inside leaves of java fern turning transparent and brown.

[the_dougie]

I've had this java fern in my tank for about two weeks now. It's not planted into the gravel, but it also wasnt attatched to any driftwood. It's just sitting on top of the gravel. and the roots are attaching onto a nearby rock.

Anyways, as the title says, the inside leave are turning brown and transparent. It's in my a small 5 gallon tank with only one other plant; a hygrophila polyserma, which is doing quite nicely, creating several new runners around it. I dont put the light on very much, but it's in a room with quite a few large windows so i dont think light is the problem. i also use a Big Al's plant food so I don't know how the plant could be dying from lack of nutrients...
I don't know what's wrong with it! Ph is at 7.4 and there's 5 small glass tetras in there. Does anyone know what to do or has had this problem?

 

[djlen]

If it's a Java Fern it doesn't need much light to grow. I say if because your description of it has me puzzled. The leaves should be growing along a rhizome, on a line. What do you mean by the 'inside leaves'?

Len

 

[the_dougie]

I bought it from a LFS which had it in one of those plastic cups. It hasnt grown much since then, so it the plant still takes up more of a circular area instead of growing along a line. So all of the interior leaves are rotting. I probably look stupid typing this, but it's hard to describe. I just hope I'm getting across what I'm trying to say. Any idea what the problem is?

 

[felix11]

I have alot of Java Fern in my tank and have been propagating it for about 2 years.... At most water changes I pull out 2-3 long leafs that are turning brown, others are growing so they are replaced, I would just cut and remove the dying leaves and wouldn't worry unless new nodes are not growing. They are resilient plants and seem to find a level of survival in most conditions.

 

[the_dougie]

Okay I'll remove the plant, remove the browning/dying stuff and reinsert it. just another question, the plants been in there for only a week or two. Would this decay be the old leaves dying and the plant adjusting to new water conditions? (I'm not sure what water conditions it was in before)

 

[WinterWind]

Plants from the LFS are usually in bad condition at first. Mine was in pretty bad condition also. Just prune out bad and brown leaves, and in a few weeks, it should get better. Now, mine are healthy and green.

 

[Aqualung]

It's quite possible the plant wasn't in the best of health, but even with healthy plants the old leaves will die eventually. It's normal.

If you are trying to get the plant rooted to the rock, I wouldn't pull it out to trim leaves. Just prune them while the plant is still in place.

 

[the_dougie]

thanks for all the advice. I hope it recovers.