Photo taken in February 2008, shortly after planting this huge Java fern of the narrow leaf variety - the dark plant with the long leafs in the current in the background. The plant on the very right is an anubias.

I am a huge fan of Java fern and have long advocated it as the ideal plant for cichlid tanks, as you can see for example on the Java fern page of the 240G frontosa section of this site. For this 125G tropheus tank I choose narrow leaf Java fern, mostly because I had used the standard leaf variety as well the the Windelov variety in my 240G frontosa tank, and I wanted to try something different. Besides, the narrow leaf variety is also very attractive, and well worth keeping. Last but not least, I had a great opportunity to buy large, healthy plants at the OCA Winter Auction 2008 from Dan Woodland, who had donated them to be sold for the benefit of the OCA Jim Smith Fund.

When putting together this page in February 2009, I realized that I did not have any really good photos of the Java fern in this tank, and I dug through my archives. When I found the above photo, and compared the long flowing leafs of that plant with the pathetic remnants of Java fern I currently have in this tank, I realized that I had to conceit defeat! Java fern, at least in this tropheus tank, is not working since the tropheus are grazing it off. I believe I will replace it with more anubias.

In February 2009, the Java fern in this tank is in a sad state.

As an aside, I planted standard leaf variety on the back on the huge piece of driftwood in this tank. It is virtually invisible from the front, and I have no chance of taking a good photo of it. I was hoping it would eventually grow around the wood, and would be useful on the back in providing cover for fry. It serves this latter purpose to some extend, but is actually more useful as a food source for the tropheus, who don't seem to kill it off completely, but keep it clipped shortly at all times.

Another photo showing better days of the narrow leaf Java fern in this tank. The little plant on the left is Windelov java fern, which never managed to attach itself properly in that position due to continues tugging by the tropheus.