# Secrets for growing moss



## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

Not to many secrets. Moss likes cool, clean water and it likes to be planted thinly. Other than that it really doesn't require much.


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## Pri (Oct 20, 2010)

Thanks. Can you tell me more about light requirements and ferts?


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## kevmo911 (Sep 24, 2010)

They'll generally grow in any light, and, like most low-light plants, will grow more quickly with higher lighting, CO2, and a standard fert regimen (NPK+Trace). With the exception of java moss, they tend to do better in temps in the mid-70's and lower. Java will grow at just about any temp.


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

kevmo911 said:


> They'll generally grow in any light, and, like most low-light plants, will grow more quickly with higher lighting, CO2, and a standard fert regimen (NPK+Trace). With the exception of java moss, they tend to do better in temps in the mid-70's and lower. Java will grow at just about any temp.


+1

Only thing I would add is to trim often and keep it thin, at least initially until it takes off.


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## Pri (Oct 20, 2010)

What do you mean by thin? No superposition? Maybe it's because of this that my xmas moss are dying. I've tied them to rocks and some are in multi layers!

My problem is that new growth of xmas moss are very thin and don't looks like xmas moss. any idea to change this?


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## treetom (Feb 11, 2011)

How old is your bulb?


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

Pri said:


> What do you mean by thin? No superposition? Maybe it's because of this that my xmas moss are dying. I've tied them to rocks and some are in multi layers!
> 
> My problem is that new growth of xmas moss are very thin and don't looks like xmas moss. any idea to change this?


Just mean when you tie it to a rock just put a very thin layer. A single layer not layer on top of layer. If you trim often, initally it will put out new growth quicker.


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## hamsterman (Jan 17, 2007)

You may have moss that was not grown submerged. In that case it may take a while for it to adjust.


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## Option (Oct 2, 2010)

Add water.


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## jetajockey (Aug 23, 2010)

My java moss really seems to do better in the low-mid 70s tanks , in the 80+ degree tanks it seems to struggle.


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## Pri (Oct 20, 2010)

> How old is your bulb?


2 months!



> Just mean when you tie it to a rock just put a very thin layer. A single layer not layer on top of layer. If you trim often, initally it will put out new growth quicker.


Thanks. I'll do this because actually some are tied in several layers!



> You may have moss that was not grown submerged. In that case it may take a while for it to adjust.


I got my moss from a local river and it was growing submerged!



> Add water.


???



> My java moss really seems to do better in the low-mid 70s tanks , in the 80+ degree tanks it seems to struggle.


Ok, my tank is at about 80 degree!


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## sAroock (Oct 26, 2010)

whats that saying "its like watching moss grow". ?
Dont pay too much attention to it and it will flourish.
My mistake was i was too occupied with it, moving, reattaching, changing. stabilize things: find your parameters and the position and leave it the heck alone.


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## genomer (Mar 29, 2011)

It may seem counterintuitive, but the tried and true method of producing excellent growth with aquatic moss is to start by gluing/tying single strands onto your base of choice. I started a Xmas moss tree by gluing single strands onto the wood-it took a while, but the result was stunning. I was running co2 and ferts, an my lighting was considerably higher than yours, but it only took about 2 weeks to really take off and 4 weeks to fill in entirely. 

It's easy stuff, dude. Let it ride and it will fill in with time.


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## macclellan (Dec 22, 2006)

Thinly planted, cool water, low light, benign neglect.


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## Pri (Oct 20, 2010)

> whats that saying "its like watching moss grow". ?
> Dont pay too much attention to it and it will flourish.
> My mistake was i was too occupied with it, moving, reattaching, changing. stabilize things: find your parameters and the position and leave it the heck alone.


Seems like I'm doing the same mistake! I'll must follow your advice and let it alone!!!


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## Pri (Oct 20, 2010)

genomer said:


> It may seem counterintuitive, but the tried and true method of producing excellent growth with aquatic moss is to start by gluing/tying single strands onto your base of choice. I started a Xmas moss tree by gluing single strands onto the wood-it took a while, but the result was stunning. I was running co2 and ferts, an my lighting was considerably higher than yours, but it only took about 2 weeks to really take off and 4 weeks to fill in entirely.
> 
> It's easy stuff, dude. Let it ride and it will fill in with time.


Wooooow....4 weeks to fill entirely!!! That's pretty fast!


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## JCoxRocks (Mar 22, 2005)

One thing to be careful of is allowing uneaten food to settle in it. I've found this quickly leads to hair algae and BBA in the moss and then you have to cut it out, etc to remove the algae, putting you right back at square one.

I have to agree my tanks with the best growing moss are the ones I never even think about.

J


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## Pri (Oct 20, 2010)

JCoxRocks said:


> One thing to be careful of is allowing uneaten food to settle in it. I've found this quickly leads to hair algae and BBA in the moss and then you have to cut it out, etc to remove the algae, putting you right back at square one.
> 
> I have to agree my tanks with the best growing moss are the ones I never even think about.
> 
> J


I'll need to forget my moss tank then !:icon_lol:

I've added shrimps to the tank! Will they help cleaning and maintaining the moss?


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## A.M. Aquatics (Apr 9, 2011)

I have tons of java moss in both my 10 and 20g and in only 17 watts in both tanks, it is growing great! I only added a sprig or two into my 20 gallon 2-3 months ago, and now I almost have a good handful. The only time I used any kind of fert was last week, and it was half the reccomended amount of Iron and potasssium for a 20g.

In my opinion, the only rip off you can get when buying moss is getting a clump of moss with brush algae entangled in it, BUT there is an effective method of getting it out: The simple useof an unused, 50 cent tooth brush.


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## Khooxo (Mar 9, 2011)

I've never had problems with Java moss not growing, in fact my problem was the moss was growing so fast I kept having to trim it weekly because it was blocking out the light. Just throw it in the aquarium and forget about like everyone else is saying. When I got tired of trimming the moss, I threw it into an unused 10gal aquarium mainly because I didn't want to throw it away. Only thing in there was water, some snails and the moss. No lights, no ferts, nothing. Only light it got was when the sun happen to hit it during the day. Six months later when I decided the use the aquarium again the moss had doubled if not tripled.


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## Pri (Oct 20, 2010)

> I have tons of java moss in both my 10 and 20g and in only 17 watts in both tanks, it is growing great! I only added a sprig or two into my 20 gallon 2-3 months ago, and now I almost have a good handful. The only time I used any kind of fert was last week, and it was half the reccomended amount of Iron and potasssium for a 20g.


My Java Moss is doing quite well, much better than the xmas moss. Mainly having problems with the xmas moss!


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## Pri (Oct 20, 2010)

Heard something about that and want a confirmation : Can too much water movement affect moss?


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## genomer (Mar 29, 2011)

Pri said:


> Wooooow....4 weeks to fill entirely!!! That's pretty fast!


Yup! I have to trim it often; it grows ridiculously fast. Like I said, though, it's a shallow tank, and it's goosed with all the goodies. 

My amanos keep the tree in tip top shape. Yes, shrimp will take residence and go to town on any food/algae.


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## genomer (Mar 29, 2011)

Pri said:


> Heard something about that and want a confirmation : Can too much water movement affect moss?


Nah. My moss handles plenty of flow.


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## Pri (Oct 20, 2010)

Hope that mine will grow! Followed the advice I got here and done some work in the tank yesterday. Tied the moss in a single layer on rocks and DW...quite long process but hope the result will worth it!


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## Pri (Oct 20, 2010)

genomer said:


> Nah. My moss handles plenty of flow.


Fine then...I'll stop messing in the tank and forget it for a while!:biggrin: Thanks everyone here for your advice!roud:


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## Pri (Oct 20, 2010)

> The only time I used any kind of fert was last week, and it was half the reccomended amount of Iron and potasssium for a 20g.


I suppose that some JBL Florapol won't harm the mosses?


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## genomer (Mar 29, 2011)

Pri said:


> Hope that mine will grow! Followed the advice I got here and done some work in the tank yesterday. Tied the moss in a single layer on rocks and DW...quite long process but hope the result will worth it!


Awesome . For future reference-super glue gel is awesome for attaching strands to your substrate of choice. It is a bit unsightly at first, but the white marks go away oce the moss fills in.


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## Pri (Oct 20, 2010)

> Awesome . For future reference-super glue gel is awesome for attaching strands to your substrate of choice. It is a bit unsightly at first, but the white marks go away oce the moss fills in.


Never used super glue in my tanks : they are not harmful for fauna? The fact that Moss is wet does not affect the gluing process?


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## genomer (Mar 29, 2011)

Pri said:


> Never used super glue in my tanks : they are not harmful for fauna? The fact that Moss is wet does not affect the gluing process?


Nope. I've been using it for years to glue corals and such. As for the moisture, no, that doesn't affect the staying power. It actually acts an an accelerant. Try it sometime!


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## Pri (Oct 20, 2010)

> Nope. I've been using it for years to glue corals and such. As for the moisture, no, that doesn't affect the staying power. It actually acts an an accelerant. Try it sometime!


Sounds good!...will try it one of these days!


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