# The milkshake method - share your experience



## toadpher (May 25, 2015)

I tried it in my paludarium, it worked terribly. I used soured milk and not nearly enough moss. If I were to do it again I'd use 95% or higher moss (zero dirt and a lot of moss) and then use pain organic yogurt. My moss did grow a very little bit but it took forever.


----------



## randym (Sep 20, 2015)

Thanks. That's not very encouraging. 

I wonder if it would work with red moss (actually an algae)? I've been thinking of doing a moss tree with red moss, for an autumn look. Maybe with a few nano Indian almond leaves strewn about, and some yellow/red/orange shrimp to add to the autumn feeling.

But I've heard red moss is kind of invasive, so maybe this wouldn't be a good idea.


----------



## randym (Sep 20, 2015)

Update...

Well, I tried it. Used mini Christmas moss, with whole milk Greek yogurt and a little water. Blended with a stick blender.

I don't think it's going well. Got a lot of mold/fungus. The theory is acidophilus found in yogurt with live cultures will prevent mold, but obviously it didn't work for me.

Googling around, it seems some people have had the mold quickly die back and the moss grow well after that, but others have gotten only mold, even after waiting for months.

I found some comments by Tom Barr, and he said the mix should be very lean: only a little yogurt, a lot of moss and water. It should be runny, not thick and creamy. Oops. Some use beer instead. And the tank should not be completely sealed. Leave a corner of the plastic wrap turned back, or the glass slightly cracked open, so it doesn't get too humid.

I'm going to give it another week or so. If the mold doesn't go away, I'm going to try to rinse it off and start again. I think next time I will just use moss and water, no dairy.


----------



## Mikeygmzmg (Mar 19, 2015)

What is the outcome if it DOES work? I don't get it?


----------



## toadpher (May 25, 2015)

Mikeygmzmg said:


> What is the outcome if it DOES work? I don't get it?


You get beautiful, tight knit moss growing on all the curves of the wood/substrate you painted it on.

I think they key, is the moss ratio. You need like 95-98% moss and then mostly water and just a little yogurt for nutrients (moss grows sloooow).

I gave up on my slurry mix, but my other moss bed is doing well.  trimming it every week and spreading out the trimmings over the non-mossy dirt is yielding great results.

The most important thing with moss is patients, in my opinion. Good luck!


----------



## randym (Sep 20, 2015)

Mikeygmzmg said:


> What is the outcome if it DOES work? I don't get it?


What Toadpher said.

Also, it's a way of stretching a small amount of moss to cover a large area. 

And it allows you more control over where the moss grows. Some people use this method in their gardens, to write names or mottos in moss on walls, etc. 

Me, I have some nice, very complex driftwood that I want moss on. But not too much. I don't want the moss to totally engulf the wood and hide its nice lines. So my hope was to "paint" it on key areas, to serve a highlight, so to speak.


----------



## isonychia (Nov 19, 2013)

I used the blender method on Fissidens Fontanus *BUT WITHOUT the yogurt.*

I didn't even use a blender.

I just took clumps of FF and diced it up with an exacto blade then added a little water and painted it on with a brush and rubbed it into the lava rock with my hands.

I placed the rocks in an emersed setup in a 10 gallon tank with some Miracle Grow Organic soil. I also have some Monte Carlo, S repens and driftwood with java moss in there. I mist the tank once a day. I have a plexi glass lid on it (allows some gas exchange as it's not a perfect fit)and I was using a light like this :Boston Harbor TL-TREE-134-BK-3L 3-Light Tree Lamp, Black - Floor Lamps - Amazon.com

I put 3 of these bulbs in the lamp: Philips 100W Equivalent Daylight Deluxe T2 Twister CFL Light Bulb (4-Pack) (E*)-433557 - The Home Depot and just pointed it toward the tank. The other house plants enjoyed it.

I have since switched to my fluval plant led strip that I was not using (too much par for my old tank) as the other lamp was lighting up the whole living room...LOL.

I started them 4 weeks ago and they are showing decent growth with tiny shoots of FF all over the rocks. 

When I was researching this the question people always asked was how long until they "attach" and can be submersed. I read 2 weeks, 3 weeks etc.

I don't know how long it was until mine "attached" but 3/4 weeks is a safe bet to get new attached growth. I am waiting till I get some more growth before I submerse mine. The next trick will be pulling out my existing submersed lava rock and propagating those with the FF. I didn't have the FF before I started the tank, so I have to work in reverse. A bit of a pain, but at least I know the blender method works. It just takes about a month. I also tied some FF to a rock and submersed it right away to see how it compares to the emersed ones when I submerse those.

Here is a pic of the inside of the tank. It's hard to see the FF on the rocks. I will take a close up of the new growth when I can.








_*

I guess the forum has an image size restriction. Every time I upload a photo it reduces the quality, so my pics look grainy. Maybe I need to read the image upload section and see if I am missing something.*_

Hope that helps,
iso


----------



## Solcielo lawrencia (Dec 30, 2013)

The yogurt method was/is used to grow terrestrial mosses on stones in gardens. Why yogurt? Because of the acidity. If the pH is too high, especially stones with high calcium carbonate content, moss will have difficulty attaching and growing. However, none of this is necessary in an aquarium. Just lay the moss on the hardscape, keep it moist, add light, and it will attach and grow.


----------



## shaman. (Oct 26, 2012)

I did it with yoghurt, works great with fissidens: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/12-tank-journals/898361-new-adventure-hallelujah-mountains-%5B13g%5D-2.html#post8304209


----------



## isonychia (Nov 19, 2013)

Here is a closeup of the emersed growth FF.

Thats about a months time.

I wish I could figure out the image uploader and be able to upload a higher quality image as it reduces it so much.










iso


----------

