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Java Ferns



Subject: Re: Diseased Java Fern?

>I have the same thing happen all the time.  Mine also develop
>adventitious baby plants as the parent leaf deteriorates.  I can find no
>cause or cure.  Funny, but it seems to not affect the "Tropica" variety.

Hi Jack,

Out of curiousity... Does your Java Fern "melt" affect the small leafed
variety of Java Fern, or just the two big ones?

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Subject: A fertilizing mess

Chazz wrote:

>The last week of November I set up a 75 gallon, heavily planted, tank.  I 
>work at a horticulture experiment station and have access to many 
>different fertilizers.  One of our best fertilizers is the brand 
>Nutricote.  I decided I would add some 360 day, slow release formulation 
>to my gravel as if I were planting a terestrial plant.  The result of 
>this decision is that my ammonia levels are always up over 7ppm, however 
>my fish haven't shown any signs of stress yet.  Algae hasn't been too 
>bad, yet; I've got 10 SAE's, 5 otocinclus and 1 clown pl*co.  I've tried 
>vaccuuming the fertilizer out of the gravel with my python but it doesn't 
>provide enough suction to pull the fertilizer prills out of the tank.  
>I'm thinking of attaching my gravel cleaner to my Magnum 350 to see if it 
>will create enough of a vaccuum to pull the prills out of the aquarium.  
>Any other suggestions?  My plants are all looking great but if I can't 
>remove a goodly amount of the fertilizer I think I'm stuck with frequent 
>H2O changes to keep my ammonia and phosphate levels down and my pH up.

Other than a complete revamp of the substrate, I can't really suggest a
solution to your problem... a good reason why experiments are best done in
small, easy to tear apart tanks!<g>

BUT, I'll bet you dollars to donuts that _this_ is what's wrong with your
Javas.  


Karen Randall
Aquatic Gardeners Association