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I noticed that one of my java ferns has 4 DAUGHTER PLANTS(i guess thats what you call them) What i want to know is what would be my best bet in raising them to reg. java fern? I was thinking of either put the whole plant in the hospital tank or puting just the dauters in the hospital. what should i do? I dont want to keep it in my main tank because i am afraid sooner or later my fish might eat the fresh daughters. PLEASE HELP

i had 2 medium java ferns in my 15G
and i got lots of daughter plants from them
i just leave them planted infront of the parent plants
looks great and my fish doesn't bother them at all
they are growing at an amazing rate, they are half the
height of the parent plants

Hi,
While I understand the desire to keep the fish
from munching on the young tender shoots, I am
even more reluctant to suggest that you change
tanks. The environment in the current tank is
obviously perfect for the plant and the other
tank(s) may not have the same qualities.
That could ruin or at the very least set the
plant back. I would leave them be as was
suggested in the second post.

Frank


[span class="edited"][Edited by FRANK 2004-07-15 18:13][/span]

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you are so lucky with your find. and frank is right you should leave it in the tank it is already in. Because it does sound like the ferns love it there. ANd can i ask do you use co2?

Java ferns, IME, are rarely eaten by fish. The leaves may be too tough or bitter tasting; I would also leave them where they are until it gets too crowded.

Java fern, or in any case all Microsorium species contain chemicals that will deter most herbivorous fish from eating the leaves.

So just leave them where thay are till they get bigger and un attachthemselves from the mother plant, then plant them at the bottom as mentioned before.

Yeah, what they said. Fish don't eat java ferns in my experience. My java fern has had three daughter plants so far. One got separated too early and got sucked into the filter , but two are living happily in my sister's tank.

My crypt wendtii even had a daughter plant, which I though was a java fern at first! Well, what was I to expect when it was right next to the java fern, across the tank from the crypt? *grins*

Good luck and congrats!

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

Well i guess i will answer some questions
1-I do not use co2. This is what i add as fertilizer into my tank- 1ml of seachem iron everyday, 1ml of comprehensive seachem plant supplement on mondays and fridays , Lighting is the standard perfecto fixture running at 1 watt per gallon.
2These plants are rarely eaten by fish. I have benn having a problem with my redtail black shark eating holes in the leaves. At first i thought it was something wrong with my water parameters but then one day i caught it red handed. regardless, i will be getting rid of him by next weekend.

So everyone thinks that they will be fine and just anchor them selves down in the tank? wont they float though?Wont they get sucked into my filter? By the way , i bought the plant 3 months ago. Altogether i have 5 java ferns. I would have to say they are one of m favorite plants. 3 of the others were given to me 6 months ago and have never got daughters. The other 1 was a cut off from a larger one in my tank and is almost regular sive now.

From one java I bought in the store, I have a large mason jar packed with daughter plants.. Also planted my 10 gal full.. Yes these plants are easy indeed. You will get alot more. The trick for me though is how to get mine to grow faster ? Prob if I tie them onto some rocks or wood ?

Even if you cut a leaf off the java fern and leave it in the tank, daughter plants will develop on it.

Move the plant to a shaded spot for a week or 2 then watch what happens !


The Amazon Nut...