# Bubble-like Growth on Java Fern



## Anime Fish (Apr 28, 2013)

Hi! :-D I've begun fishless cycling my new tank for exactly a week now and the only thing added to the tank water is Dr. Tim's ammonium chloride and Prime. I'm still looking for a good plant fert for my java ferns I got last weekend.

Anyways, today while looking at the java ferns, I noticed a foggy bubble (about 1/2 cm long) with two white spots in it on the leaf of my smallest java fern. I tried getting it off with a net but it seems 'glued' on to the leaf and it won't 'pop' like an air bubble. :-?

I'll probably snip off the leaf with the 'bubble growth' all together but I'm wondering if you guys would give your thoughts on what this could be? Fungus? Eggs?

Thanks! 




























^Sorry for the poor quality pictures; the growth is circled in red.


EDIT: I snipped off the leaf and looked at the 'bubble growth' more closely...the texture was gel-like. It seems a lot like an egg but I really don't remember seeing this when I bought the plant. I also found another 'bubble growth' on the other side of the leaf. Eek, I'm hoping no snails or any other 'hitch hikers' hatched in the tank. D:


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## andakin (Aug 10, 2009)

Looks like snail eggs.


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## Aqua Aurora (Oct 4, 2013)

I agree, looks like snail eggs does it feel like a semi firm snot (gross I know but best way to describe consistency). If you take a close look there should be several tiny opaque dots (snail eggs)in there, the outer blob just adheres them to something.
If you don't want snails just push it off the leaf and put it in a sealed trash bag. DO NOT let it go down the drain/toilet or outside.


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## Anime Fish (Apr 28, 2013)

andakin said:


> Looks like snail eggs.





Aqua Aurora said:


> I agree, looks like snail eggs does it feel like a semi firm snot (gross I know but best way to describe consistency). If you take a close look there should be several tiny opaque dots (snail eggs)in there, the outer blob just adheres them to something.
> If you don't want snails just push it off the leaf and put it in a sealed trash bag. DO NOT let it go down the drain/toilet or outside.


Ok, thank you both very much!  Yes, it does look a lot like snail eggs and I remember there were many pond snails in the tank from which I bought the plants from. Are snails an essential part of the tank 'community' or are they just considered pests?


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## Aqua Aurora (Oct 4, 2013)

Anime Fish said:


> Ok, thank you both very much!  Yes, it does look a lot like snail eggs and I remember there were many pond snails in the tank from which I bought the plants from. Are snails an essential part of the tank 'community' or are they just considered pests?


That's a matter of personal opinion. I find them to be a normal part of the planted tank and don't mind them. But plenty of people think snail=instant pest. You won't have a populations explosion unless you have an overly plentiful food source: algae, dead plant matter, uneaten fish food, that fungus that grows on newly submerged driftwood.


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## Anime Fish (Apr 28, 2013)

Aqua Aurora said:


> That's a matter of personal opinion. I find them to be a normal part of the planted tank and don't mind them. But plenty of people think snail=instant pest. You won't have a populations explosion unless you have an overly plentiful food source: algae, dead plant matter, uneaten fish food, that fungus that grows on newly submerged driftwood.


That makes sense, I hope to add a large snail to my tank in the future although right now I'm not sure I'm ready since I think my current plants are dying. :-(

The java ferns' rhizomes seem to be rotting (?). Are there any ways to help the plants? Fertilizers? They've been in the tank for 5 days now.


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## Aqua Aurora (Oct 4, 2013)

What the rhizome put under the substrate at some point? Perhaps at the store you bought it from? My petsmart does this, they won't fix it even when told its killing the plant =.= All the lighter brown roots ar dieing but the ones that are still black and firm are ok.


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## Anime Fish (Apr 28, 2013)

Aqua Aurora said:


> What the rhizome put under the substrate at some point? Perhaps at the store you bought it from? My petsmart does this, they won't fix it even when told its killing the plant =.= All the lighter brown roots ar dieing but the ones that are still black and firm are ok.


Yes they were under the substrate in the store, unfortunately, and I bought these java ferns from Petsmart as well. 

Oh really? I was thinking the darker parts were rotting; it's good to know the plant is still surviving.  I've noticed there is a white fuzz growing on the rhizome; this is probably a fungus. Do I scrub this off the plant?

Sorry for all the questions, and thank you for all the help so far! :-D


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## Aqua Aurora (Oct 4, 2013)

Anime Fish said:


> Yes they were under the substrate in the store, unfortunately, and I bought these java ferns from Petsmart as well.
> 
> Oh really? I was thinking the darker parts were rotting; it's good to know the plant is still surviving.  I've noticed there is a white fuzz growing on the rhizome; this is probably a fungus. Do I scrub this off the plant?
> 
> Sorry for all the questions, and thank you for all the help so far! :-D


Nah the blacker brown root is a normal rot that range brown root is dad/dying root. Every time I buy regular java fern it always spits out baby plantlets on its leave sand all the old leaves die off after. But the rhizome will grow new leaves (your appears to have some small ones started already). As long as the whole rhizome does not turn black you should be ok.


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## Anime Fish (Apr 28, 2013)

Hi, so I'm back again with another concern, except for a whole different thing. I finally got the snails under control and haven't spotted one for two days now, except there is a whole new critter occupying the tank walls.









^One mite is circled. 

These tiny white "mites" appeared on the tank wall and they move pretty fast. That's all I know; they're too tiny to make out if they have any features like antennae or legs. 

They are somewhat oval-shaped, white and there are hundreds of them on the tank wall.


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