Microgramma problem - brown spots on fronds

[flyingSquirrel]

I have this Microgramma cutting (unconfirmed id) and it's getting brown areas on the fronds. The fronds appeared healthy a few weeks ago when I got the cutting, but now as you can see in the pics things are not looking so good. Also I can't tell for sure but I think the frond color is getting a bit pale compared to what it was when it arrived, but it could be my imagination)

Conditions:

Kept in an unsealed paludarium with good airflow. (Lid is two separate pieces of glass along back and front of top, with a 3-4" x 30" open area...in other words, air flow should be really good and stagnant air should not be a problem)

Cutting is gently secured to moist sphagnum moss along back wall of tank.

Manual water misting once or twice a day. (not sure on exact humidity of tank but it's definitely far less humid than a dart frog viv, and cooler too)

Temps probably around 70 day, 65 night

The light level is probably a bit higher than is required for this fern, which I suspect could be causing the pale color of the fronds I am noticing. I can't imagine the high light level could cause the brown spots though....or am I mistaken?

Should I be watering/spraying this with a special kind of water like distilled? Or do you think tap water is ok?

Whaddya think? Environmental? Fungal? Maybe the cutting is weak and it's just not taking like it should? Something else?

Thanks for any help

[frogparty]

I wouldn't worry too much about it, but i would raise the temps a bit

[flyingSquirrel]

Originally Posted by frogparty

I wouldn't worry too much about it, but i would raise the temps a bit

Thanks for the quick reply! As far as temps go, I won't be able to go above 70 as my paludarium will be housing a japanese firebelly newt. Do you think the 70 max is a deal-breaker for the microgramma? (in my experience most plants will grow in lower temps than are listed - perhaps not as well tho)

thanks again

[frogparty]

In my experience microgrammas grow
MUCH BETTER with higher temps and humidity approaching 100%

[flyingSquirrel]

Originally Posted by frogparty

In my experience microgrammas grow
MUCH BETTER with higher temps and humidity approaching 100%

Thanks a lot for your help on this. It would be nice if I could crank up the temp a bit, but animals' needs come first of course, so I guess I'll just have to hope for at least mediocre growth at the lower temp. Temp may be a few degrees higher near the top of the tank by the light fixture, but probably not enough to make a difference in growth. As far as humidity, it should be pretty decent since the entire bottom of the tank is water (paludarium)

I did have the lid completely sealed at first, with a fan setup, but it was simply not working and there was ridiculous amounts of mold growing everywhere (perhaps worse with a paludarium than a standard viv due to the saturation of everything). Even with the lid well open, there is still mold.

Thanks again for your time...there will be updates in my paludarium build sometime soon hopefully

[Jason DeSantis]

I would cut down the watering to once a day or once every other day. I water mine every other day and allow the sphagnum to dry a little before watering again. You can be just experiencing a new habitat stage where the plant is adjusting to your watering and temps. If you notice more leaves turning brown I would say to reduce the amount of water.

You have to understand that in the wild these plants may get water daily but they do not grow on beds of wet sphagnum moss. They will grow epiphytically up tree trunks and branches. So the rhizomes are not completely saturated by water like they would be laying on wet sphagnum. In a terrarium setting they will be just fine with a little sphagnum on one end and dangling down. With high humidity and watering everyday you can get away with just mounting them to the background without any moss.
Jason

[flyingSquirrel]

Originally Posted by Jason DeSantis

I would cut down the watering to once a day or once every other day. I water mine every other day and allow the sphagnum to dry a little before watering again. You can be just experiencing a new habitat stage where the plant is adjusting to your watering and temps. If you notice more leaves turning brown I would say to reduce the amount of water.

You have to understand that in the wild these plants may get water daily but they do not grow on beds of wet sphagnum moss. They will grow epiphytically up tree trunks and branches. So the rhizomes are not completely saturated by water like they would be laying on wet sphagnum. In a terrarium setting they will be just fine with a little sphagnum on one end and dangling down. With high humidity and watering everyday you can get away with just mounting them to the background without any moss.
Jason

Jason, thanks for this detailed reply. I will try reducing the water as you recommend and see if the fern starts to do better.