# Planted Tanks > Beginners' Corner >  Java fern turning brown!?

## blk115

hi all, i got a 3ft tank with bichirs inside.. endy, ornate and afew others.. i drop in some java fern tied to some DW that i got from the LFS.. within 2 weeks, i see them turning brown and some healthy green leaves are dropping out. can anyone tell me wad is wrong? i on my light from 6am to 10am and 6pm to 10pm daily. thankS!

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## richmaster

Is your tank between 71 degrees and 86 degrees? If you have your plant in gravel then that might be your problem. If the plant is new then it should be tied to a rock for the roots to grow.

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## blk115

it's a bare bottom tank.. around 30degrees.. it's not really nice.. 2 to 3 weeks?

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## |squee|

Your lighting period must be in one full burst... from 8am to 6pm perhaps. 

Temperature not ideal, also contributes to their poor health.

And also they were just bought, therefore they are still turning from emersed form to submersed form and will also turn brown in the process.

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## Verminator

Java ferns are notorious for being burnt if the light is too bright yes. Photo period doesnt have to be in one full burst, atleast i dont. I prefere to have a siesta period of 2 hours inbetween. I have my lights on from 10am - 3pm. 2 hour siesta till 5pm and then on again from 5pm - 10pm. So 10 hours in total with 2 hour siesta inbetween. Java fern leaves brown very quickly and very easily i find. Once they start to look more brown/black than green i have started trimming them off where it joins to the rhyzome, leaving space for new leaves to grow (which hasnt happened yet i must add)

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## blk115

yea.. i trim alot of the brown part away and now it has become kind of bald.. looks damn ugly.. zzz

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## Verminator

I'm in the same situation as you there then. I've been assured it'll grow back, so i'm just waiting on this now myself.

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## Burnz

Might help if you reduce lighting period to maybe 4-6hrs? Or use a lower wattage light. It helps to keep water temp lower. From my experience ferns dun really need too much light to do well. cheers

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## jacian

It is a bichirs tank, so I guess you could be running air pump. Also, are the lights tube for the planted tank? I will say that the tank environment may just not be suitable for the plant.

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## blk115

yes i;m running a air pump.. i not sure if the lights are for planted.. it's white light.. exact voltage got to check.. you know wad condition, eg. lights, water parameter, and temperature is good for them to grow?

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## WaterH2O

I used to have a clump of java fern in my 1 feet tank without CO2 and it was the hardliest plant I have there all other plants e.g mosses died and it still survives.
Lights - 9W aquarium light (not for plant tank, it comes as a set with the tank-type)
No CO2, temp around 28-30 deg. 

Now, I planted the plantlet of this Java fern in my 3ft tank and it has grown quite bushy. Lights 1x55w PL, 2x39 T5HO, temp around 28degree with fan and no air pump. CO2 injection. Fert 3 times a week with weekly WC.

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## WaterH2O

Oh one more thing Java fern are slow growers.

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## AquaObsession

I do not agree that java ferns get burnt under strong lights.  :Smile: 

Cheers, Christophe

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## blk115

care to explain why java ferns wont get burnt under strong lights

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## AquaObsession

My ferns are growing under 2*150 MH, with water around 27-28 degrees I think. On for 8-9 hours a day. I dose more than needed on fert, and perform 50&#37;+ water change weekly. My ferns are growing at a fast rate, leaves have no algae at all. Basically it's thriving under strong lights. And they are on a wood and closes to the MH lights. Look in aquascaping section for my thread (back-breaking rescape in mind).

I will try to post a picture today of the fern, how much it grew over the past few weeks. (i have cut a few leaves yesterday though).

Think that in high light tank, you need to doze adequately, and have enough Co2 (and cool enough waters , i.e. ~ 28 degrees or less.

Added a latest picture for you to prove that Java ferns do enjoy bright light.



Cheers, Christophe

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## AquaObsession

Another one.

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## jacian

Usually we do not use air pump in planted tank as it drives away CO2. The main problem with the bichir tank will be high nitrate and phosphate. Low light, low CO2 with high nitrate and phosphate is definitely not an ideal environment for plants.

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## victri

If, as they say, your fish/feeding is resulting in high nitrate and phosphate count, then you'll definitely need to have proper adequate lighting (8-10hrs a day) and consider maybe injecting CO2 though I don't know how that will affect your bichirs. 

I've never experienced ferns being "burnt" by powerful aquarium lighting. 30 deg C is not exactly ideal, but it shouldn't affect normal java ferns that much. You'll definitely see a great difference once you get the basics right (light + ferts + CO2). Even with a bare bottom tank, a nice arrangement of ferns tied to wood/rock can be very appealing.

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## jetset

Any salt in the tanks? I've removed mine from my mollie tank (salt) coz the leaves turned brown about 2 weeks later. Recovering in freshwater tank now.... new leaves just spouted in about 2 weeks. Bright lights for at least 8 hrs also... no CO2... temp 26 degrees.

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## blk115

ok.. i guess mind be due to the airpump that's reducing all the amount of CO2 in my tank.. will take note and remove and put in another tank. thanks alot for the advise

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## Jules1

I had no problem growing java fern. In fact it grew like a weed in my tank.

That was until i raised the pH in my tank. 

With the increase in pH the java fern has begun to brown in parts exposed to the most light.

Originally the tank was very acidic (pH 5-6) due to some bog wood, which the java fern loved as a base.

When I wanted to add new fish to the tank from a store, I needed to raise the pH to more neutral conditions to prevent new fish going into pH shock.

Now with the higher pH (7.2) the java fern is suffering.

Although it is supposed to grow between pH 5 and 8, from my experience java fern is very light sensitive at higher pHs.

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