• You are viewing the forum as a Guest, please login (you can use your Facebook, Twitter, Google or Microsoft account to login) or register using this link: Log in or Sign Up

Java fern melt/die off

Joined
20 Dec 2019
Messages
610
Location
South Carolina
When I initially received my trident fern emersed grown, all the leaves eventually browned in a week, became translucent, and a nasty fungus/algae mess. I removed all those leaves, and only some rhizomes started to shoot out new leaves. I recently received a few rhizomes that were grown submerged from another aquarist. Those leaves have started to do the same thing, turn brown, translucent, and mushy. Is this a deficiency or normal? I do have new leaves growing, but very slowly, and only one leaf per rhizome, if that. I understand these are slow growing, but I’ve never experienced Java fern melt like this before. Is trident more sensitive to parameters?
 
s trident more sensitive to parameters?
Microsorum pteropus can be a bit temperamental anyway; it doesn't do change very well. Trident is perhaps the fussiest of them all. I'm not sure what exactly the problem is but I'm sure a few years ago the fern seemed more robust.

It could well just be me, now I find it to be pretty fickle and difficult to grow without it becoming ugly. Although, I do know some have had similar experience, whilst others still find it easy.
 
I agree with Tim about it's a plant what doesn't take kindly to change. I had some in plastic buckets in the greenhouse last summer with occasional rainwater change and it did really well. and it was really hot and humid at times.Transferred to the aquarium and some did poor after melt new growth on the rhizome though. IME does really well for me generally with or without CO2 maybe it's the soft water we have
 
After months of growing I have mature trident fern , some still maturing, doing this. Wtf! Anyone else experience this?
05E4C698-B821-4F29-A816-3670D7FF78D5.jpeg
 
Is this happening on mostly older leafs? new leafs? random?

I don’t grow much Microsorum anymore - in part as I can no longer get my favorite variants, in part because they tended to take over the tank (and I felt bad trimming them :rolleyes:)
I didn’t find any of the ones I tried temperamental (I’ve grown them in both very soft and “limescale” water)

BUT
from forums and in shop observations, I’ve seen considerable Microsorum plants with browning issues
While these are most often the Microsorum sp. sourced from not very reliable Asian suppliers (plants are often misidentified, mislabeled (when labelled at all), packed inappropriately (every stem plant was badly bruised/melted), fail customs ...), some of the reputable nursery supplied plants have also had issues in recent years (always difficult to say how much of this may be shipping related)

Microsorum definitely can have issues when it becomes very densely overgrown - usually assumed to be from lack of current/movement - but this usually quickly resolves when plant is split etc

When Microsorums continue to have growth problems (despite improved conditions etc) I’m somewhat inclined to believe there are health issues with the rhizome, there are also anecdotes of collectors losing almost every Microsorum in the tank after introducing new plants (this has been reported with Anubias as well)
 
Mostly older leaves, but there’s a leaf or two that still has that translucent tip indicating growth with the same issue. I’m not sure what has sparked it so I’m removing whatever shows this symptom. The rhizomes look fine with no signs of rotting and new growth still sprouting.
 
Is this happening on mostly older leafs? new leafs? random?

I don’t grow much Microsorum anymore - in part as I can no longer get my favorite variants, in part because they tended to take over the tank (and I felt bad trimming them :rolleyes:)
I didn’t find any of the ones I tried temperamental (I’ve grown them in both very soft and “limescale” water)

BUT
from forums and in shop observations, I’ve seen considerable Microsorum plants with browning issues
While these are most often the Microsorum sp. sourced from not very reliable Asian suppliers (plants are often misidentified, mislabeled (when labelled at all), packed inappropriately (every stem plant was badly bruised/melted), fail customs ...), some of the reputable nursery supplied plants have also had issues in recent years (always difficult to say how much of this may be shipping related)

Microsorum definitely can have issues when it becomes very densely overgrown - usually assumed to be from lack of current/movement - but this usually quickly resolves when plant is split etc

When Microsorums continue to have growth problems (despite improved conditions etc) I’m somewhat inclined to believe there are health issues with the rhizome, there are also anecdotes of collectors losing almost every Microsorum in the tank after introducing new plants (this has been reported with Anubias as well)
Here’s an example of the random die off
B881CE3B-5EE5-453C-8F47-A408E5952B05.jpeg
 
I have bought several stems of trident here in Australia and never had any luck. Won't be trying it again until I move back to the UK since it is so expensive here.
 
I’m in the US and it’s not easy to get it here either. It was just starting to bush out and then all off a sudden I noticed the browning. I’ve removed all leaves that showed the symptom which sucks because it’s pretty bare now. Just hoping healthy growth returns. I had normal java fern back in the day and it just exploded and never did this, so strange
 
Back
Top