# Mosses that self attach?



## VB SUP (May 29, 2012)

I was about to buy some moss to attach to manzanita. My goal is a tree effect that's low maintenance. I'm starting my tank using the Dry Start Method (thanks for so much info Tom Barr) and want to attach moss to the wood. My assumption was that all moss roots itself naturally to wood over time till I read this on another forum:

"Determine if moss will stick to the surface you're tying to or not. This will determine whether to use cotton or nylon string. Cotton will melt. This maybe a nasty surprise when you see your creation floating a month or two down the line! Mosses like Weeping, Spiky/Peacock, Willow and Flame[?] do not stick while mosses like Fountain, Java, Singapore, Taiwan, X'mas all do."

Now my question after a lengthy introduction is: are there only a few specific kinds of moss that self-attach to wood or rock without using any kind of line or is the info I read misleading? If not all mosses attach naturally, which ones do?

Thanks so much for the help. I've been reading a lot on planted tanks so that this one is successful from the start.


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## HybridHerp (May 24, 2012)

I'm slightly screwed of weeping moss does not attach itself to wood


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## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

Weeping, Peacock, Willow, and Flame all attach to wood for sure, without a doubt. I havent tried using the dry start, but wet they definitely do. Subwassertang is the hardest. Any Taxiphyllum sp. or Vesicularia sp. will attach. There is a trick to it thats pretty simple though. You need to trim it to keep it from being shaded. If the lower portions of moss against the wood get too shaded they can die and your moss will float away. With that being said, it helps if your wood is easily removed from the tank for trimming. If you trim in the tank it quickly gets all over and grows where you dont want it to.


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## moosenart (Feb 18, 2012)

My subwassertang is tied to a tiny piece of slate and is growing quite well.


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## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

moosenart said:


> My subwassertang is tied to a tiny piece of slate and is growing quite well.


Huh?  The OP is looking for ones that attach themselves


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## HybridHerp (May 24, 2012)

I just did this today
Use superglue to attach your moss, then the moss will go form there and attach itself to the moss as it grows. No moss will automatically cling to the first thing it touches, it needs to be held down in some fashion until it grabs hold, and then it will grow on the surface of its own accord


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## VB SUP (May 29, 2012)

Thanks for all the great input. I didn't think that moss immediately adhered to whatever it touches, how annoying would that be? My tank won't be flooded for another 8 weeks and I basically didn't want to be wasting time with a moss that would inevitably float away as soon as water was added. There is a fair bit of conflicting information on the web and I'm sorting through in order to set my self up for success.

For the manzanita wood I was thinking about using willow or weeping moss. Low maintenance and aesthetics are key. Any opinions?

Cheers,
Rob


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## ThatGuyWithTheFish (Apr 29, 2012)

One method I saw, but didn't try, was to grind up the moss and just squish it on, keeping the tank moist and DSM.


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## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

VB SUP said:


> For the manzanita wood I was thinking about using willow or weeping moss. Low maintenance and aesthetics are key. Any opinions?
> 
> Cheers,
> Rob


You will still be better off trimming. It will also help your moss to grow thicker along the wood and your end result will be alot better. I has a tendency to be stringy looking on the first grow out.


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## alibird (Jan 8, 2014)

Sorry to hijack the thread, but I added weeping moss to manzanita and it promptly all died but has green sprouts coming off of it. What would be anyone's suggestion as to why this happened and how to fix this situation as it looks horrible? Should I rip it all off (I used super glue) and reattach the tiny green bits or hope for the best? It is mostly getting full light so maybe I just had a bum shipment? It started a dark green and turned brown after a day.


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## DennisSingh (Nov 8, 2004)

alibird said:


> Sorry to hijack the thread, but I added weeping moss to manzanita and it promptly all died but has green sprouts coming off of it. What would be anyone's suggestion as to why this happened and how to fix this situation as it looks horrible? Should I rip it all off (I used super glue) and reattach the tiny green bits or hope for the best? It is mostly getting full light so maybe I just had a bum shipment? It started a dark green and turned brown after a day.


You can try:

growing it emmersed on a piece of wood with indirect sunlight

add more flow and oxygen and hope it recovers

tossing it and buy a new batch

or do what you stated
reattach the tiny green bits

weeping moss will attach DSM, but will keep piling on top of itself and detach submerged


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