Java ferns keep dying off

[jenifermarie]

I rescaped my 29G after the auction two weeks ago and since then all my java ferns have either died off or are in the process of dying off.  I bought a normal java fern and a narrow java fern at the auction -

The normal java fern went brown and kind of mushy (sorry no better way to describe it, it didn't really go into holes) within about 5 days, I trimmed off all the dying leaves (which left about 5 leaves) they have since turned brown and died too, so I cut them all off and left one tiny shoot which hasnt died yet.  I then replaced it with about 8 plantlets from my 10G tank last weekend - 7 are dead, 1 has half a leaf left green. 

The narrow java fern seems better but I can see it is slowly thinning out and a lot of leaves are getting brown spots.

Ive got diy CO2 running on the tank, and I use ferts once a week.  The rest of the plants have settled in nicely, my anubias has already put out a new leaf and my sag and moss are both looking nice and green.

Any suggestions?  Ive done some reading and read it could be that my lights are burning them (unlikely, Im running two 23w cf twisters in ikea lamps, hardly high lighting) or it could be a potassium deficiency..do either of these sound likely?

[henry]

If you plant it in the substrate,  you should not cover the rizome. The plant will not do well if the rizome is covered.If the rhizome is buried it will rot and the plant will die.

I like to attach it to wood.

http://www.fishandtips.com/displaydb.php?ID=51

[jenifermarie]

All of the java ferns are tied to driftwood and well above the substrate

[fischkopp]

What's the temperature? Ferns don't do so well in warmer water.

[jenifermarie]

It usually hangs around 24.4-24.7C, would you say that is too high?  That is a nice easy fix if that is the case

[dan2x38]

that temp is fine... how did you mount it to the wood? maybe it was tied to tight... it could be possible there is a deficentcy but if there was all the othe rplants would be suffering. Do you have java fern in another tank? If so how is it doing?

[fischkopp]

Yep, the temperature is ok. It might be that the plant is just going through an adjustment period, where it will grow new leaves that are adapted to the new tank conditions while the old leaves are rejected.

Did you measure any water parameters? What is the colour temperature of the spiral bulbs?

[dan2x38]

Did you measure any water parameters? What is the colour temperature of the spiral bulbs?

OR did the bulbs say on the label Daylight or Soft White, etc...

[jenifermarie]

I haven't tested the water, I guess I will dig out the old test tubes.  The light bulbs are 6500K which as far as I can tell is about as good as it will get with twisters (I wish I wasn't on a budget and could afford something a little nicer, but Ive had surprising success with a similar setup in my 10G)