# Peacock Fern



## BriGuy (Mar 5, 2013)

I just recently purchased a peacock fern and I have some questions.
First, how well would it grow in a low light setting? (3 LED'S)
Second, it has started to turn clear after about a week of having it in my tank.
(I just have the "roots" buried in some stones) not a NPT
Last, what are some other plants that would work well in a 5 gal with 3 LED'S?

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!


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## CrazyDiamond (Feb 20, 2013)

I will be keeping an eye on this thread because I also got a peacock fern over a week ago and it's not doing very well at all :/ it's in a natural jar, I call them my grow out jars, with soil and capped with gravel and it's "melting" however I was told to make sure the top of the plant was above the water because it needs oxygen straight from the air. I've done this and still it's "clear" like yours. There was nothing on the instructions about not fully submerging it, so idk :/ but try getting it to where part of it is above the water? or try floating it.


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## BriGuy (Mar 5, 2013)

Never thought about that, that could work!
But the way my tank is set up, it would be near impossible to have it above water. 
If that is the case, then I would have to scrap the plant and try something else...


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## SamJustice (May 5, 2012)

Peacock ferns aren't aquatic.
They're bog plants, i've been told. Quickly looking them up shows they're a tropical plant.

I'll go look up some info on them.
Petsmart suckered me in on this and I've forgotten what to do, since mine died. xD

EDIT
http://www.botanykingdom.com/thechosenones.htm
http://www.araflora.com/p1264/selaginella_willdenowii_peacock_fern
http://www.gardening.eu/arc/plants/Apartment-Plants/Selaginella-willdenowii-Desv.-ex-Poir.-Baker/63561/index_a.asp

In other words, it should do just fine potted.

But, if it was in one of those TopFin tubes, it may have been mis-labeled too. I've heard of that happening.


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## CrazyDiamond (Feb 20, 2013)

Yeah like I said they have to have part of their leaves above the water to get oxygen from the air :/


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## SamJustice (May 5, 2012)

They shouldn't be in water at all, according to quite a few sites and forums. They should be potted in a mixed substrate.

Which explains why mine died, it was too wet, not in mixed substrate, and I fail with potted plants in general. xD


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## RowdyBetta (Feb 1, 2013)

Lol, me too! which is why I only have a dwarf anubias and a moss ball. Almost impossible to kill.xD


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## CrazyDiamond (Feb 20, 2013)

My moss ball is dying actually lol it's in the same jar as the peacock fern -_- that's a shame, the peacock fern is soooo pretty D:


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## SamJustice (May 5, 2012)

I do alright with tank plants.
I've some amazon swords, a few little grass like plants I've forgotten the names of, duckweed (anyone can grow duckweed), some other floating ones I've forgotten, 2 moss balls.

Uhm.. Did you rinse the ball with tap water? if so, it may have absorbed some chlorine into it's center and that'd be whats killing it. Just rinse it out again, squeeze it out real good, and put it in a bowl of tank water and see if that helps it.


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## homegrown terror (Aug 6, 2012)

peacock fern nearly killed our first sorority...we didn't know it wasn't aquatic, put it in and in a matter of hours it had disintegrated, caused the water to stink of sulfur, and had all the girls lying in the gravel.


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## SamJustice (May 5, 2012)

Woah. That's a bit extreme. Never heard of it doing that. O.O Rotting and causing issues, yeah. But not that quick, nor that bad. That's insane. I had mine in my Raph's tank when I first got it for like 2 days before I got the chance to look up info on it.. xD


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## BriGuy (Mar 5, 2013)

Oh my word! thats awful! im taking mine out right away!
but I am glad to hear that moss balls work well. Do they cause lots of algae to form?


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## CrazyDiamond (Feb 20, 2013)

I think moss balls ARE algae  pretty neato 
And yes -_- I rinsed it in tap, poo lol let's fix that.


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## SamJustice (May 5, 2012)

I think they are too, but they do help with preventing algae growth. But you also have to remember the other steps to algae outbreak prevention. lol

I've done that a time or two, myself. Once you've rinsed and squeezed, rinse it in the bowl you're going to put it in, and squeeze it over the sink a time or two.
It should be fine. ^.^


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## CrazyDiamond (Feb 20, 2013)

It's also a really big moss ball lol it may be close to dying anyways, I wonder how old it is because I've heard they grow very slowly and this one is huge. But he's all clean now ^^


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## RowdyBetta (Feb 1, 2013)

My moss balls are LITTLE xP Lol, I've had it since my first betta 3 yrs ago.


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## BriGuy (Mar 5, 2013)

so rinse it with tap water, squeeze, rinse it with tank water, squeeze it over a sink, then put it in? (do I have to do that if I have well water?)


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## SamJustice (May 5, 2012)

Yeah, I would. Put it ina bowl all by it's lonesome for a few days and it should be good.

Eh. Never heard of a plant like that dying due to old age.. xD


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## CrazyDiamond (Feb 20, 2013)

kk lol I will try to save it, was kind of hoping it would just die, I have an animosity toward it but if it dies I'll feel bad -_-


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## SamJustice (May 5, 2012)

Lol. wish you could bring it to me, I want a few more, but can't afford to buy any atm. xD
But, it's not like you live next door. xD


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## RowdyBetta (Feb 1, 2013)

Lol, me too, SamJustice! XD I'd like to at least 4 more.


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## CrazyDiamond (Feb 20, 2013)

Nope xD he's a big moss ball, about 2.75" across at least, maybe 3"  I call him Jim lol


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## SamJustice (May 5, 2012)

Lol.
Mine are only an inch and a half or so. Want to get a few more. Want three in the ten gal, and two for the future 5 gal.


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## xShainax (Feb 11, 2012)

My dad threw mine away -_-


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