Dying Java Fern

[Leela]

Hi all I noticed a couple of days ago my big Java fern was getting some brown edging around the roots. Today all of the roots and stalks have died, and the brown is travelling quickly up the stalks into the leaves. There won't be much left of this plant in a day or two. It's been in my community tank for well over a month and growing well up until now. I have also got java moss, topiary balls, lilaeopsis, anubias planted and on driftwood, and corkscrew val in there, and they are all growing well. I thought if anything was going to die, it would be the corkscrew val, because of the light requirement. I have a foot light on top, which covers all the plants except the java fern. Could it have died from lack of light? Cheers O

[Chuckie]

no, it's a low-light plant. strange!

[splendidbetta]

I have a java fern problem as well. Every leaf on every plant (I have about 50, most of which used to be plantlets on the undersides of adult leaves) has a paler green tip, i.e. the last 5mm of an adult leaf is a paler green tip as if it had been dipped in bleach for a few minutes. This green seems less dense, but it could be the contrast playing tricks... Any clues for why it is happening, whether this is normal, and how I can help it? Sorry Olivia, I don't know what your case might be. Have you had any plantlets forming on the underside of the larger plants? How are your java ferns positioned? potted or free? Do they get fertilised? Not sure how these questions mght help but you never know :lol:

[Phil]

Mine were growing terrible under 4 fluros, and i mean terrible and slowly dying off. Now they are in my betta tanks with no lighting, only some morning light through the window and they are thriving, tonnes of babies on the leaves. The java moss is going great aswell :lol:

[Robbies Betta]

maybe a case of too much light? :lol:

[splendidbetta]

I thought it might be the light. Cheers Phil and Rob Mine did get heaps of light, sometimes from 8 am right thru to 11pm or later :lol:

[Callatya]

The lighter tips are just the leaves growing longer, they firm up as the leaf ages. Leela, your leaves siound like they are dying, no idea why. Usually lack of light, but it could be lack of food, or it could just be that the particular leaf has become too old and is being shed. Are you sure the rhizome part is dead?

[splendidbetta]

Thanks Abbey :lol:

[Leela]

HI all, thanks for the suggestions. The plant was not under the direct light, I only have a 1 foot light over a 2 foot tank, and the java fern is not under the light. Callatya, the rhizome is dying too, the whole thing is turning brown, starting at the roots, and spreading all the way up the stalks into the leaves. At one stage the new leaves were growing well, but they just stopped and have died as well. The plant is sitting on driftwood, roots out of the sand, not tied down or anything. Maybe its just old? Its really huge, over a foot high! Shame though. I fertilize once a week with recommended dose of Seachem liquid. All the other plants are great, its very puzzling that only the fern would be dying.

[Callatya]

As a precaution, maybe snip off one healthy leaf and leave it floating so you get some babies? I have no idea what would cause that, maybe something from the wood? but that seems unlikely. Changed anything in the tank recently?

[Chuckie]

I heard that if you get a leaf and crush it, a bunch of baby plantlets grow out of the bruised stem. May be a good way of developing some more plants for when this one is kaput?

[splendidbetta]

I have a mature leaf floating around my tank for about 2 months, only recently I noticed it growing some plantlets These plantlets will be clones of the parent of course If you clip the green parts of all the leaves from the brown dying parts, and leave them floating, you could get some nice babies growing under them after a few weeks. HTH PS. When I described the new growth, as Abbey said, the growing part is the darker shade, not the lighter. But it looks glassy/less dense :blink: