# Fissidens splachnobryoides vs. nobilis



## Rainer (Jan 30, 2011)

Which of these would you recommend as a carpet for a nano and why? Substrate is PFS but the fissidens would be applied via the DSM to areas of small gravel. 

I have mini fissidens of unknown species in another tank. It grows well but is brownish and unattractive, so I'm looking for something light-to-medium green that grows densely but not very tall, maybe 1" max. Regular fissidens is gorgeous but too high profile.


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## Rony11 (Jan 21, 2012)

I wouldn't recommend either as a carpet unless u have a lot I really mean a lot of patience coz they both are very slow growing. 

Both Fissiden splachnobryoides and nobilis can grow on rocks n driftwood but u need to tie/net them in order to keep them in place. Both the mosses do not creep along the substrate (like HC, Glossostigma or Marselia) they just grow towards the light. 

You have beautiful options like Taiwan, Christmas, etc they are lighter in color, spread fast and grow quicker than fissidens. But u have to tie the moss on something and place it on the substrate.


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## Rainer (Jan 30, 2011)

Thanks for the informative response. I'm fairly patient and I would hope that using the Dry Start Method for a couple of months with its heightened lighting tolerances would speed up things. How long do you suppose it took to grow the splach in this picture from Google images?









Those other mosses you mentioned are beautiful but they won't work well with the scape I have in mind for the 5g (see sig for journal if interested). I need something more vertically oriented but not so tall it overwhelms the hardscape. 

I wonder if f. zippelianus might fit the bill.


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## Jeffww (Aug 6, 2010)

If I remember correctly zippelianus does not fair well fully submerged. Neither will splachnobryoides...But I may be wrong. 

Fontanus grows rather quickly and if you're welling to spend the money you can just buy pads of it to immediately carpet your tank. They will eventually fill out like the picture you provided.


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## Rony11 (Jan 21, 2012)

I'm currently trying to get zippelianus and splachnobryoides get used to submerged conditons. 
It will take months if I am successful I will inform u guys with pictures. 
I saw an aquarium with a beautiful moss used as a carpet in a forum three days ago. 
The hobbyist photographed how he carpeted a certain moss. 
I will search for the thread and attach a link.


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## Rony11 (Jan 21, 2012)

Found the thread the tank has mini fissidens as moss carpet 

http://www.aquascapingworld.com/threads/my-first-tank.7204/


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## Rainer (Jan 30, 2011)

Perfect, that's exactly what I'm looking for. Thanks! 

I'm testing some small grey gravel of varying size as a bed for the mini fissidens atop the sand. If it doesn't alter the water parameters, I'm ready to start.


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## STS_1OO (Nov 28, 2012)

Any update on this fissidens carpet attempt?


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## Rainer (Jan 30, 2011)

I'll post an update tonight but it didn't go according to plan.


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## Rainer (Jan 30, 2011)

Oops, dropped the ball on responding to this.

I tried small whitish gravel from Caribsea with the idea of creating irregular, rolling topography on the sand. I roughly chopped the mosses, including mini pellia, and draped across the individual gravel, then began the DSM process. 

It did not go according to plan. I used EI tank water, which the MP did not like; I eventually replaced it and used diluted EI water. Unfortunately I used too much and had blue green algae just under the sand surface and mats of green algae once flooded. This tank is in a guest room that was soon occupied by an ill visitor and I was unable to maintain it properly. 

The critical failure however is that the mosses adhered to one another much more strongly than to the gravel. If disturbed, they lift off in long strips and cannot be replaced.

If I do it over, I will glue several gravel pieces together in irregular patterns on a wet bed of sand, then finely chop the mosses so the fronds do not overlap, and transfer to the tank.

Here's a pic of the current situation. All loose gravel had been covered in MP, fissidens, f. geppi, and nobilis/mini fissidens.


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## Qwedfg (Mar 7, 2012)

This might sound weird but I saw a post where a person ground up fissidens and spread it all over his tank using a dry start method. It might have even been on planted tank. 

Either way it looked really good and the moss grew in a very natural looking way. Tried to find it but couldnt


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## ChadRamsey (Nov 3, 2011)

i have fiss carpets in my 125 journal. 

Although i am pulling them up as we speak. I attached mine to mesh squares, And the accumilation of organics under them is INSANE! So bad that it is the sole reason i am pulling it up.

Just my 2 cents.


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## Rainer (Jan 30, 2011)

Qwedfg said:


> This might sound weird but I saw a post where a person ground up fissidens and spread it all over his tank using a dry start method. It might have even been on planted tank.


Not weird at all. I considered doing that but had read that it doesn't work for mini pellia, so I used the same approach for all the species in the tank.


I'm seriously considering trying it for the areas to be repaired, even though the MP areas were the worst affected.



ChadRamsey said:


> i have fiss carpets in my 125 journal.
> 
> Although i am pulling them up as we speak. I attached mine to mesh squares, And the accumilation of organics under them is INSANE! So bad that it is the sole reason i am pulling it up.


Is it causing worm or water parameter problems? 

If I try gluing together the small gravel, I'll leave spaces for juvenile shrimp to work their magic. Thanks for the tip.


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## trueblu8 (Mar 3, 2012)

Sounds fantastic. Anybody got any pics of a fissidens or mini pellia carpet?



ChadRamsey said:


> i have fiss carpets in my 125 journal.
> 
> Although i am pulling them up as we speak. I attached mine to mesh squares, And the accumilation of organics under them is INSANE! So bad that it is the sole reason i am pulling it up.
> 
> Just my 2 cents.


No kidding dude. I had the same experience using mesh with flame moss. No more ss mesh for me if I can help it. Collects organics like crazy underneath.


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