Java fern growing very slow if at all.

Leo1234

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Jul 26, 2013
371
54
61
California
My java ferns in my 45 seem to be growing slowly. It is in my native aquarium that has gravel as a substrate, temperature of (68-70) to (78-82), the lighting is at 6500K and is 40 watts.
I do not understand why it is not growing, yet my hornwort and giant hairgrass is growing fast. some is planted in the gravel, and some is on driftwood, yet none are growing fast.
I would use flourish excel, but it killed my smb by melting the vallis. The only co2 added is from water movement and the fish.

my plants are: jungle vallis, giant hairgrass, hornwort, anubias, java ferns, java moss, and an amazon sword (i think). the ferns are 2-4in and the tank is 18in tall.

also how fast does java moss grow? I have only had it for 5 days and it hasn't started to grow much
 

xxUnRaTeDxxRkOxx

Candiru
MFK Member
Jul 10, 2011
696
104
46
Denver, CO.
Java Ferns, and Anubias should never be planted into substrate; They can be buried into substrate as long as the rhizome is never buried, if the rhizome itself is buried the plants will die. Both Anubias, and Java Ferns are by nature slow growing plants but you can speed up their growth with more lighting on the tank. Java Moss is the same, it'll grow slow as well but adding more light to the tank will increase the growth rate.

But adding more light to the tank will also require the use of more fertilizers, and co2...


As for Excel, it's known for melting val plants, I would suggest maybe a DIY Co2 system using 2ltr bottles, and bakers yeast.
 

Leo1234

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Jul 26, 2013
371
54
61
California
where is the rhizome on the plant?
I can not really find new lights that are brighter t-8 lights in the 6500k range.
what fertilizers should I use?
Also is there any other way to add co2?
How much growth should I expect in a week?
 

xxUnRaTeDxxRkOxx

Candiru
MFK Member
Jul 10, 2011
696
104
46
Denver, CO.
The rhizome on Anubias, and JavaFerns is the stem looking section that has what look like roots coming from it; You never want to bury the rhizome because it will caused the plant to die, which is why you see most people attaching Anubias & Java Ferns to driftwood, or rocks. As for the lighting; You can add a new T8 fixture to the tank with another 6500k bulb, but it really depends on the type of fixture you have, how many bulbs the fixture is able to utilize, and most important is the reflector the fixture has.

I have a 45 gallon long tank (48"x12"x19"), but I have a T5HO Quad fixture which let me run either 2 bulbs or 4 bulbs at the same time. But since you're using T8's for your fixture I'd recommend a 2 to 4 bulb T8 fixture based on your aquarium dimensions, so say you have the 45 gallon column tank then go with a 24" fixture, or if your 45 is like mine which is 4 feet long then you could go with a 48" Diamond Plate fixture for your T8 bulbs and get great growth with it.

Lighting is now base on PAR data which eliminated watts per gallon, PAR in the aquarium basically means are you getting enough of the lighting reflected to your tank. Things that can limit PAR are things like old bulbs, low quality reflectors, etc...

As for fertilizers, since your tank is what we call low tech, meaning you really don't have things like T5 lighting, Co2 injection system, etc... So you can go with something like Flourish Comprehensive which is easy to use, easy to follow, and gives plants a source of nutrients. As for Co2 if you don't want to invest in a co2 injection system, then it's either Flourish Excel route, or DIY bakers yeast route.

Plants need 3 major things in order to grow: A light source, nutrients, and carbon dioxide; Nutrients whether in the substrate or in the water column so the plants can absorb them, co2 is necessary because without it plants end up with stunted poor growth, and lighting enables plants photosynthesis. At night when the lights are of, plants actually breath in oxygen and emit co2, whereas with the lights on plants take in co2 and emit oxygen.
 

-DC-

Polypterus
MFK Member
Sep 3, 2009
1,606
111
96
Canada
I've noticed the best thing to speed up the growth of java fern is an increase in flow/current , the more flow it gets he ore rapidly it grows.

In my experience it does not do well with more light . and if your other plants are growing well then i doubt that's a huge factor in this.

I found increasing light with java fern just leads to algae growth on top of the fern, it in fact seems to do best in very low light situations . Also with any plants if you go high light you have then increase co2 and ferts to match or the plant runs into one deficiency or another so since everything else is doing well I would just aim some current directly at the java fern.

Also for best growth attach it to a nice waterlogged piece of bogwood/driftwood.
 

-DC-

Polypterus
MFK Member
Sep 3, 2009
1,606
111
96
Canada
Just wanted to add, growing Java Moss is very much like java fern, except that although it does fine in low light it'l grow just as fast if not faster in high light. But it will do best attached to wood and will grow MUCH faster with more flow.

Should also add that the java fern takes much longer to establish and grows slower then the other plants you are keeping. 5 days in a new tank with no new growth is not a surprise to me.
 
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