Java fern.

[Bazza1946]

I have had Java fern in my tank for six years it’s now showing signs of leaves turning brown perhaps it’s coming to the end of it’s natural life.Its been a wonderful plant

 

[fishorama]

Old java leaves often turn brown after a while but they almost always have tiny plantlets along the edges. Usually if the rhizome is healthy you'll just lose old leaves. I did have it die in my very soft water once, javas like some hardness (GH & KH).

 

[anewbie]

Old java leaves often turn brown after a while but they almost always have tiny plantlets along the edges. Usually if the rhizome is healthy you'll just lose old leaves. I did have it die in my very soft water once, javas like some hardness (GH & KH).

I have some massive ones in ec 20 water; i doubt it needs much hardness.

 

[Innesfan]

My NYC water is soft and the Javas thrive. I have to cut away lots of it every few months.

 

[Back in the fold]

I have some Java Fern I’ve had for over ten years . It’s not as lively as it used to be but it’s very long lived .

 

[Innesfan]

I have some Java Fern I’ve had for over ten years . It’s not as lively as it used to be but it’s very long lived .

I find that my periodic pruning them--breaking large rhizomes into smaller ones--serves to rejuvenate older plants and encourages new growth.

 

[fishorama]

Huh, that's interesting about you guys' soft water growing java fern well. When I had hard water it grew like gangbusters, rarely a browning leaf. but many plantlets. I gave away a grocery bagful to anyone that wanted to try it. Here in soft water it grows very, very slow, not a bad thing, lol. But I had all my plants die back in 1 tank 1 time. I was shocked even java fern rhizomes died almost completely. I don't know what happened. There are no fish just plants & I may be the worst fertilizer ever but java fern? It should have been ok with nutrients from any dying vegetation. Maybe my water company did something, a line flush?

Bazza, don't give up on your fern! They can recover from almost anything. Be very patient! Is any part of the rhizome green? (the rhizome is the sideways stem that both roots & leaves grow from).

 

[anewbie]

Huh, that's interesting about you guys' soft water growing java fern well. When I had hard water it grew like gangbusters, rarely a browning leaf. but many plantlets. I gave away a grocery bagful to anyone that wanted to try it. Here in soft water it grows very, very slow, not a bad thing, lol. But I had all my plants die back in 1 tank 1 time. I was shocked even java fern rhizomes died almost completely. I don't know what happened. There are no fish just plants & I may be the worst fertilizer ever but java fern? It should have been ok with nutrients from any dying vegetation. Maybe my water company did something, a line flush?

Bazza, don't give up on your fern! They can recover from almost anything. Be very patient! Is any part of the rhizome green? (the rhizome is the sideways stem that both roots & leaves grow from).

We of course we use the generic term java fern but i think i will take this chance to mention there are several species of plants sold as java fern and i believe they do not all have the same requirements. Having said that there is only one plant that is generally recognized as java fern and that plant is a soft water plant !

 

[Back in the fold]

I find that my periodic pruning them--breaking large rhizomes into smaller ones--serves to rejuvenate older plants and encourages new growth.

Thank you ! I’ll give that a try .

 

[emeraldking]

Hi and welcome to our forum...
Old leaves turning color in java fern is quite normal. Happens overhere as well.

 

[Jennet]

I've literally just been out and bought a java fern and my is hard, I hope it does ok, but we will see.

 

[GaryE]

As I moved around, java fern adapted. It doesn't love my current water, which is quite soft, but then again, it's all descended from plants bought 35 years ago.

I'll bounce this out as something I've questioned. It grows well here close to the surface and in shallow tanks, but in an old house, it regularly grew 23 inches high - the depth of its tank. The plants were large, lush and quick growing. But I had old fashioned fluorescents, and it hasn't done as well since I switched to leds. That's been a long time, but the plants have been smaller ever since.

Anyone else with that observation? Maybe we are setting our lighting colours poorly for it.

 

[anewbie]

Not I. I have some in one of my blackwater aquarium where the leaves is over (i think) 10 inches long. Lets see if i can find it...

Grown in a very dark aquarium with ~25 EC. The only time i've had it grown larger is with co2 injection. Also java fern is a a very low light plant to begin with and while i can see wave length making a difference intensity should not. Now among LED lights (even aquarium led lights) there is a wide range of frequency in wave length available. So in that regard it could make a difference with regards to comparing 2 specific lights. Natively it is found in water as low as 20 ec (at least according to mr. google); the key aspect is the water is very acidic which (another source i read not so long) makes it more efficient at absorbing minerals). I suspect soft alkaline water is a killer.


Anyway this plant is pretty old but that leaf is fairly new.

 

[Innesfan]

The plants were large, lush and quick growing. But I had old fashioned fluorescents, and it hasn't done as well since I switched to leds. That's been a long time, but the plants have been smaller ever since.

Anyone else with that observation? Maybe we are setting our lighting colours poorly for it.

I only have fluorescents except on my quarantine tank. I get luxuriant Java growth in my soft NYC water and old school lighting. The Java in the quarantine does less well under LED but that could also be because there isn't a steady supply of fish waste for it to feed on.

 

[GaryE]

I'm curious. My daughter's an artist and a gardener. One of the first things she did when she got a tank from me was study the possibilities of the LED fixture, and adjust it. I became very jealous of her largely algae free tank with fantastic red plants growing fast with no ferts. She found the lighting that pleased the red plants didn't please java fern. That makes sense.

I grow Cypts like weeds with my factory settings (blue reduced, however). Her crypts did poorly, but she had my nemesis, stem plants, growing like greed. I'm leaning toward the idea of developing two different basic styles of tanks. One size fits all is baggy and dull.

She had to give up the tank due to a very recent move, and I have it here with her settings notes. I'm playing with the adjustable lights but adding root tabs as well. I'm using her notes for selected tanks. I wonder if anyone online has charts of what settings work with different plant species? Has anyone here found that?