# java fern plantlets



## bpb

Some of my older java fern leaves are starting to form plantlets on the ends of their leaves on the underside. At first it looked like roots shooting out from the underside, and as the days have passed, I see a rhizome forming and now small leaves are starting to sprout from said rhizomes as well as many more roots. I read that they will eventually die if you don't pluck them and attach them elsewhere. How long should I wait before I pull the plantlets off the leaves and transplant them?


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## demonr6

I have snipped off the leaf where the plantlet is growing and let it float off to continue growing once I see the plantlet has roots forming, I have at least five daughter plants in various stages all doing okay. I have left the old leaf on the plant for a while and not removing it right away. I am not sure of a right or wrong method, just going by experience.


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## kamikazi

My java fern is doing the same thing. No clue what I should do or when to do it.

This thread might get more response in the plant section.


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## hamsterman

I never removed them and never had them die on me. You can either leave them on or take them off...it shouldn't make a difference. I let mine grow attached and they tend to break off on their own.


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## tamsin

Yep, they eventually break off and float about until they get stuck in something. I've a clump of javamoss full of them.


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## BBradbury

*Your Java Fern*

_Hello bpb. Your Microsorium pteropus (Java Fern) is just reproducing. I wait until the plantlets have several small leaves on them before I clip them from the mother plant. Just attach the little ones to anything porous, like a piece of lava rock or drift or bogwood and you have a new plant. I use long pieces of black thread to attach the roots._

_Java Fern is a slow grower, but looks good in the tank next to other low light plants like Anubias or mosses._

_Keep in mind the mother plant will start to turn black as more plantlets form and for the sake of looks, needs to be removed._

_If you're using liquid ferts, avoid the use of Seachem's Flourish Excel, it contains a form of carbon that's toxic to this fern._

_BBradbury_


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## kamikazi

how do you "clip" the from the mother plant? I don't want to damage the rhizome.


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## BBradbury

*Java Fern Plantlets*

_Hello kamikazi. Just use a sharp pair of scissors and clip the part of the mother plant that's holding the plantlet. You don't want to clip the plantlet. The mother plant is going to eventually die and you want to establish the plant in another part of the tank or the plantlets will attach to something else and grow there. _

_B_


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## WildFish99

So Just clip the mother plants leaf by the plantlet or the whole leaf? This is my first time using live plants in my tank...


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## JJ09

In my tank, when the leaves on young plant have grown at least an inch long, I can just gently nudge it with my finger where its attached to the leaf, and it will pop right off. Then I tie it down somewhere else. I'd only cut a section of the mother leaf off w/the baby plant if it looked like the mature leaf is dying anyway.


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## SueD

I'd just leave it alone and let it detach itself. Then decide what to do with the plantlet when you see it floating around. I have java plantlets floating all the time - too many, actually. Some I leave to find their own resting place, some I place where i might want them, others I sometimes just toss.


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## Raith

When they get bigger, they'll only attach with a little tension, so even with your finger nails, you can easily pluck it off, you wouldn't damage it unless, of course, you're forcing your way into it. This is the way JF propagates, and it's a rewarding sight to behold!


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## PlantedRich

I find clipping part of the leaf off with the small plant makes a handy "handle" to use. Rather than gluing the roots of the new plant. I just dab the super glue on the small leaf portion to hold it in place until the roots set. I find it lots easier to work with the larger area than the small roots where I tend to glue my fingers as much as the roots.


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