Caring for mosses

Hi guys.

Yesterday I received 3 different mosses (Spiky, Singapore and Taiwan) from our good friend Loh K L.

The spiky moss took a bit of a knock in transit, and has started going brown. I followed Loh's advice and tried to remove most of the brown parts, but the problem is that they seemed to be rather "central" to the structure of the moss. Basically I'm left with lots of bits that don't really stick together much.

So what should I do? At the moment they're in a shallow container with a light (just a normal incandescent light bulb) shining on them. Should I attempt to tie the pieces to driftwood or leave them in a tank?

Also, I've read that java moss will grow nicer if you trim it after tying it onto rock or driftwood. How exactly does one go about this, and when should you trim?

Thanks,
Ryan.

 

Ryan,

The Spiky Moss was already brown in certain parts when I sent it to you. It was already in that condition when Freddy, my buddy in Singapore, gave the moss to me. But reading your post, it could be the "browning" got worse when the moss was in transit. Unlike some of the other mosses which sometimes turn brown for no apparent reason, the Spiky you have now is brown in certain parts because there was a lack of light. If you look carefully, you will notice that it's brown only at the lower fronds, those that are cut off from light by the higher fronds.

You only need a bit of moss to have lots of it later. So don't worry. There's no "central" part to moss. Any part of it will grow vegetatively.

Just tie the bits and parts to driftwoods and watch them take off. The thing to keep in mind is to spread the mosses apart. Avoid tying one frond over another. This shouldn't be a problem for you if what you have are just bits and parts

As for trimming Java Moss to make it grow nicer, it's simply a matter of snipping off the loose ends. Java tends to have long fronds which stick out after the moss has been tied down to a driftwood. These are the loose ends that are snipped off so that the moss grows into a nice bunch without any strands sticking out. I usually don't trim my moss after it has grown for a while but I've seen hobbyists prune their Java Moss like the way gardeners prune hedges. You can even shape the moss to take on any appearance you want.

With mosses, no factor is more important than temperature. It mustn't go above 28 C in your tank. Also, bear in mind that adult SAE's and Yamato Shrimps are moss-eaters.

Loh K L

 

Thanks for the information Loh.

I've read quite a lot about mosses, but not much of it goes in depth on the specifics of maintaining them. From your post I suppose it is because most factors don't really matter too much? The water the spiky moss is in at the moment is unheated. So it should be below 20 °C. I have some extra driftwood that I can tie it onto so hopefully it will be ok soon.

As for Yamato shrimp and SAE's the chances of me finding either are slim to none. Hopefully nothing else will eat the moss.

Thanks again,
Ryan.

 

What I'll give to see 20 C in my tank Even with chillers, we can never hope to see that low a temperature, not unless it's a big chiller and a small tank

You may want to take note that the Taiwan and Spiky belong to the same genus. It can be quite difficult to tell one from the other, particularly when it's just a frond or 2. So my suggestion is to keep them apart in different tanks. The Singapore Moss, however, looks distinctly different from the other 2. For one thing, it throws out sporophytes.

Loh K L

 

You're kidding, I suppose the sporophytes or only visible under a microscope, or can they be seen with the naked eye? How does this differ from other moss division?

For those who don't know a sporophyte is an extension of the moss (like a small stamen), they usually have a small swelling at the end where spores are produced, the sporophytes grow out of the gametophytes where sperm and eggs are produced. At least thats how I remember it

 

So the sporophytes are the "capsules" that Loh referred to in his article "Mosses and the men who love them"? So after a while I'll have Singapore moss growing all over the place when the sporophytes pop?

 

Actually, a sporophyte is shaped like a large comma. The dot at the end of the comma is called the capsule. The stem holding the capsule is known as a seta. Inside the capsule are spores. I don't think you can see the spores with your naked eye but the sporophytes are easily visible. In fact, you have to be blind not to see them

Occasionally, you may see many sporophytes in your Singapore Moss. I think something triggers their growth but I don't know what it is.

According to the professor, all your mosses should throw out sporophytes but we have not seem them in the Taxiphyllum's. In other words, no one has seen sporophytes in Java, Taiwan and Spiky Moss. No one except the professor, that is In any case, should your Taxiphyllum ever throw out a sporophyte, please let us know about it. It will be news to us.

I've not tried using the Singapore Moss as a carpeting plant but I suppose it's as good as any. In their natural habitats, the Singapore Moss creeps and hugs the ground closely. In our tanks, they droop. So it's better to use small rocks instead of wire mesh. Because with rocks, there's a bit of height for the moss to droop downwards. With wire mesh, the moss will be too close to the substrate.

Loh K L

 

Once again, Loh, your replies are very useful and concise. Thanks for helping us "Poor South Africans" out!

I still have more questions (I hope you don't mind).

1. Have you noticed if any of the three mosses that you sent us grows any faster than the other two?

2. Does it make any difference if you tie the moss to stone or wood? I remember reading that it holds onto rough stone better than it holds onto smooth stone. Is wood superior to rough stone?

Thanks again,
Ryan.

 

Hey Ryan

In my experience it seems that moss will readily attach to bog wood better than it will to stones. The moss that was tied to the few rocks in my tank are now looking bald, but the exact same moss on the wood is growing like wild fire.!

Fire eEL, I made a mistake when i sent you the moss, one of those species I sent you is spikey moss. Sorry about that!

 

I don't mind answering your questions, Ryan. In fact, it's my pleasure.

I've not noticed any of the aquarium moss grow at a faster rate than another. Generally, hobbyists perceive mosses as slow growers but I think that's not true. It depends very much on the conditions of your tank. With high lighting, frequent water changes and CO2 injection, mosses can grow pretty fast. In fact, they grow so fast it can get to be a headache keeping them in shape. Unlike other plants, it's difficult to trim moss as the bits and parts will scatter all over the tank.

One local fish shop in Singapore called Generation X keeps Yamato shrimps in their moss tanks. They know the shrimps eat mosses but they used them to keep the mosses' growth in check. But I suppose you can do that only when there is already prolific growth. The Yamato's and SAE's eat only the new growth. In other words, they chew off the tips.

Between rough rocks and driftwoods, there isn't any difference. But certainly, if you use smooth stones, the mosses will find it difficult to get a grip. Mosses produce hair-like roots called rhizoids. You can sometimes see them with your naked eye. We know that Java and Singapore Moss grip better than the other aquarium mosses. I don't know the reason for this as the professor said all mosses produce rhizoids.

Loh K L

 

"With mosses, no factor is more important than temperature. It mustn't go above 28 C in your tank. Also, bear in mind that adult SAE's and Yamato Shrimps are moss-eaters."

I amrunning my Discus tank at 29 C, peaking at 31 deg on hot days. Will this kill the moss? I know I can drop my temp to 28 Deg, but my discus seems to do much better at the higher temp?

 

Java moss is also quite salt tolerant and can be used in Brackish setups!

 

I am re-scaping my tank and found out my Singapore moss has started forming sporophytes:

The moss:



The sporophytes:

 

Very cool André.

Is the Singapore moss spreading a lot?

 

Yes it is. You can see from the pictures that it is pretty healthy and growing quickly.