How do you grow java moss?

[traco1]

Is there a secret to it prospering in a tank? Heat, no heat? Lighting? Additives? I'd love to have a tank with lots in there for fry to hide in. That way, I'd have top cover and bottom cover for whichever way fry want to swim to after birth.

[Katalyst]

I can't even find any around here,:no: let alone grow some.

You can read up on java moss here:

http://www.tropica.com/default.asp

Just put the name Java Moss in the search engine..

[Osprey]

Add water.
Seriously. Java moss is one of the hardiest plants known to mankind, after dandelions and caragana. Do make sure you have at least some (fluorescent) light in the tank, and don't add flourish excel (it will kill aquatic moss). You can grow it floating, or tie it down to some driftwood, a rock, plastic needlework grids... it will grow almost anywhere, and becomes weedy fast if not pruned regularly. In a fry tank, that spells perfection.

[traco1]

Good to know about not using flourish excel. I used that in one of my tanks and my hornwort died? Can that happen with hornwort?

[CACAdmin]

Add water.Seriously. Java moss is one of the hardiest plants known to mankind,

It must be... it's one of the few plants I haven't been able to kill.

Good to know about not using flourish excel. I used that in one of my tanks and my hornwort died? Can that happen with hornwort?

I don't really know, but I didn't think anything would kill hornwort ... I haven't managed to! :twitcy: (except by letting my marisa snails have it for dinner:wideeyed: ).

[Osprey]

I wasn't sure about the hornwort, so I did some extra research to find out exactly which plants were affected. Turns out its not just certain species, but certain tank conditions that cause problems. Excel is more likely to cause grief in extremely soft water, and usually only if people are uber-dosing or pouring the liquid directly onto their plants.
Species affected include all types of aquatic moss, anacharis, valisneria, and apparently both elodea and egeria.
Note that this is NOT seachem's official position; they maintain that Excel won't harm any plants, even when used at higher dosages. But reading through firsthand accounts and complaints, you get a very different impression.

[Katalyst]

Well it would explain what happened to my hornwort, it was doing just fine around the time I started to add flourish to the tank.

Rats....I even kill plants using plant fertilizer, I'm doomed I tell you ...Doomed to have plastic aquarium plants forever.

[traco1]

Kathleen, nice to see someone else that had the same problem.:laugh: The two tanks I dosed (and didn't pour over any plants ~ mixed with some tank water, than poured) the poor hornwort died. I've got a couple of other tanks with some more hornwort but am afraid of killing it if moved to those tanks.

So, I am looking at plastic plants for floating in these tanks. At least they won't die and can be taken out to clean.

Was the same as you with adding fertilizer to help the plants, I killed them.:eek:

[Katalyst]

Kathleen, nice to see someone else that had the same problem.:laugh: The two tanks I dosed (and didn't pour over any plants ~ mixed with some tank water, than poured) the poor hornwort died. I've got a couple of other tanks with some more hornwort but am afraid of killing it if moved to those tanks.

So, I am looking at plastic plants for floating in these tanks. At least they won't die and can be taken out to clean.

Was the same as you with adding fertilizer to help the plants, I killed them.:eek:

At least I'm in good company. :;):

[Melody]

I'd be embarassed to tell you how much I've spent on Java Moss - if I'm lucky, it just sits there, but it often dies off. I don't think it likes salt much. I find that too much of it is a pain anyway - it holds the food & waste very well. I have to remove it to clean it and even that involves a bucket & swooshing & draining several times.

[Pamelajo]

My java moss survived (not thrived)when using flourish, but I only half dosed. Scared for the shrimps and snails. Now that I am using Pmdd (regular dosing) the moss is doing awsome. I am actually having to trim.
If I can grow plants then anyone can.



Kat I could have sent you a little from my trimming if I'd known.

[Katalyst]

My java moss survived (not thrived)when using flourish, but I only half dosed. Scared for the shrimps and snails. Now that I am using Pmdd (regular dosing) the moss is doing awsome. I am actually having to trim.
If I can grow plants then anyone can.



Kat I could have sent you a little from my trimming if I'd known.


Awww thanks Pam, maybe we can trade or something in the future. You know when I'm up to my eyeballs in bn's or snails lol.

[Pamelajo]

That is not a bad idea I could probably use some more brigs.

[Katalyst]

That is not a bad idea I could probably use some more brigs.

You may live to regret that statement now that I have your address. :DevilGrin:

[Katalyst]

Instead of creating a new thread I figured I'd just add to this one. Someone suggested this to grow java moss quickly:

Materials
java moss (obviously)
sauce jar
air line tubing
small air pump

I punched a hole in the top of a jar just large enough to eek in the airline tubing, added tank water & java moss, screwed the lid on and plugged in air pump (which I have in a plastic bag in case it rains) and its sitting outside in the sun. Figured I'll get some green water as well.

[Melody]

Sounds reasonable enough, although I would think that algae would compete for nutrients. Partial sun might be better - the temps would get pretty high.

[Katalyst]

Sounds reasonable enough, although I would think that algae would compete for nutrients. Partial sun might be better - the temps would get pretty high.

Hmmm good point..Maybe I'll switch it into a different jar every few days. If nothing else it'll get all the ramshorns out of it hopefully and on the jar glass.

[Melody]

Man your neighbours are gonna wonder.... lol

[Katalyst]

Man your neighbours are gonna wonder.... lol
Its in the back yard and both houses on either side of me are empty lol. I did however think that I should light some up and put it out on Halloween.

[Melody]

LOL Goblin hair?

[Katalyst]

LOL Goblin hair?

ROFL....I think the flaming skulls from last year were the big hit...lol

[sunjwd]

I see that you got some Java Moss.
In Toronto you can buy it from Big Al's. I personally got a handful from
Big Al's Scarborough a couple of months ago. Some of it is wrapped around
a piece of lava in my tank. The rest is in a vase of water on my desk at work.
The batch in the vase is doing much better and filled the vase.

[CACAdmin]

It would be Interesting to figure out why the stuff in the vase on your desk is doing better. Is there a window nearby? Does it get any natural light? The other thing I was thinking was that some offices leave the lights on 24/7... don't know if that's the case in your office.

[ChrissyFishy]

I don't think it likes much water moving and maybe that's it.

[CACAdmin]

I don't think it likes much water moving and maybe that's it.
Good point. Hadn't thought of that. The only java moss I have is in my 2g shrimp tank with very little water movement and it does well.

[traco1]

My java moss in the 10 gallon shrimp tank is doing just fine. No heater, by a window (but blinds are mostly down), in tank sponge filter. All the java moss I have moved to other tanks gets the real fuzzy algae which just chokes the moss and it dies, leaving the lovely algae behind. I ended up chucking the moss in my platy tank, one of the babies got in there and couldn't get out (might have by itself but I was there at the moment and that's when i decided to chuck it).

[Katalyst]

Or perhaps it did well because no one was constantly chewing on it, laying eggs in or hiding it. :twitcy: My cories have a ball shredding/swimming through my java moss. My science experiment is still going strong. Plus I figure if I keep it in the jar outside for 2 weeks most parasites need a host and can't live that long without one. Yes I am a paranoid lunatic I know.

[KnaveTO]

First off... Harold over at Menagerie almost always has Java Moss. You have to ask for it as it is in the small plastic containers at the fish section counter... that and pocilia as well I believe.

As for how hardy java moss is... hmmm well I have my 10gallon QT/isolation tank that is currently housing 2 plecos (King Tiger and a Peppermint). They ended up comming home with ich and were in there for just that reason. I have been treating the tank with 2tsp of salt per gallon of water and 5mL of Para-Guard per day as well as 50% water changes every other day for the last 10 days or so and it is doing very well. Not dying off or dissolving or anything. Very healthy green colour and I have 2 pieces of wood in there that have some tied to it as a start for my breeding tank and it seems to be adhering well to the wood.


Furthermore the guy I got my RCS from in BC was selling it for $2.50 for a baseball sized clump when you bought shrimps from him. I still have lots of the stuff just waiting for that last piece of wood to tie it to for the 40.

[Katalyst]

I'm definately going to be checking out Menagerie in the future but, I'm saving my pennies at the moment or trying to. My breeder is getting his next shipment in within the next few weeks and has ordered quite a nice bunch of goldies. He's torturing me with jinkins and tosakins but I'm holding out for a blue phoenix oranda (or so I say now) and a few black ranchu.

[traco1]

Hey, stop teasing with all these different strains of goldfish! j/k!!:laugh:

[Katalyst]

Hey, stop teasing with all these different strains of goldfish! j/k!!:laugh:
Yes you hate it, its torture I know...How is Miss C? :laugh:

[traco1]

She is doing just great, peas for dinner tonight. She wolfed those down in no time (a goldie trait, I hear, they love their food). I imagine she will be doing some growing now that she has moved up in the world and can spread her little fins out.

[sunjwd]

Yes they keep the lights on 24x7 at work. It isn't environmentally friendly, but it is a semiconductor company and there really are people there 24x7.
The vase on my desk gets a water change 2 times a week.

Maybe it is a "settle in time" thing. The java-on-lava in the tank is looking better after 2 weeks. It is starting to get a darker green, and it is growing branches.
My water has ~20 ppm nitrates at the end of each week before I do a 20% water change.
The java in the vase had been there almost 2 months.

[Katalyst]

I took mine out of the jar outside, its grown pretty well outside in the sun and I wrapped a bunch of it around a piece of driftwood and stuffed some in Uncle Rick's Pleco Chews. I'm telling you he should really rename those things shrimp shacks they love them more then the pleco's.

[Melody]

Good to know!

[fishguy25]

Hey There, Java Moss Is not hard to grow in fact its really easy..

i had a little bit about the size of a loonie after 2 months i ended up with enough to cover the bottom of my 30gal. i use plant grow lights,and marineGlo thats it nothing else my water temp is 77.8 at all times in 10 of my tanks and honestly i just keeps on growing... i use only (StressCoat) And i have Silica sand #1 and #2 in all of my tanks
my ph is 7.4 ish i have my lights on for 12 hours out of the day..

really i find it easy to grow and if anyone would like some feel free to pm me i will ship some off to who ever wants some...

[Melody]

That's the thing with Java Moss, it either grows like mad or it just sits there.:Dunno:

[DaFishMan]

I peeled a 5 inch thick 'moss glacier' from the bottom of my 40g low tech tank lol.
I ignored the tank for about 8 months that was my trick heheheehe

[Melody]

I'll have to try that scientific method. :yes: Unfortunately mine gets full of...stuff, and I have to clean it often. I don't think it cares much for that.