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Java fern not growing/growing very slowly

Ajm200

Member
Joined
19 Feb 2010
Messages
531
Location
London
Hi everyone,

I'm looking for some advice please.
I have had Java Fern in my tank for about 3 months. It looks green and healthy by doesn't seem to be growing.

My tank is 500l
Low light 108W HO T5 (8 hours per day)
I dose EI as per the planted tank doc (high light doses) and dump it directly over the ferns
I dose 10ml of easycarbo per day before lights on. I mix it in a pint of water and poured away from the plants to avoid melting leaves.


I used to grow ferns when the tank was high light/high tech with injected CO2. They used to grow but look tatty.

I decided to give them another go under the current setup. They look healthy but don't seem to do anything. I haven't seen obvious growth or melt since adding them. The crypts and anubius around them are growing and have lots of new leaves. The anubius directly in front of the ferns was just a rhizome when the ferns were added and now has several leaves.

Photo will be added as soon as photo bucket allows. Just realised it is down.

Are Java ferns really slow to start growing in a low light tank? What sort of growth rate should I expect?

Thanks
 
Last edited:
Should add that they are attached to small bits of driftwood nestled amongst the larger wood to that I can move the easily.

There's good flow around them. They move constantly but not excessively.
 
Gave up on photo bucket. It's still down. Hopefully this works instead. Not the best photo. Taken on a phone and the only one that wasn't photo bombed by nosey Angelfish

2VCiZz.jpg


2VCiZz.jpg
 
Most Java ferns we buy are grown emersed. They take time to take off when planted underwater. Mine took some time. In fact the leaves that grow underwater are a little different in colour and size. They are of a lighter green hue and slimmer too. I once watched an Amano interview where he suggests stripping the rhizome entirely of old leaves and planting it so that the lengthy transformation process from emersed to immersed is minimised. That sounded a little too drastic to me and I didn't do it :)
But the growth rate in the planted hi-tech tank is far superior vis-a-vis the growth rate in my zero tech betta tank.
 
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