Java Fern Problems...

[smudger123]

Hi all,

I bought a large piece of bogwood covered in Java Fern from an eBay seller on the weekend. It arrived today looking pretty....gross. Picture on listing wasnt great but the plants looked much healthier than they arrived. What am I seeing here, did this happen on the journey or would it have been like this already? Not too pleased at the moment because it cost a lot for something so...gross lol!

Anything I can do to help it? Its not going to give my tank an algae issue is it? Not sure what all the black 'hairy' stuff is on the leaves but there isnt a single one unaffected. Not a happy bunny

 

[fozziebear]

thats black brush algae, it takes a while to develope, so it wouldnt of just come while it was in the post, it wont give you algae issues if your tank is mature and algae free, it should slowly die off, other than that you can trim off all the affected leaves before putting it in the tank.

 

[SharonCC]

My daughter had a really bad time with this type of algae. The only algae eater that will eat this stuff is SAEs. I wouldn't take the chance, as when it gets going, it's ugly as sin!!! Can you complain to the supplier?

 

[smudger123]

My tank is newly cycled and full of brand new plants I spent a fortune on.

I really really don't know what to do. It was an eBay seller, new, only 25 ratings. Stupid I know, STUPID!! I overpaid for first class recorded and only got first class in the end plus he asked whether I wanted it sent Monday or Tuesday - I picked Monday but he posted it Tuesday anyway which caused my poor neighbour a frustrating day in waiting for a parcel. I HATE EBAY THESE DAYS!!!

I don't have anywhere to keep this thing and no money to buy any treatments.

I want a full refund and have emailed the seller saying I will post it back immediately for one. I dont want to start trimming it because I need to wait to see if he will accept it back. I have his return address, feel like just posting now to be honest because I cant wait for the reply with nowhere to keep it plus its Thursday, times running out before weekend to get it back alive!! Could always start a PayPal dispute if he never responds? Arrg, what do I do?!

It looks to be a total infestation - all leaves affected badly, there would be nothing left If I trimmed the bad ones

Im sooooo furious!!

 

[SharonCC]

I don't blame you for being furious!!! Hope he's agreeable to a refund...it might be an idea to do the PayPal dispute, although I don't have experience with this type of thing.

 

[smudger123]

I hope he just says post it back and gives me a full refund. If he did that i'd just let it drop but I've got a horrible suspicion it will go the whole hog and I will have to do yet another full PayPal dispute. eBay is getting awful, I bought and sold for 5 years without a single problem then about 12 months ago I started getting let down every 1 in 5 transactions or so - people would take ages to pay for items or not at all, parcels taking weeks to arrive, skimping on postage to save money. Ive only just finished my 4th dispute in 5 months for items not turning up! My least favourite is when you list with buy it now and state paypal payment only to have a buyer insisting on sending a cheque and taking their time with getting it to you. Infuriating!! Immediate payment option is a must have these days imo.

Sorry for my eBay rant there, its just getting me down so much at the moment because it used to be so reliable ...

 

[Renate]

Java fern are very hardy. I dipped them in a concoction of bleach and peroxide for 4 min. Every plant but java melted in a few days.

Bleach dip is suppose to be:
1 part bleach to 20 parts water and soak for 2 min.
Have another bucket ready with water the same temp and with declor added to stop the the bleach action.
gently rub the leaves(anubias) to get rid of any dead algae before you place them in your tank.
Complexity and Bruce Watts
<a href="http/www.plantedtank.net/forums/plants/6...l-bba-do-i.html" target="_blank">http/www.plantedtank.net/forums/plants/6...l-bba-do-i.html</a>

I battled with it for the longest time until I target dosed it with Excel. Turned off the filter and blew Excel right on the algae with a dosing syringe. Turned the filter back on after half a minute. After doing this daily for a few days the algae turned gray and died off.
IbnOzn
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