WolfPack21

Hello Everyone, I just bought my first Java Fern Plant. I was told that I need to tie it down to driftwood? I have a flourescent that came with my tank. Is there anything else that I need to get? Thanks!

Beth1965

You don't really need to tie it to driftwood. You can plant it into the substrate, leaving a portion of the top of the roots exposed. I think it grows pretty fast, you'll have new plants from it in a couple months.
Beth

Fish Addict

Yeah, I'm not sure about how fast it grows, but you can plant it anywhere you want, just make sure the rhizome (the stick-like thing that the roots are coming out of) isn't buried.

MizRamzi

Hey! I didn't see no stick like thingy stickin outta my ferns. Now i gotta go dig em up and look, jeeeeeeez

Fish Addict

Here's a link if you want a picture
Plants with Rhizomes

prairielilly

You can tie it to just about anything that's in your tank - driftwood, rocks, ornaments - just make sure you like it bc it'll stay on it. The link that Fish Addict gave has some info on tying plants to stuff. You can plant it too as said, but I like it attached to something bc it's so convenient. If you need to clean the tank, move the plant + object plant's tied to. If you need to clean the plant, pull the whole thing out of the tank.

You can buy a liquid fertilizer (like Seachem's Flourish) but you likely won't need it too much. I've read it's best to let the new plant be in your tank for about a month before you start adding ferts, to see what it actually needs that it's not getting from your water.

It will make little 'babies' - tiny java ferns will grow on the leaves, with their roots trailing off into the water. Wait til the leaves are around 3/4-1" then gently tug the whole new plant off and plant it somewhere else. When I bought mine a month or so ago, there were no babies - now I've got mini java ferns all over my tanks!

WolfPack21

Thanks Everyone, I just attached the plant to the top of one of my ornaments with a rubber band. So now its just a waiting game? And I should only buy one?

Butterfly

The roots on Java fern are water roots and really won't take nutrients from the substrate and may even rot when buried. The Rhizome especially will rot if planted.
I think you will enjoy your ferns like the rest of us once it gets to growing
before you buy more see how you like this one.
Carol

Beth1965

I have no doubt Butterfly is correct though I've planted several in the substrate and they thrived, same with the ones I've attached to various objects.
Beth

Butterfly

I'm glad they did well for you
I was going by my experience and Cristal Kasselmanns book that tells a little about how they grow in the wild, they grow attached (at the rhizome) to objects and the roots flow in the water.
But you never know until you try it.
Carol

Beth1965

At the risk of hijacking this thread; this is what I love about this site, getting to read about everyones diff experiences.
Beth

WolfPack21

Thanks for the input everyone...I when ahead and attached it to a piece of driftwood. I also went ahead and bought a timer for it, now how many hours of light does this plant need? I have a flourescent that has 17 watts...

MissMTS

I keep my lights on abou 10-12 hours per day on my planted tanks

WolfPack21

Ok thanks, I set it for 10 hours and I will see how it work!

Butterfly

Yep me too
Carol

eepruls

Make sure you put your plant in a weak bleach solution ('bleach dip') before putting the plant into your tank. I made the mistake of not doing this when I first got java ferns and before long I had pond snails everywhere. Trust me, kill those snail eggs that hitch a ride on plants BEFORE you put the plant in the tank. Snails are insidious little creatures.

Butterfly

a 19water/1 bleach is what is recommended then rinse well in water that has been heavily dechlored.
Carol

WolfPack21

Can you see the snails on the plant before you buy it? I bought it from Petsmart, where they did not have fish or snails in the tanks...

Butterfly

Not usually. But frequently they have eggs on them which hatch out once the plants are in the tank.
Carol

matt6765

They have plants at petsmart that say snail free

Butterfly

Yes they do but I don't know that I would take the chance that that is correct. i guess I don't trust Petsmart very much.
Carol

matt6765

why dont you... what do you have against it

Butterfly

I buy a lot of my dry goods at Petsmart as well as my frozen foods. But I among many others have bought plants that weren't aquatic there (it's a rite of passage when your a newbie). Most of their employees in the fish dept don't know enough about fish to give good advice about them (not their fault their not trained).
I Have gotten plants from petsmart that brought snails in, I would rather treat them or put them in with the loaches for a while. What I said about not trusting them wasn't meant really as a criticism but just that I personally would rather be safe than sorry
Carol

matt6765

I know what you mean.I bought a plant their and it died

prairielilly

how long does it take snail eggs to hatch (as in, how long after you've bought your plants and have been snail-free, can you expect to stay snail-free lol)

I have no idea if my plants had snail eggs on them when I bought them (I'm sure most ppl new to plants don't know what to look for) but I did a bleach dip, it's been a month and I have yet to see a snail

Butterfly

I would think if you haven't seen any in a couple of weeks you won't see any :0
carol

prairielilly

Butterfly

eepruls

While they may say 'snail free' that doesn't mean that a few eggs can't hitch a ride by accident. All it takes is one egg and before long you'll have snails everywhere. It started slow for me; I think I saw my first snail like a month later but I had them everywhere soon after.

I wouldn't implicitly trust a sign that says 'snail free' because they can't monitor every plant that comes in. The eggs are tiny and so they're not something you see right away. In fact, I never saw them when I bought my plants but they were there. I would rather err on the safe side and just give them a bleach dip in case you get a batch that happen to have a few eggs. Better safe than sorry!

WolfPack21

I am addicted to my fish now...anyway I went ahead and bought a Java Fern for my 10 Gallon along with some driftwood! Since the plant would reach near the top of the tank on my driftwood, I attached it to the side of one of my huts in the tank...hope it works!