Who Gives A Fish Forums

I've got three tanks, all with Java fern and anubias on wood or lava rock, same lighting across the board. But in one tank, the anubias and Java fern on the wood are really struggling - they're rotting and dying. I've got plants from the same supplier in my other tanks, so I don't think it's the fact that they're partially submerged.

The only differences I can think of are the temperature - this tank's a couple degrees Celsius higher than the others - and the type of wood. This tank's got redmoor, whereas the others have bogwood. The redmoor did release more tannins initially, but that's stopped now.

Could these be the culprits? Any other ideas? Water parameters are all good in all tanks.

I came across an interesting video by Bentley Pascoe, a renowned aquatic horticulturist, where he mentions that Java fern requires a decent amount of potassium to thrive. On a related note, I also recall that Anubias plants need micronutrients like boron and molybdenum to bloom, which is a sign of a happy and healthy plant. Although you're not trying to get your Anubias to flower, it's worth considering whether a micronutrient deficiency could be contributing to the issues you're experiencing.

@aquamar I've had a couple of anubias bloom in my other tanks, which was really exciting, and my Java ferns are thriving, producing so many babies that I need to remove some to prevent overcrowding. However, the ones in the tank I'm struggling with just aren't doing well. I'm stumped. The only difference, aside from fish species and tank size, seems to be the type of wood they're growing on.

I've decided to move these pieces of wood to my 300L tank, which has a great plant growth record, to see if they'll do better. Although larger tanks tend to have more stable water parameters, the parameters are actually the same in this case. It'll be interesting to see how they do unless someone has any suggestions.

aquamar wrote: ↑Tue Apr 12, 2022 12:09 am I came across an interesting video by Bentley Pascoe, a renowned aquatic horticulturist, where he mentions that Java fern requires a decent amount of potassium to thrive. On a related note, I also recall that Anubias plants need micronutrients like boron and molybdenum to bloom, which is a sign of a happy and healthy plant. Although you're not trying to get your Anubias to flower, it's worth considering whether a micronutrient deficiency could be contributing to the issues you're experiencing.

I've gotta disagree, potassium might help but I don't add any extra nutrients to my Java fern and Anubias tank and they're thriving, especially the Java ferns which are growing loads of babies.

Temperature-wise, Java fern should be fine, but if it's a few degrees higher than what the plant's used to, it might take some time to adjust and possibly experience some melt.

dungeon wrote: ↑Tue Apr 12, 2022 3:02 am Temperature-wise, Java fern should be fine, but if it's a few degrees higher than what the plant's used to, it might take some time to adjust and possibly experience some melt.

My tank once reached 82°F and you know what, my Java ferns and anubias didn't even flinch - they handled it with ease.