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i bought some Java fern for my 16 gal community tank today.
The first bunch was put into part of the driftwood, while the other bunch is just floating around for the time being.

Can java fern survive and grow while floating, or does it need to be attached to something?

you should attatch it to something. Either wood or stone. I find that if you just let java fern float, it stays small and the leaves are difformed. It usually finds some place on its own to anchor if you just let it float. Alot of times it is the filter intake.

can i use rubber rands to attach it to driftwood?

It doesn't really grow but can survive indefinitely while floating around. Usually eventually gets stuck to the filter intake causing problems.

Rubberbands work ok but if it's too small and you really have to stretch it then it will cut into the plant. Also they breakdown in water so eventually they will come apart. Hopefully your plant has grown before then and you remove the rubberband when it comes apart. I had a tetra swallow some floating rubberband chunks. Surprisingly despite the chunks being rather large it never showed any health issues and lived a couple more years. I usually use nylon string or fishing line.

I prefer to tie it to DW rather than rocks it seems to grow better. As it is a slow grower I only use 15lb nylon fishing line then remove it when the plant has got a good hold.

You question yes it will float that is how it naturally propergates its self the little top plantlets break off and drift around until they find a new host to grow on. I have one piece of Serrated Java Fern growing on the DW in the Betta tank a plantlet broke of and attached its self to a rough edge on the DW and it is now growing strong. In fact I often see the Betta underneath it like an umbrella.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info

Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

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as u guys predicted it floated around for a few days, and ten attached itself to the driftwood. Shame it attached itself sideways