Wendelov fern not doing so well

[ib4walrus]

I bought some wendelov fern (thought it was java at first) last week with my anubias and over time, it has turned brown. Is there anyway for me to get it healthy again? This is my first time trying to care for plants (anacharis and micro swords that I bought a while ago all died). I have a 10g tank with 15 watts of light at 5500k. I'm in the process of cycling and add ammonia regularly. Substrate is regular gravel and I added a dose of API Leaf Zone yesterday hoping it will help.

Also in addition to the ferns, my anubias seem to have browning on the edges of their leaves. Is there a reason for this? And what I think is java moss is also browning.

Maybe I just don't have a green thumb

 

[DoctaQ]

it kinda looks like its shaded by your wood?
at 1.5 wpg you gotta make every watt count ya kno

 

[coach_z]

your windelov fern must be attached to something and cannot be planted. and make sure the rizome on yoru anubias is not beneath the soil

 

[Star_Rider]

as long as the rhizome on the fern is above ground you'll be fine.. the runners it sends out(brown thread like) can be buried.
I have plenty of java fern planted this way.
my needle leaf ran off the wood on to the substrate and did the exact thing.

give it time.. java fern likes low light. in high light it has to adjust

personally tho i would attach it to the wood.

 

[ib4walrus]

I made sure the rhizomes were not buried beneath the substrate when I planted them. So would attaching them to the driftwood make a difference? There seems to be a white fungus or something which grew on my mopani driftwood, is it harmful?

 

[Star_Rider]

fungus on wood under water is normal...it'll eventually go away.

my java fern always seem to 'stretch it's legs' so to speak
over time it will cover the wood and doesn't get as out if hand as some mosses do.(I'm beginning to hate java moss )

 

[bazil323]

Wood typically gets s fuzzy cotton-like growth on it for a while after first being introduced to the tank. Sometimes it goes away with in a few days, sometimes it takes months or longer. If it bothers you, just rinse it/scrub it to remove the stuff and plop it back in. It comes off pretty easily. Not harmful at all, just kinda ugly.

I've noticed that my Windelov fern often starts turning brown and then will release a baby fern off the tip of the now dead leaf. I think its nature's way of making sure the new plant gets food for a little while. I kinda freaked out when mine started doing that (I had no light whatsoever on the tank, just ambient room light and about an hour of indirect sunlight), but then I realized that it was dropping baby plants and the main part of the plant was fine.

Yours doesn't look quite the same, mine was darker green and the individual leaf turned brown like it was dead. Other leaves would also have spots of brown of varying sizes. My newer baby plants all look healthy with a medium green look.

Make sure that no part of the rhizome is under gravel at all. Mine are all either free floating resting on gravel or whatever or tied to driftwood which I think is loveliest. You might want to try dosing with aquatic plant fertilizer to give them a little boost, but your lighting should be fine for Windelov ferns, Java moss, and anubias, I'd think. My tanks are extremely low tech with less than 0.5w/gallon on my lighted tank and no lights over my other tank, and both have those plants with no trouble. Of course, my anubia is a different kind, but they all have similar requirements.

 

[ib4walrus]

A lot of the leaves were browning and becoming transparent so I pruned off the leaf only for the plants (did I prune it right?). I cut the rhizome of all my plants (except the one on the driftwood) into two as I heard that pruning and this would promote healthy growth? One of the plants that had the most brown leaves is almost leafless now, is that okay? My wendelov's leaves have turned almost all brown so I trimmed it all the way down to the rhizome, I'm guessing there's no more hope for it?
I have no idea what I am doing wrong, I can't seem to keep any plants .

 

[FL CommunityFan]

From the bit I've read, they need to keep a few leaves at the least, as that is how photosynthesis occurs and this is how the plant is able to live and reproduce. If you've cut off all the leaves on some of them, then I'd assume the rhizome could keep growing but it will be slowed considerably until it has time to create new leaves.

I'm a novice at this myself, but that seems to be the basic idea that I have come to understand so far.

 

[Squeakfish]

Mine has some brown leaves, but it greens up in lower light.
Java ferns are really interesting. You can just toss a piece of fern leaf in the water and it will sprout on its own. It's a resilient little thing, you should just give it some time, without the rhizome buried.