Allan Posted February 3, 2022 Share Posted February 3, 2022 I've had this moss ball for a few years, I didn't turn it for a while and when I did substrate was stuck to the bottom. I knocked the gravel off and moved on with my day. Now it's slowly taking over the bottom. I tried casually pulling it out and off the java fern rhizomes, but it's winning. Is there anything that eats this? Looking for a passive solution, otherwise I suppose I'll just let it carpet the bottom. Sorry about the link, when I try to save the file it's an .HEIC which I've never heard of and the forum doesn't allow. https://photos.app.goo.gl/D8MTKareT3AQs9ZS8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Expectorating_Aubergine Posted February 3, 2022 Share Posted February 3, 2022 Dang, wish I had that problem! I'm not aware of anything that eats cladophore algae, but..... where did you get it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Posted February 3, 2022 Author Share Posted February 3, 2022 (edited) I got the moss ball from Petsmart three years ago. It's bigger than a tennis ball now. Edited February 3, 2022 by Allan 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H.K.Luterman Posted February 3, 2022 Share Posted February 3, 2022 I unrolled a marimo and put it on the bottom of my betta tank hoping it would spread! I don't think it ever has though, lol. I've never heard of anything that eats cladophorm algae. Maybe goldfish if anything; they like to tear marimos apart. But nothing like how an algae eater would eat algae. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flumpweesel Posted February 4, 2022 Share Posted February 4, 2022 I have some growing on a piece of wood from a long since destroyed ball it doesn't grow very fast and I would expect you could gravel vac it of your substrate. My SAE's don't seem interested in it aside from hiding the remaining balls from me. I stuck them in there as prep for the shrimp tank I'm seasoning and now faced with buy more or rip apart the tank to find them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odd Duck Posted February 4, 2022 Share Posted February 4, 2022 (edited) Your image looks like hair algae, not Cladiphora. Cladiphora can spread under the right conditions. I’ve seen others culture it deliberately and I had some spread across a piece of wood for a while, but it eventually faded away when I added heat to that tank. It tends to like cooler water and doesn’t always do well at tropical temperatures. Your moss ball pic looks like it’s taken over with hair algae, too. Moss balls have very short, superfine, velvety looking strands. You don’t see distinct fibers like that until you get much more close up. You may still have Cladiphora inside that moss ball, but I see hair algae, too. Edited to add screenshot photo from google. Edited February 4, 2022 by Odd Duck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Posted February 7, 2022 Author Share Posted February 7, 2022 Judging by the way the moss ball fell apart in my hand I'd say you are right. Thanks for the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odd Duck Posted February 7, 2022 Share Posted February 7, 2022 You actually can make moss balls of hair algae (I’ve read). It just takes more maintenance. More rolling, trimming, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torrey Posted February 8, 2022 Share Posted February 8, 2022 On 2/7/2022 at 9:29 AM, Odd Duck said: You actually can make moss balls of hair algae (I’ve read). It just takes more maintenance. More rolling, trimming, etc. I have been trying various methods and I am quite confident that whoever said regular hair algae can be made into a moss ball was not working with the hair algae I have been able to grow. All my attempts so far have resulted in a tank of hair algae... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odd Duck Posted February 8, 2022 Share Posted February 8, 2022 On 2/7/2022 at 11:55 PM, Torrey said: I have been trying various methods and I am quite confident that whoever said regular hair algae can be made into a moss ball was not working with the hair algae I have been able to grow. All my attempts so far have resulted in a tank of hair algae... I’ve heard you have to roll it pretty tight at least weekly or more often, and keep rolling forever. “Real” moss balls can be rolled far less often and still hold their shape fairly well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torrey Posted February 8, 2022 Share Posted February 8, 2022 On 2/8/2022 at 12:58 AM, Odd Duck said: I’ve heard you have to roll it pretty tight at least weekly or more often, and keep rolling forever. “Real” moss balls can be rolled far less often and still hold their shape fairly well. I believe the rolling daily even. The problem is mostly with the unwanted spread. A gift that never seems to stop giving!!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmurray407 Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 I'm assuming that you have an iPhone? A .heic file is a photo thing Apple uses as a space saving format. If you want to change it to .jpg (the normal format most of us are used to), go the Settings>camera>Formats and choose "most compatible" which will let your phone save your photos in .jpeg mode. The phone camera won't let you take HDR photos in this mode, but if you want to take some, just change it back the "high efficiency" mode instead of the "most compatible" mode. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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