Im lost growing moss

[GoofyGarra]

Java moss is recommended a lot in the hobby as an easy, decent speed growing plant. I've tried it like 3-4 times now, I cannot keep it alive and growing for long periods of time.

What setups do  people have with thriving mosses that I can learn from? I really want to succeed with this plant.

[tike]

First...tell us your set up...lighting how long you have it on, parameters...pH inparticular, tank size, adding anything extra like ferts etc.?

[Seattle_Aquarist]

On 8/25/2024 at 3:25 PM, GoofyGarra said:

Java moss is recommended a lot in the hobby as an easy, decent speed growing plant. I've tried it like 3-4 times now, I cannot keep it alive and growing for long periods of time.

What setups do  people have with thriving mosses that I can learn from? I really want to succeed with this plant.

Hi @GoofyGarra,

I call tell you from personal experience, after killing a lot of moss, that many moss species do not like liquid carbon supplements like Seachem Excel, API CO2 Booster, or similar glutaraldehyde based carbon additives.

[TrevorK]

Hi @GoofyGarra

I have had my experience with Java Moss but I just recently had the growth I was looking for and here are the conditions I have to help it thrive: moderate to low light, 10 hours of light a day, it being shoved into the substrate not on rocks or wood, have my temperature at a steady 76 degrees, the ph at around 6.6.

 
IMPORTANT: It took several weeks to see noticeable growth within the moss!!! Be patient!!

These are the conditions of my tank with my Java Moss. I hope this helps!

Edited August 26 by TrevorK

[Tony s]

On 8/25/2024 at 6:25 PM, GoofyGarra said:

Java moss is recommended a lot in the hobby as an easy, decent speed growing plant. I've tried it like 3-4 times now, I cannot keep it alive and growing for long periods of time.

Yeah, I’ve always heard “chuck it in and leave it alone “. I’m in the same boat as you. If I leave it alone, there’s nothing left where it should have been. While other people pull it out by the bucketfuls. I have one tank in particular I’d love to get a bunch going and carpet the bottom. Hoping you’re finding us an answer. 

[Beach Cruiser]

Mine grows (on bdbs substrate), but pretty slowly. 

The common factors on most successful moss tanks seem to be lower temps, medium light, decent flow & pH in the 6's. 

[beastie]

For years I kept killing moss, having it filled with hair algae and watching it brown, wither and die.

Now one tank has a lush moss growth. Higher flow, no heater, low light and no other plant competition except some salvinia, java fern and now slow growing anubias.

I think in a heavily planted environment it has no chance on the nutrients and it doesnt need much light either. I went from having just this clump

to having the entire back of the tank filled with moss and it grew all the way to the surface before I cut it. The difference between the pictures is a whole year.

 

I also had a small tank filled with moss...which also filled with debris and soon algae

Sometimes moss just aint for us. But it never does well with other plants

Edited August 26 by beastie

[AdamS]

I am in the same boat.  My moss never really thrived, just slowly turned brown and died off.  This is 2 months from purchase so it’s a slow. In this aquarium I have a single anubias nana and a crypt (20 gallon). 

[Tony s]

On 8/28/2024 at 5:37 PM, AdamS said:

My moss never really thrived, just slowly turned brown and died off

That's my moss exactly 😁

[GoofyGarra]

So i have a 15 gallon tank setup in my Biology lab at school. Over the summer it was getting top-offs and auto fed but was pretty neglected. I came back yesterday to check on the tank and it wasn't in great shape. The pothos growing from the top was doing great, but the endler's had significantly dropped in numbers and all the guppy grass had died.

Guess what was growing very nicely? That's right, the moss. Not sure what the lesson is here, but it seemed on topic-enough.

[Woowala]

If you're having trouble with java moss or something similar and you get some little tiny 2" square, grow it out emersed for a while first.  Just any clear container, keep it wet with tank water or very dilute fertilizer. Trim it and spread it out, and once you've got it going you can take some and experiment with it in the tank. Once there, light and nitrogen is really all it needs. Just keep it algae free with snails, shrimp, ostracods, flow, or good tank conditions where other plants are growing fine but algae really isn't.

I think half the problem is starting with some tiny amount of beat up or algae infested moss. So I'd definitely do this if you're starting out with some brown or not thriving moss.

Some pics.  The brown moss on the second one is where I almost let it dry out completely, then flooded it to hatch out some cpds and added snails to take care of any algae.

[yancylow]

On 8/28/2024 at 5:24 PM, Woowala said:

half the problem is starting with some tiny amount of beat up or algae infested moss.

So are you saying that I would need more moss to start with?

[Woowala]

More is probably better, but healthy and growing is most important I think. That and keeping algae off it.

But it's pretty tough stuff.  Really it's light, nitrogen, no algae.  That's all it needs.

Edited August 28 by Woowala

[AdamS]

I also have had issues with baby tears. This picture is current with the plant being in my aquarium for a week. I am hoping it’s dying back and will revive after a while. But it looks pretty bad. 

[MWilk]

I moved a square of Java moss that had been in my livebearer tank at 78-80F for several months with about 4 inches of total vertical growth to a new unheated tank in the living room. It took off. It’s been about 2 months now and I’ve tried many plants in this tank to get the best residents for it, but the Flagfish keep eating everything I try that looks nice. 
 

It seems like a combination of the heavy ceiling of floaters combined with lower temp is ideal for the moss. Don’t mind my poor housekeeping, I plan to clean up the soil when I’m settled on plant selection.