaves and roots.

When I had burnt leaves they looked different, which is why I said I wasn't sure. But then in my case the plants were floating so the leaves would above the surface and that may have made a difference in appearance.

 

[thrujenseyes]

When I had burnt leaves they looked different, which is why I said I wasn't sure. But then in my case the plants were floating so the leaves would above the surface and that may have made a difference in appearance.

Ohhhh....interesting


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