Roots or BBA

[Will Billy]

A while back i purchased some bacopa from my lfs and didnt quarantine them. Sure enough i did in fact have a small BBA outbreak that spread from the bacopa to my anubias and java fern. I had successfully removed the BBA then a few weeks later i noticed it coming back only on my java fern. At least i think it came back. It has reappeared around the tiny plantlets that are sprouting from the leaves. Is this in fact BBA, or are my sprouts developing roots? Here are a couple of pictures. 
 

[CorydorasEthan]

That's not BBA. Those are roots. It is the way a Java fern reproduces. New plantlets with their own set of leaves and roots will grow off the tips of other leaves. Once they are big enough, you could pluck them off your main fern and plant these elsewhere in the aquarium.

It may be a little hard to see, but here is my main Java fern. It is growing plantlets on the leaves, but I recently took a few and planted them elsewhere.

Here are some of the leaflets. They can be attatched to anything in the aquarium, or can be left to float around. They will also grow roots that way if you want longer roots.

Hope this helps.

Edited February 2, 2021 by CorydorasEthan

[stuattti]

On 2/2/2021 at 9:07 AM, Will Billy said:

A while back i purchased some bacopa from my lfs and didnt quarantine them. Sure enough i did in fact have a small BBA outbreak that spread from the bacopa to my anubias and java fern. I had successfully removed the BBA then a few weeks later i noticed it coming back only on my java fern. At least i think it came back. It has reappeared around the tiny plantlets that are sprouting from the leaves. Is this in fact BBA, or are my sprouts developing roots? Here are a couple of pictures. 
 

That bunch of "stuff" is a bunch of roots, this is how java ferns produce babies. To me, this does not look like black beard algae. 

[Jungle Fan]

@stuattti is tight those are new roots on your Java fern baby plantlets, nothing to worry about, unless all your leaves start producing these at the same time, producing babies is a normal thing but it can also be a sign of the plant wanting to survive because it is lacking something. Your Java fern seems to be mostly healthy but if you are worried you can add some potassium, and/or  trace minerals.