# Java Fern, turned white, looks ill



## raven_wilde (Nov 16, 2005)

I seem to have a problem with some java ferns... which has never happened before so I am very puzzled.

This is occuring in my ten gallon cherry shrimp tank over the last week. The water tests out to be good ph, and nitrate/nitrite wise... did a water change on Sunday as usual and everything else is status quo. However, in the last week-during which I must add I've been extremly busy so since the water change I haven't really taken a good long look at the plants in there- two different java ferns on the same piece of driftwood but not next to eachother, have blanched, and it looks like they are thinner than the healthy leaves.

For the last few weeks I have not done my twice weekly dosing of flourish, mainly because I've been busy with classes and also because I've had some ferns from another tank in there to have nasty algae cleaned up by the shrimp. I have, however, been dosing excel on an almost daily basis (when I remember), and sometimes probably 2 or 3 times the recommended amount gets dumped in- I measure in a test tube but I have shaky hands! Could this be the issue?

I fertilized last night, flourish and flourish iron at the recommended amount... but it's hard to tell if this has had any effect yet.

What do you guys think is going on here? I'm worried, I really like my ferns.


----------



## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

Not sure, i have only ever seen them turn black when they get stressed out by algae or get too old.

I dont think it is the excel since i have several fern species in my tank and i dose literally 3-4x the daily dose of excel with no problems.

Perhaps the water change has damaged the chloroplasts inside the cells and bleached them. Did you use dechlor or notice any shirmp dying off? Short of that explanation im puzzled.


----------



## raven_wilde (Nov 16, 2005)

No, shrimp are all fine, in fact during my observations last night I noticed a new batch of babies. Could it be a potassium or other nutrient deficiency? I haven't been dosing that at all in the last three years... only flourish, excel, and iron. I thought I had my bases covered but maybe not.


----------

