# What are these "bumps" on my java fern?



## StellaMaris (Apr 9, 2016)

I started my first planted tank... I have had lots of (tetra) tanks in the past, but always with gravel and fake plants; when I was planting today, I noticed the underside of one of the leaves on my java fern was full of little green bumps. I pulled off the leaf, and rinsed the plant before adding the rest of it to the tank.

I was guessing they were snail eggs? But it was supposed to be a snail free plant. I will try to upload a picture of it.


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## Crash (Jul 19, 2015)

Was it like...part of the plant or would the bumps come off?

To reproduce, Java fern has little brown bumps on it's leaves that sprout new baby java ferns  Threw me off the first time I saw them too, but if they look similar to this:

Then it's just little reproduction spores  Nothing to worry about!


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## StellaMaris (Apr 9, 2016)

It didn't quite look like that... now I'm wondering if it's not really a java fern. It looks a bit different than the picture you posted.


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## hellobird (Nov 11, 2015)

Some of them are baby java ferns for sure, I'm not 100% certain about all of them though, but they aren't snail eggs, they are generally coated in "jelly" and very small. You could float the leaf in a separate container of water and see how the bumps develop, if you're lucky they will all be plantlets!


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## Crash (Jul 19, 2015)

If they looked tubular-ish then it's probably just developing babies. I had a few on my java ferns when I first got them.


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