Java Fern attached to driftwood is the shortcut past the hardest part of using it — the tying, the waiting, the months before the rhizome grips. This arrives already established on a small piece of wood, ready to place and reposition. What You'll Receive Sold as a Plants on Small Driftwood. (Driftwood size: 2 inches) Plant Profile Common name — Java Fern Scientific name — Leptochilus pteropus (syn. Microsorum pteropus) Also known as — Microsorum, family Polypodiaceae Origin — Southeast Asia Placement — Midground; sits on the substrate or wedges into hardscape Mature height — 6-10 inches Growth rate — Slow Care Difficulty — Beginner Light — Low to medium CO₂ — Not required Water — 68-82°F, pH 6.0-7.5 Substrate — None needed; feeds from the water column Growth habit — Amphibious epiphyte Propagation — Rhizome division Grower's Notes Do not bury the wood. Set it on the substrate or wedge it between rocks. Pushing it under gravel buries the rhizome, and a buried Java Fern rhizome rots — the single most common way this plant is killed. Black spots on old leaves are baby plants, not disease. Java Fern reproduces by growing plantlets along the leaf margins. Leave a spotted leaf in place until each plantlet has roots and two or three leaves, then detach and attach it somewhere new. Keep the light low. It grows slowly enough that strong lighting mostly feeds algae on the leaves. Shaded positions produce cleaner, darker fronds. New driftwood may float. Weigh it down or wedge it in place for the first week or two until it waterlogs. Do not bury it to hold it down. It feeds from the water, not the substrate. Root tabs do nothing here. A basic liquid fertiliser is all it needs, and even that is optional in a stocked tank. Want to go deeper? Read our complete Java Fern Care Guide. Notes Pictures are not the actual plants you will receive, but a sample representation. Unless specific, we don't guarantee aquatic plants will be free of pests, and pesticides, grow emerged or submerge. Never release aquarium plants into natural waterways.
