# Funny Brown Threads on Java Fern?



## TeeAndToby (Jul 27, 2014)

Just as the title says... what on earth are these things on my Java Fern? They're on two leaves at the moment...

(in this picture, they're on the leaf that breaches the water's surface)


















That's about as clear a picture as I could get with my phone, unfortunately...


----------



## Aqua Aurora (Oct 4, 2013)

Are these brown threads on the underside of the leaf? If so congratulations, you have java plantlets (babies!). Java fern is an odd plant in that is grows tons of babies right on the 'mother leaf' which is any large leaf of the plant. They do this as the leaf gets old, as well as from sudden changes in environment or shock to the plant (such as moving from sale tank at store to home tank). The odd brown threads are actually the root system of the new plant, if you look closely you should see a thin green dot or tiny stick they are growing from (baby rhizome) and should see little leaves soon too. Some people don't like the look of the plantlets and will rip them off immediately, but its a new free plant! Leave it on the mother plant until it detaches on its own (leaving it on lets it grow bigger quicker, kinda like a baby with its umbilical cord feeding from its mother.. if prematurely born/severed from the cord they need help getting nutrients and growing). A mother leaf can sprout 1 baby or over 20! Often the leaf will die after the baby is removed or detaches naturally, as the plant leaf usually makes plantlets when is old, or if is enviroment changed so the new plants are adapted to the new waters.
I have the needle leaf variety of java fern and several leaves have planlets right now, the leaves of the babies are over 4" long already but still attached to the mothers. A year ago I had regular java fern and ripped all the plantlets off while still tiny (the main plant as destroyed by a fish that was suppose to not eat java fern...), they grew incredibly slow (even by java fern standards) and I got sick of waiting for them to get big and gave them away. So now I leave them on and let them grow big When they pop off I'll attach them to driftwood with the parent plant.


----------



## autojoy (Jun 16, 2014)

Hi! I think this is Java Fern producing new plantlets...? Not sure if I can post outwards-going links on the site but check this photo out: http://tinyurl.com/q6tcmbg Or, google "Java Fern Reproducing" and see if yours looks like it's starting to do just that! 

EDIT: Ah, Aurora posted quicker than I!


----------



## TerriGtoo (Jul 2, 2013)

Congratulations! You are a new parent to baby Java Ferns! 
(When I got my first Java Fern years ago, I freaked at the little brown spots under the leaves. Thought I had a major disease running rampant in my tank...but....that's where your babies start out.  Makes sense, since if you look at a land fern you'll see the same thing.


----------



## TeeAndToby (Jul 27, 2014)

Ooooh, that's so cool! I took a second peek and definitely could see the rhizome. Good to know it isn't a disease, lol.


----------

