Java Fern not growing

[jameson_uk]

I have two tanks where Java Fern just doesn't grow. I have a picture of one original bunch I bought nearly three years ago and it is actually smaller now than it was then.

I also bought some windolev Java Fern which was already attached to some driftwood for my shrimp tank and this is now much smaller than when I bought it.

The latter was certainly grown immersed and I am fairly sure the standard fern was too (and the oldest stuff has been in the tank coming up for three years now)

Neither show signs of deficiency, I have had them in high light, low light, high flow, low flow and there are plenty of ferts in my main tank. I have had them attached to wood, lava rock and pebbles with no difference.

I have seen others threads of people saying they have been unable to grow Java Fern but there never seems to be an outcome.

The plants grow new leaves and generally look OK but just never get any bigger or fuller.

In the same place as one bit of Java Fern I have some Hyrophila which has got massive pretty quickly and the Anubias I got at the same time is now massive.

I would like a bushy bit of Java Fern so any ideas on what to try?

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

I have a picture of one original bunch I bought nearly three years ago and it is actually smaller now than it was then.

Do you trim it? or do you only take the old leaves off when they begin to brown?

cheers Darrel

 

[Konsa]

Hi
Sometimes when it grows in the root mass get filled with loads of muck.Its just a muck magnet that plant due to leaves being not smooth and roots very fibrous.Everything sticks to it..I lift(replant mine from time to time as a long term rejuvenation and blow with turkey baster on every WC.For Java is best if the flow comes from underneath the plant upwards but of course thats not always possible .
Regards Konsa

 

[Jasp0123]

I have mine in no direct light and high flow. My led are all round the side, run 2 filters with circulation pump and wave maker. Use tap water and daily fert and liquid co2.

 

[jameson_uk]

Hi all,Do you trim it? or do you only take the old leaves off when they begin to brown?

cheers Darrel

No, the odd leaf will brown and come off but I don't tend to even trim them.

Hi
Sometimes when it grows in the root mass get filled with loads of muck.Its just a muck magnet that plant due to leaves being not smooth and roots very fibrous.Everything sticks to it..I lift(replant mine from time to time as a long term rejuvenation and blow with turkey baster on every WC.For Java is best if the flow comes from underneath the plant upwards but of course thats not always possible .
Regards Konsa

The main bit is now attached to some lava rock and a large chuck of the roots are floating behind the rock. When doing a water change I tend to stick the siphon right over the roots and this does suck out a some muck but not too much.

Some images...
When I first got the Java Fern in the main tank (May 2016)

I believe this was grown in LFS tanks immersed so no issue with converting to underwater life. Fern nearly goes from substrate to surface

I don't think you can see the main fern in this pic (Nov 2016) but it will have been a bit smaller than the original fern. There is a plantlet which did start to grow attached to the wood.

Now fast forward to today
This is probably the same plantlet as two years ago. Has a few more leaves but is still pretty small. (Leaves are probably 6cm long)
Another plantlet which grew to a certain size and then just stopped. This one doesn't get as much flow as the others as it is on the front of the wood and flow is coming from behind it.
This is what is left of the original fern. It has more leaves and rhizome is definitely bigger but is still much smaller than it was and has been this size for well over a year.

This is the best picture I could get of the Windolev fern in the shrimp tank. It is right in the back corner and doesn't get much of anything. I bought this as a load of ferns attached to some wood but it did exactly the same as the fern in the main tank and as leaves died off they got replaced but just never really grew. This is on a tiny bit of lava rock and these leaves are only a few cm long (it has been in there over two years). When I bought this the leaves were probably 10cm long over several plants.


I did see a few threads of people also saying they cannot grow java fern and one thing I did see was a couple of mentions about hardness. My water if KH 5 / GH 12 so reasonably hard. I dose both tanks (albeit the shrimp tank get a little occasionally) with a home made all in one (http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/allinone.htm) and the fern in the main tank sways a little in the flow. Both tanks also have a load of frogbit and limnophila sessiflora (which both grow at an alarming rate) so I didn't know whether they were being outfought for nutrients but they don't seem to be showing any signs of deficiencies....