# true or fake marimo?



## twentypoundtabby (Dec 7, 2013)

It's hard to tell exactly, but they look the same as mine.
I have 12 from one source and 3 from Petsmart. I've had them for quite a while and no trouble so far.


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## devilduck (May 9, 2012)

Looks real to me. They should look and feel like felt on a pool table.

Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

Looks like the marimo ball and marimo covered driftwood I have. Marimo is actually a type of algae (it won't spread in your tank like bad algae), there's no true moss that looks like it close up.. and as the person above said, it has a distinct feel very simular felt.


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## bonsaitree (Jul 30, 2013)

ok thank you very much !


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## xmas_one (Feb 5, 2010)

Pretty sure marimos ARE clumped up moss balls.


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## anastasisariel (Oct 4, 2009)

xmas_one said:


> Pretty sure marimos ARE clumped up moss balls.


They are algea. There are guys selling mosses rolled into a ball and even worse.. other algea that can mess up your tank instead of the real thing.

So the OP's question is totally understandable.


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## xmas_one (Feb 5, 2010)

anastasisariel said:


> They are algea. There are guys selling mosses rolled into a ball and even worse.. other algea that can mess up your tank instead of the real thing.
> 
> So the OP's question is totally understandable.


Yeah, they are just clado. What kind of mosses are people rolling into balls and selling as marimos?


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## anastasisariel (Oct 4, 2009)

xmas_one said:


> Yeah, they are just clado. What kind of mosses are people rolling into balls and selling as marimos?


Some have been java moss rolled into a ball lol.


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## wicca27 (May 3, 2009)

you can make your own marimo balls. all you have to do is pull a pinch off of a moss ball and roll it in your hands. over time it will grow bigger. that is what i think these are. some that were started off another moss ball.

iv had moss balls (marimo) they are clado algae and given the right conditions will make a mess in a tank. i had one in my 29 and fought the stuff for 2 years. finally when i moved i bleached the tank and substrate and hope it does not come back. i guess i was one of the "lucky" ones that it liked my water and spread every where but not in ball form. mine was in sheets like hair algae. it would grow on my sponge filter and make ball shapes but messed up the sponge when i pulled it off and killed off some of my softer plants. never again will i own them.


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## Acro (Jul 7, 2012)

Real marimo look like this (normally they sink, sometimes they float):









Balls of moss look like this (they are normally java moss tied around a Styrofoam ball and have fishing line to anchor them to something - they always float):

























But be careful, some companies make fake "moss balls"/marimo:


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## mighty bond (Nov 25, 2014)

where did you get your marimo


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