Why are my java fern leaves so short?

[Beastie]

I recently got a java fern in August, it came as a bundle with leaves about 15 cm long and some shorter ones, around 7 leaves. I split it into two and put them in separate tanks, tying each to a rock. One tank was at 29°C and the other at 25°C.

Looking at the pictures, I can see it's grown quite a bit from

to

and from

to



Lately, even more of the long leaves turned brown and fell off, and what's left is just a bunch of small leaves that don't seem to be getting any taller. Is this normal? Do the long leaves usually get replaced by a bunch of short ones?

I've never had this plant before, so I'm not sure if it's lacking something or if this is just how it grows. Most of my plants don't do great over time, except for my anubias - I've had it for 10 years and it's now 6 plants. Every other plant does okay for a while, then it doesn't, and I'm hoping this one isn't going to be the same.

[rockyfox]

I recently got a java fern in August, it came as a bundle with leaves about 15 cm long and some shorter ones, around 7 leaves. I split it into two and put them in separate tanks, tying each to a rock. One tank was at 29°C and the other at 25°C.

Looking at the pictures, I can see it's grown quite a bit from

to

and from

to



Lately, even more of the long leaves turned brown and fell off, and what's left is just a bunch of small leaves that don't seem to be getting any taller. Is this normal? Do the long leaves usually get replaced by a bunch of short ones?

I've never had this plant before, so I'm not sure if it's lacking something or if this is just how it grows. Most of my plants don't do great over time, except for my anubias - I've had it for 10 years and it's now 6 plants. Every other plant does okay for a while, then it doesn't, and I'm hoping this one isn't going to be the same.

I've had java ferns for a bit, and I've noticed when they get new leaves, they're usually small to mid-sized. These plants aren't exactly speed demons, they take their time. One thing they do produce a lot of is baby ferns, but actual growth is slow to appear. My new leaves have grown a bit, but nothing dramatic - it's been about 2 months and maybe they've added an inch, hard to say.

[shakinStevens]

I recently got a java fern in August, it came as a bundle with leaves about 15 cm long and some shorter ones, around 7 leaves. I split it into two and put them in separate tanks, tying each to a rock. One tank was at 29°C and the other at 25°C.

Looking at the pictures, I can see it's grown quite a bit from

to

and from

to



Lately, even more of the long leaves turned brown and fell off, and what's left is just a bunch of small leaves that don't seem to be getting any taller. Is this normal? Do the long leaves usually get replaced by a bunch of short ones?

I've never had this plant before, so I'm not sure if it's lacking something or if this is just how it grows. Most of my plants don't do great over time, except for my anubias - I've had it for 10 years and it's now 6 plants. Every other plant does okay for a while, then it doesn't, and I'm hoping this one isn't going to be the same.

I've had a similar issue with most of my plants, except for my anubias, which I've had for 10 years and it's done incredibly well, spawning 6 new plants. I'm starting to think that maybe my plants are struggling with nutrient deficiencies, I've never really used a fertilizer before, but I've heard that it can make a huge difference. When plants don't do well, it's often because they're lacking something, like nitrogen, potassium, or phosphate. Anubias is pretty tolerant of low nutrient levels, which is probably why it's doing so well in my tank, but my other plants might not be as lucky.

[Beastie]

I've always thought it might be a nutrient issue, but I was hoping they'd get enough from leftover food and such. Thing is, I've got a pretty sensitive bunch of critters in my tanks - frogs, corries, snails, shrimp... I'd love to know how you guys manage to fertilize with all these guys swimming around. Do you just take a chance and trust the manufacturers to keep the poisonous stuff out?

[sSjey]

I've got shrimp and snails too, but I've had no issues using fertiliser. I use Seachem Flourish Comprehensive Supplement, just at half the recommended dose, seems to work fine for me.

[shakinStevens]

Fertilizers have been around for over a century and aquarium owners have been using them for decades. Most fertilizers are safe if you follow the manufacturer's instructions and avoid ammonia-based ingredients. I've never seen any evidence to suggest that aquarium fertilizers are toxic if used correctly.

The key is to stick to the recommended dose. Don't just increase it if you don't see immediate results. I recall a post where someone was overdosing on fertilizer, pushing the iron levels to over 2ppm. While it did promote plant growth, it also created potentially toxic conditions. The issue was a zinc deficiency, which was only addressed by increasing the dose to 20 times the recommended amount.

Some fertilizers rely on your water providing certain nutrients. I used to use Flourish Comprehensive, but I didn't get great results because my filtered water was almost nutrient-free. I ended up making my own comprehensive fertilizer, but you might have better luck with Flourish. Alternatively, I'd recommend trying GLA Micro EDTA+DTPA for your micronutrients. It's worked well for me in my filtered water. As for the macronutrients, your fish and water might already be providing enough nitrogen, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and sulfur for your plants. If not, the GLA website has instructions for dosing these nutrients.

[sSjey]

I'd still suggest looking into GLA Micro EDTA+DTPA, but I see it's a US-only shipping thing, so that's a bummer.