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HiImSean
09-08-2007, 12:22 PM
i have a clup of java fern planted on some driftwood in my tank, about 10 leaves. it's been in the tank since april. it has been growing great until about a week ago. a few of the leaves have turned brown and look like they just rotted away. it has prolly happened to almost a third of the leaves. i have another clump of java ferns doing great as well as the rest of the plants in my tank. what could be causing this

all of my tests are 0 and my ph is around 6.7

plantling
09-08-2007, 1:15 PM
Are the leaves that are turning brown the oldest leaves? Sometimes older leaves just die off and some develop plantlets on the underside. How many watts of light do you have? Usually fertilizers aren't needed if your fishload is decent and your lighting is low.

Quartermain
09-08-2007, 1:24 PM
all of my tests are 0

Zero is not necessarily a good thing in a planted tank. For example if you tested for N03 (Nitrate) and P04 (Phosphorus) and both came up zero then I would expect all of your plants to begin to die off.

That said, if your other plants are doing well then this likely is not the case. Also Java Fern is known to "melt" on occasion and then spring back in a couple of months.

If you're confident in your dosing regimen and you're certain the plants have all the light and nutrients they need to survive then I'd just trim it up as best you can and allow it to grow back naturally.

midiamin
09-08-2007, 1:48 PM
Check on the back of these leaves. If you see little tiny dots then the plant is reproducing. Part of the natural cycle of Jav Fern. The dots are seeds. They sprout on the old leaf.

HiImSean
09-08-2007, 7:29 PM
im running 20watts of light but they are on the top of the driftwood, as they have been for a few months, directly under the lights. i do use excel occasionally but have cut back a bit recently since all the plants, java moss and dwarf sage, are growing like crazy. i do believe it is the older leaves and it does kind of look like a melting of the leaves.

the only recent change in the tank was i moved about a week before they leaves started changing but its not like i left the plant outside for a week, i drained the water and moved the tank maybe 30minutes out of water.

there has been a few new sprouts but one or two look like they're dying too