Aquarium Co-op Java Moss

[Zac]

For those that have purchased aquarium co-op’s Java moss, is it possible to remove that wire mesh it is attached to? I would like to put it on a coconut hut and Apisto cave but I would rather the wires not be sticking out/visible 

[Ken Burke]

You probably could, but attaching it to the coco hut would be a challenge.  IMO, get it grow next to the hut.  The moss will naturally attach itself to anything it touches for a long time.  Once it’s attached, remove the wire bound moss and use it for the next project. 
 

Once the strands are long enough, you can use a rock or something to hold it in contact, but it’s gonna take more than a minute.  But here is a picture or a rock that had a transfer like that. You can see it is attaching to the anubias next door.  Gonna need to address that some day.

[Ken Burke]

@Odd Duck you have some of the most beautiful mosses I’ve ever seen. Thoughts?

[Widgets]

Here is a writeup on his moss jello painting technique and results by @Odd Duck

 

[Patrick_G]

You can remove the moss from the mesh. I let mine grow out and double in size before I did it. 

[nabokovfan87]

On 4/16/2022 at 12:54 PM, Zac said:

For those that have purchased aquarium co-op’s Java moss, is it possible to remove that wire mesh it is attached to? I would like to put it on a coconut hut and Apisto cave but I would rather the wires not be sticking out/visible

I would lean towards a hard "nope" on that one.  You can grow it out, and eventually you can trim some to add to wherever.  I had some other moss on mesh, it didn't grow and unfortunately the mesh cut up some fish.  I would definitely lean towards the nylon mesh whenever possible or have a setup so you can grow out the moss in a secondary location and then stick it wherever you need to.  (substrate on the tank was sand)

That's my experience, I know a lot of other people haven't had issues and can share their experiences as well.

[AndreaW]

I immediately removed my Java moss from the wire mesh (it was attached with thread) and used super glue to attach some to driftwood and rocks in my aquarium. 

[Jawjagrrl]

On 4/16/2022 at 11:21 PM, AndreaW said:

I immediately removed my Java moss from the wire mesh (it was attached with thread) and used super glue to attach some to driftwood and rocks in my aquarium. 

Good to know - I wasn't paying attention and didn't realize it came on the mesh.

[Odd Duck]

I’ve gotten moss attached to wire mesh, tied to plastic platforms, loose, and accidentally attached to wood as hitchhikers.  I like the wire mesh the least because of the sharp edges.  I do still have some attached to wire mesh but I’m careful in which tanks I put them.  I’ve tried shaping the mesh to branches in hopes the moss would grow onto the wood and I’ve had mixed success depending on the moss, the wood, and the tank inhabitants.

Some mosses attach themselves better than others.  Java mass, Christmas moss, flame moss, anchor, etc, essentially all the Taxiphyllum type mosses, are mixed at attaching firmly.  They tend to attach rather loosely for me and get easily dislodged by vigorous, active fish, or if I’m clumsy with planting tweezers doing something else and catch the moss.  Fissidens attach better, more firmly, for me but are much slower growing.  Jury’s a bit out on the more “stemmed” looking mosses like Physcomitrium hookeracaea, Jungermannia truncata, or Distichophyllum maiberae which seem to attach fairly firmly compared to Taxi’s, not quite as firm as Fiss, and have a moderate growth rate between Taxis and Fissidens type.

All that said, with Java moss, I personally, would remove it from the screen and glue or tie it to where you want it attached.  To glue, use the tiniest possible dots of superglue gel and be ready with a few pieces of moss to stick into each dot.  If they don’t stick, do another dot, stick on bits, etc.  I stick enough bits into each dot that no more will stick, then make the next tiny dot, stick more bits, etc.  Each bit of moss only needs to be about 1/2” (1 cm) long and you will usually get growth from each cut end.  You can use even smaller bits but it takes longer to stick them all down.  You can make the moss into a slurry like I did with my Fissidens on the link that was posted above, but that needs a dry start afterwards so the moss has time to attach.  The jury is still out on my success rate after flooding since I’ve had some hair algae growing.

Tying moss can also be tedious, but it’s slightly faster than gluing if you’re doing a lot, but what shape you’re attaching to can make tying difficult if not impossible.  Small amounts it likely doesn’t matter if you glue or tie (depending the shape used as the base).  Use 100% cotton thread when tying so it eventually goes away.  I use a medium to dark green but I’ve used black before, too.  I imagine brown that matches the wood color would also be OK.

Remember, all of this is my opinion from my somewhat limited experience, so your mileage may vary.