Any Ideas for Taming the Java Moss Monster

[Alesha]

My java moss is always just a junky clump...full of baby shrimp, fish, snails & food.

I've tried compressing it into decor, but it doesn't grow well. I've tied it to decor & that works until it gets too big & makes the stick float.

I just don't like the floating messy glob! But it's vital for all the babies.

Do you have a clever way of keeping it tidy & anchored? I'd love some tips!

[OceanTruth]

Wow! I don’t have any clever tips, I’m just impressed that you can grow moss that well.

[Alesha]

5 minutes ago, OceanTruth said:

Wow! I don’t have any clever tips, I’m just impressed that you can grow moss that well.

Ha! It's one of the few things I grow well. Get this - I can kill off HORNWORT! 😱 I know!  Wow!

I can grow wisteria & moneywort. All my other plants are holey due to some nutrient deficiency. My sword is growing flowers, but all it's leaves look like lace... holes everywhere. 

But yeah... my java moss is quite prolific. 😁😁😁

[OceanTruth]

1 minute ago, Alesha said:

I can kill off HORNWORT! 😱 I know!  Wow!

I see your hornwort and raise you Java Fern! I am the bringer of death to it. I have no clue why. Hardy my butt. Lol. It’s the weirdest thing though.

[Wes L.]

I have a great technique for Java Moss. I trim mine and then get a couple little river rocks and place a wad of the moss on top and then tie it down by looping either thread or fishing line all over it. At first you can clearly see the fishing line or thread, but the moss grows quickly and in about a month you can no longer see the thread. Here's a pic of some new moss I trimmed from one tank and tied it around the three river rocks, which are on the right side of the pic sitting on the driftwood. The second photo is how it grows out. It stays in pretty nice dense clumps once it grows out, and of course trimming the tops makes the moss clumps thicker. And since it's attached to a stone it stays put and you can easily move it around the aquarium if you choose.

[Wes L.]

3 hours ago, Alesha said:

I can grow wisteria & moneywort. All my other plants are holey due to some nutrient deficiency. My sword is growing flowers, but all it's leaves look like lace... holes everywhere. 

I just went through this as well, and I was also having a weird problem with this fuzzy algae growing just on certain plants that I just couldn't get rid of. The top photo is of my 55 gallon tank that was having the issue, and if you look at the grass looking plant in the background, you can see the fuzzy algae on it. I started testing for everything a day after I dosed an all-in-one fertilizer and I learned that my tank consumes phosphates and potassium in lightening speed, so I started dosing a phosphate and potassium supplement along with my all-in-one, and it will be 2 weeks tomorrow and 95% of that fuzzy algae is gone and all of my plants have noticeably perked up...and in just 2 weeks. I still can't believe what a difference the added nutrients have done to my tank.

[MAC]

If you have some scissors you could trim it back a bit. Give it a buzz cut around the edges and see what that does for ya. 

It might look shocking at first but mine grows in much thicker and compact. 

[Brandy]

I have some that I let go nuts in the clippings tank. But in display tanks I also wrap it around a rock with thread like @Wes L., and then I prune the dickens out of it so that it looks like topiary or a boxwood hedge almost. It LIKES it. Because the rock anchors it you can move it around and even shake it out a little during water changes if you have too much food in there. Fry and shrimp will zip back to safety, but the dirt isn't as smart.

I also just sold a bunch of my trimmings on craigslist, so, you know...Now I get to go shopping? 😎

[gardenman]

I had a raft of Java Moss in my thirty high that was surrounding my spray bar from my canister filter. It was the width of the tank, stretched across half of the top of the tank and was about six inches deep (top to bottom) when I finally had enough and weeded out most of it.  If you have a spray bar in your tank, try wedging some behind it. Chances are it'll like that spot and grow like crazy there.

[H.K.Luterman]

I don't know, I kind of like the big blob monster look. X3

 

[Alesha]

10 hours ago, Wes L. said:

I have a great technique for Java Moss. I trim mine and then get a couple little river rocks and place a wad of the moss on top and then tie it down by looping either thread or fishing line all over it. At first you can clearly see the fishing line or thread, but the moss grows quickly and in about a month you can no longer see the thread. Here's a pic of some new moss I trimmed from one tank and tied it around the three river rocks, which are on the right side of the pic sitting on the driftwood. The second photo is how it grows out. It stays in pretty nice dense clumps once it grows out, and of course trimming the tops makes the moss clumps thicker. And since it's attached to a stone it stays put and you can easily move it around the aquarium if you choose.

Wow, @Wes L. - It looks really tidy that way! And the way it grows out is great! I love that you can move it around the tank. I'd done this in the beginning (well...I glued it down to the rock), but it eventually separated from it. I was afraid to re-do the glue INside the tank. Your way with thread/fishing line is a safer choice, I think. Thanks so much for sharing!

10 hours ago, Wes L. said:

I learned that my tank consumes phosphates and potassium in lightening speed, so I started dosing a phosphate and potassium supplement along with my all-in-one, and it will be 2 weeks tomorrow and 95% of that fuzzy algae is gone and all of my plants have noticeably perked up...and in just 2 weeks. I still can't believe what a difference the added nutrients have done to my tank.

Yeah, I'd suspected the potassium insufficiency after reading the blog where @Irene included the different pics of leaves and their needed nutrients. 

https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/plant-nutrient-deficiencies?_pos=1&_sid=0fd082582&_ss=r

I just haven't researched the supplements to see what to get. I do use Easy Green, but very sporadically. This tank lost its cycle when I had to treat with Levamisole and I've struggled with Nitrites since then. I didn't want to add the Easy Green during the time of re-establishing the cycle.

I think it's completed now. We just did our first water change since late November and it's only slightly clouded, so I think my various algae/bacterial blooms are almost over. I should be safe to start regularly dosing with Easy Green. If the leaves don't start growing in better in a few months, I'll look into other supplements. Thanks so much for the info. It just confirmed what I was thinking. I appreciate the input. 

[Alesha]

Just now, H.K.Luterman said:

I don't know, I kind of like the big blob monster look. X3

 

@H.K.Luterman - yeahhhhhh, I know. I have been liking it too...when I had TWO blob monsters. But I can't get the one (that separated from the river rock I had it glued to) to settle in one spot. It's always migrating along with floor of the aquarium and that drives me nuts. I like to SEE the bottom, to keep track of all the little critters down there.  So...I combined both blobs and now I find it's overwhelms the tank...just too big! So, I'll likely try to tie some of it to a few rocks...see if that will tame it a bit. 😉 

I like my monsters...just want them to behave themselves! 😂

[Alesha]

8 hours ago, Brandy said:

and then I prune the dickens out of it so that it looks like topiary or a boxwood hedge almost. It LIKES it. Because the rock anchors it you can move it around and even shake it out a little during water changes if you have too much food in there. Fry and shrimp will zip back to safety, but the dirt isn't as smart.

I also just sold a bunch of my trimmings on craigslist, so, you know...Now I get to go shopping? 😎

Hmmm...I didn't think about it doing better WITH a pruning! But that makes sense, since most plants are that way. I'll give it a try. And yeah, shaking it out during water changes will make me a happier camper. 

For a while, I had to really watch that I didn't get Black Beard Algae in the moss. I'd have to prune it just to remove the fuzzy strands. But since I moved my sponge filter - and the blob has been moving around the FLOOR of the tank - I haven't had that problem. The air and light seem to be the magic combo for BBA in my tank. I'll have to watch where I put the moss-wrapped rocks so I don't have a repeat problem.

[Alesha]

2 hours ago, gardenman said:

I had a raft of Java Moss in my thirty high that was surrounding my spray bar from my canister filter. It was the width of the tank, stretched across half of the top of the tank and was about six inches deep (top to bottom) when I finally had enough and weeded out most of it.  If you have a spray bar in your tank, try wedging some behind it. Chances are it'll like that spot and grow like crazy there.

Thanks, @gardenman. I don't have a spray bar, but I did try wedging it behind a large rock. It just wouldn't stay put. I also suspect my giant Siamese Algae Eater was zipping behind there and dislodging it! LoL! 😁

[Alesha]

8 hours ago, MAC said:

If you have some scissors you could trim it back a bit. Give it a buzz cut around the edges and see what that does for ya. 

It might look shocking at first but mine grows in much thicker and compact. 

See...I hadn't even thought of that! But all my Terrestrial Plants like a good trim. It only makes sense that an Aquatic one would too! Thanks for the tip, @MAC!

[Wes L.]

@BrandyDid you notice my comment regarding the potassium above? LOL I totally got that tip from you and it's working miracles in my tank!

[JettsPapa]

I have some in a couple tanks, and mine is much denser and darker green than yours.  Maybe yours isn't getting enough light and/or nutrients?  Or maybe just doesn't like your water parameters?

[tolstoy21]

Like others have said, glue it to something -- rock or driftwood -- or use a stainless steel mat, and keep it trimmed to shape. It will groom and grow nicely.

I find growing it free-floating, it is unmanageable and grows like what you have in your pic. But fish do love it in that form and its great for fry!

The attached pic is an older iteration of my 125 from a few years ago (moss circled in white).

That moss patch started from a small scrap that attached itself to the driftwood. I was able to keep it in a nice shaggy mat via routine trimming, when it looked like it needed a hair cut. It starts as a few straggly scraps, but trimming it encourages it to grow more laterally across the surface and fill in. (If you're familiar with boxwood hedges, it's the same principal. The constant pruning encourages them to become thick and form a hedge, and not grow upright and straggly).

Added note: This tank was high-tech, meaning c02 and ferts on an autodoser. I did find that moss does grow thicker, easier under those conditions. But I don't suspect high-tech is necessary, and would guess that it just accelerates its growth more than informs its shape. My personal speculative belief is that pruning and available light play a more primary role in informing the ultimate shape of a plant, more than food (though yes, food does play a part. Hungry plants tend to underperform).  

Edited February 11, 2021 by tolstoy21

[Alesha]

3 hours ago, tolstoy21 said:

Like others have said, glue it to something -- rock or driftwood -- or use a stainless steel mat, and keep it trimmed to shape. It will groom and grow nicely.

I was able to keep it in a nice shaggy mat via routine trimming, when it looked like it needed a hair cut.

Thank you so much for the explanation, @tolstoy21. I have been fully convinced by all the responses that trimming is the way to go! I'll be attaching moss to river rocks this weekend. I appreciate your input! 🙂

[darkG]

One related idea is to somehow suspend or mount moss on / with strings that snails don't easily climb. Maybe like a floating island. 

But in my (quite inexperienced) mind java moss seem to be a junky clump kind of moss at heart 🙂 

[Alesha]

18 minutes ago, darkG said:

One related idea is to somehow suspend or mount moss on / with strings that snails don't easily climb. Maybe like a floating island. 

But in my (quite inexperienced) mind java moss seem to be a junky clump kind of moss at heart 🙂 

Ooooooo...now that IS an interesting idea, @darkG! Suspended moss...hmmmm. Might have to study on that a while.

And yeah...but we're going to try to tame the beast any way. 😁

[demicent]

I love the Blob!  My scape style could best be described as "There appears to have been a struggle."   Would love to know which phosphate and potassium supplements Wes L. uses.  And yeah, I haven't figured out how to do the quote thing.

[JettsPapa]

37 minutes ago, demicent said:

I love the Blob!  My scape style could best be described as "There appears to have been a struggle."   Would love to know which phosphate and potassium supplements Wes L. uses.  And yeah, I haven't figured out how to do the quote thing.

I need to remember that description.  I like it.

And doing the quote thing is pretty simple (or I wouldn't have figured it out).  Just click on the "Quote" link in the post you want to quote.  If you haven't started a Reply yet it will insert the quote in the Reply box at the bottom of the Discussion.  If you have already started a Reply then the Quote will be inserted wherever your cursor was when you clicked on the link.