java fern question

[mopsus]

Hi all new member here,
I recently started a new 1ft cube tank which i intend to put cherry shrimps in. Currently doing a fishless cycle on day 3 and I noticed that my java fern is turning brown at the base and stalk area. May I know what causes it and how to improve it?
thanks in advance
51628645_10157195107953756_6849380635526561792_o.jpg

[Shadow]

I hope you did not buried the rhizome, can't see clearly from the photo. You should not buried fern rhizome.

[boofeng]

I hope you did not buried the rhizome, can't see clearly from the photo. You should not buried fern rhizome.

agreed

***

I'm bad with plants and precisely for that reason I work with java ferns a lot. Even though java ferns are famously tough, the plants we buy at the shops are grown emersed and there are often transition issues (for me, and other friends, at least).

For me, the solution is not to maintain all the old growth, but rather to let the plant to produce new growth as quickly as you can. I would trim the dead and dying parts of java ferns, and then try to encourage good growth by keeping up with water changes, and even better, a decent flow of water around the plants. Burying the rhizome would reduce flow around the rhizome severely!