Hello all. I was just wondering how many people here quarantine their plants before putting them in their tank? Can they be sterilized? Anyhow, I've got a new (for me) Java Fern and it has some growth on the underside of it's leaves, little nubs are growing on the bottow that eventually bud into plants with roots attatched to the underside of the Java Fern's leaves. Does anyone know what this is? Can they be safely removed without tearing the leaves? And how can holes in the leaves be patched up at a quick rate? Any advice would be great. Thanks,
Mad.
Full Version: Gwah? What Growing On My Java Fern?
hi there! i don't have live plants myself (i reckon my fish are way too greedy for that!!), but here's the link to another post that mentions sterilising plants:http://kokosgoldfish.com/forum/index.php?s...?showtopic=1950 check out the post by touchofsky
sorry i can't be of more help. best of luck!
Hi,
Java fern are very tough plants and can take a 4 minute dunk in a 1-19 solution of chlorine bleach and water. Mix 1 part chlorine bleach in 19 parts water. So 1 ounce chlorine to 19 parts water. If you need more mixture just use more bleach and water, i.e. 2 ounces bleach to 38 ounces water
If you use this method on more tender plants, such as stem plants, only leave them in for two minutes.
Then place the plant in this solution and time for four minutes. Rinse very well several times in unchlorinated water. It is a good idea to use a chlorine remover in the water just to be on the safe side.
After the plant is thoroughly rinsed and there is no chlorine smell left on it, you can then put it in the tank.
This will take care of algae, too. I have done this for many years, and I cannot attribute any disease to my plants. I have two heavily planted tanks.
The little plants growing on the leaves is just the java fern's way of creating new little java ferns
Left on their own, they will eventually break free and float around the tank looking for a place to lodge. You can remove these carefully. If you damage the big leaves, the damage will pretty much remain, however, you could carefully trim the leaf so it doesn't look so bad. Also, don't be alarmed if you see little black dots on the leaves. These are normal.
Valerie
Java fern are very tough plants and can take a 4 minute dunk in a 1-19 solution of chlorine bleach and water. Mix 1 part chlorine bleach in 19 parts water. So 1 ounce chlorine to 19 parts water. If you need more mixture just use more bleach and water, i.e. 2 ounces bleach to 38 ounces water
If you use this method on more tender plants, such as stem plants, only leave them in for two minutes.Then place the plant in this solution and time for four minutes. Rinse very well several times in unchlorinated water. It is a good idea to use a chlorine remover in the water just to be on the safe side.
After the plant is thoroughly rinsed and there is no chlorine smell left on it, you can then put it in the tank.
This will take care of algae, too. I have done this for many years, and I cannot attribute any disease to my plants. I have two heavily planted tanks.
The little plants growing on the leaves is just the java fern's way of creating new little java ferns
Left on their own, they will eventually break free and float around the tank looking for a place to lodge. You can remove these carefully. If you damage the big leaves, the damage will pretty much remain, however, you could carefully trim the leaf so it doesn't look so bad. Also, don't be alarmed if you see little black dots on the leaves. These are normal. Valerie
In addition to the info above... Java ferns do well with low to medium light because they are slow growers. For this reason, algae tends to grow on their leaves. I used to scrub the algae growth until I got four otos to take care of it all! Ever since these guys have been in my aquarium, the anubias and Java fern leaves have been algae free.
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