Never paid much attention to aquarium plant requirements per se, but I
do have quite a large amopunt of Java Fern. I see its not recopmended
to have the roots in substrate according to an article I was
reading.....Mine are all planted in fine gravel and to me appear to
be doing just fine......Would they be better off pulling them up and
placing them on rocks or drift wood or let them be..


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I forgot more about ponds and koi than I'll ever know!

Tristin wrote:
Never paid much attention to aquarium plant requirements per se, but I
do have quite a large amopunt of Java Fern. I see its not recopmended
to have the roots in substrate according to an article I was
reading.....Mine are all planted in fine gravel and to me appear to
be doing just fine......Would they be better off pulling them up and
placing them on rocks or drift wood or let them be..


-------
I forgot more about ponds and koi than I'll ever know!

Well, IME Java ferns pretty much do their own thing and tolerate
neglect........You have read right that the roots shouldn't be buried in
the substrates....the nearest example I can think of in the terrestial
world (if you are into gardens) are Bearded Irises where the rhizome
needs to be on the surface for the plant to thrive and multiply.....

If the main plant is happy and large, even if not quite planted under
the optimum conditions, I would be inclined to take some cuttings from
the rhizome....very easily done....and replanting them....

As for placing on rocks and driftwood....it looks very effective if you
can pull it off....the danger is that the plant unattaches itself
eventually and drifts into the great nowhere.....but I've got some
currently floating that are still thriving (memo to self - need to go
reattach to something).....personally, I prefer to tuck them under a
rock or bit of wood now rather than tying them down.....although I have
heard that fishing wire or cable ties do very well for the job in
hand.....cotton should do with the theory that although it rots the
plants should be well rooted before this happens....IME it is a nah.....

Gill