Why is my java fern struggling to survive?

[Rampar]

I'm dealing with a Java fern issue in my tank - three clumps, all with leaves turning greyish-brown and disintegrating. Some leaves still have green tips, but I'm not sure if they'll recover.

Should I trim off the dead and dying leaves for now, or just let things play out?

Long-term, I want to figure out what's going on. I recently got rid of a moderate BGA problem by adding nitrogen, reducing light, and increasing water changes. The BGA was mainly on the ferns, and now those areas are where the leaves are dying. Could the BGA have killed the plants, and I'm just seeing the aftermath now?

I've also been using Excel in my tank, despite warnings it might harm valisnaria - but those plants seem fine. Could Excel be the culprit behind my Java fern issues?

[Awake]

It was probably the BGA that damaged your fern, as it would've blocked light to the covered areas, ultimately killing those cells. Now that the cyanobacteria is gone, it's likely the plant will recover.

I'm not too familiar with Excel, so I won't be of much help with that.

[raysun]

I've always had this issue with new Java Ferns and I just trim off the affected leaves as I notice them going bad. I also remove any leaves that develop plantlets on them.

Over time, the plant is left with leaves that have grown accustomed to my tank's water parameters, and it seems to stay healthy from then on. I've always assumed, maybe incorrectly, that the change in water parameters from the nursery or wild to my own tank is the culprit.

[boxreef]

Are your Java ferns attached to rocks or driftwood, or are they planted in the substrate?

[bronze_shield]

Cut the dead leaves off, keep the tips with the baby ferns growing and just let them float in the tank. They'll take their time to grow, but it's basically free Java Fern. Cutting the dead leaves away helps the plant conserve resources, so it can focus on creating new growth instead of trying to repair the damaged leaves.

[sSjey]

I'm going to take a guess that the BGA was the culprit behind the damage to your Java fern. It probably blocked light from reaching the areas it was covering, killing those cells. Now that the BGA is gone, the plant should start growing back.

As for Excel, I'm not familiar with it, so I won't be able to offer any advice on that.

[bronze_shield]

I just can't believe I keep doing this - commenting on ridiculously old threads. It's getting ridiculous. I think it would be super helpful if the mods could just lock these ancient threads to prevent this from happening in the future.

[sSjey]

Going back through countless pages to lock every thread would be a monumental task. Instead, it would make more sense for the admins to implement a software change that prevents posting on threads with no activity in, say, a certain number of months. I've seen this done on another forum I frequent - if a thread hasn't been posted in for 120 days or more, it flags up a warning, suggesting you start a new thread unless you're sure you want to revive the old one.

[Raynae]

I often find myself in a situation where I'm uncertain about a discussion on a post here, so I take a moment to fact-check by searching online for relevant articles or YouTube videos. More often than not, the top search result ends up being the very same post on this site that initially caused my confusion.

[happyone]

I'm going to take a guess that the BGA was the culprit behind the damage to your Java fern. It probably blocked light from reaching the areas it was covering, killing those cells. Now that the BGA is gone, the plant should start growing back.

As for Excel, I'm not familiar with it, so I won't be able to offer any advice on that.

Or we could just lock them as they come up. I wonder if Rampar's java fern is still thriving after all these years.