I've just got round to sorting out my moss pictures. Just wondering how many pictures/mbs are allowed on this forum? I have quite a few.
Min
I know this is getting out of topic but I need help.
I've tried using the resize option at the top for the pictures. After submitting, it says 'Fatal error'. My pictures are 800 odd KBs, dimensions: 1536 x 2048.
Also, is it not possible for me to post pictures directly on the forum? Any recommendations for a free image hosting site?
Thanks in advance.
Min
Min,
There is a Gallery in this forum which you can post your photos. The link is at the top right of this page.
As for photo size, I would recommend the longer axis to be not longer than 640 pixels. I size my photo to somewhere between 400 and 520.
Min,
If you have problems posting your moss pictures to the forum, send them to me by email and I'll upload them for you. We would love to see them.
Loh K L
I'm back. Sorry for the long absence. Finally finished my end of year exams.
Anyway, back to the mosses. I've managed to acquire Adobe Photoshop, so its posting time...
Here is a picture of the waterhole near the campsite, with a trickle from a creek running down one side (draught has been quite a while). My local friends say its a waterfall plunge pool, but at this time, water level is low. Looks sad and muddy and not realy fit for swimming.
This is a close-up of the rock near the trickle, where the sludge looking black stuff is. I think its a liverwort.
I took a bit of the liverwort and here it is back in my room.
Rocks at the edge of the waterhole (is this the right term by the way) also support many mosses and liverwort. In fact, they are everywhere where it is moist, even in times of draught like this.
Liverwort from this rock posseses a stalk before branching out into the thallus.
Also, if you look closely at the habitat picture above, at the lower left corner, there are some brownish mud covered moss like fronds. Only a few though, but they seem to like growing on the vertical side of the rock, and I could see quite a number clustered around several rocks.
It is probably the only one which is doing much after more than 2 months now. It seems to grow stolons, with root hairs at the tips. Reminds me of the Selaginella plants. Well, all this time, I've only kept them in transparent take away food containers with a bit of water, covered but not tightly with a slit for ventilation. I haven't had time to put them in my terrarium yet, but at least for this one, I'm still not prepared to dump them into water.
I have more to follow, but I'm very distressed as most, if not all do not do well, even emersed. I've tried a few submersed, but currently doesn't look good. The week after I came back from the trip, like a month and a half ago, I left them in the food containers and they caught the mid morning sun filtering into my room. Many were most probably baked. When i opened the containers, the air felt really hot. An oversight on my part, little surprise they suffered shock and didn't do well after that, especially considering the environment they came from. The Central Coast Mountains are temperate to subtropical. When we were there, the temperature during the day was in the low 20s and night time was around 10 Celsius. Mind you though, it was early spring then. The water, well...freeeeezing.
Alright now, I'll post more later. Need some sleep.
Regards
Min
Hmm, it posted twice again. I also wonder why the pictures did not come up like other posts. What should I do? Moderators please advice. Thanks.
Min
Min, the reason why the images aren't working is due to the fact that you have the image tags backwards.
It should be:
[img]location[/img]
you have it:
[/img]location[img]
Go back and edit those posts and the pics should show up.
Eric
Min,Originally Posted by primavera
I have removed the duplicate post and corrected the image tags and image addresses. You had the tags backwards as highlighted by Eric and the address of the image should not be the URL displayed on your browser's address bar. Instead, you need to right click on the image, select properties and copy the address from the properties dialog box. The address should end with a '.jpg' or whatever extension of your image file.
Gan, you missed the liverwort pic in the edited post.
Fish.. Simply Irresistable
Back to Killies... slowly.
Thanks a lot Eric and Gan. I'm a bit of a slop with computers and technology generally. I'll tidy up the post.
Min
Great pics, Min. Thanks for sharing them.
I find the moss in your last picture interesting. It definitely looks like a moss but I remember the professor told me once that mosses do not have stems. Yours look like there's one.
Loh K L
Min,
I saw that in Melbourne's forest (off Great Ocean road) too. They grew very nicely and interestingly on moist and misty forest, on trees, rocks, etc.
Yeah Freddy, your right. They do grow in cooler areas. The Central Coast Mountains seem to be cooler, much more than I've expected. But it is further up north (probably warmer) than Great Ocean Road, and the place we went to (I was told) temperate subtropical rainforest pockets.
Since I'm here, I'll continue the 'mossy' path.
A creek flows downstream from the 'waterhole'. Along it were rocks covered in another moss:
A close-up:
This moss didn't do that well in my tanks at all. It was the first few I've tried. Been 3 weeks now, and all I see are faded green and brown fronds. I still have some emersed though (such as the ones in the picture).
Going upstream, there is another 'pool', but this time the water is very clear. There is a small overflow from another almost dried-up creek.
This is where my most exciting find is. A close-up of the 'trickle'.
At first I thought they were mosses. But on closer inspection, they seem to be liverworts. And there were two types, one on the right hand side which grows out of water, just beside the 'trickle', and one which I've only found submersed, which can be seen on the left, just below the trickle.
Out of water liverwort:
This one really fooled me, even on close inspection, I thought it looked so much like a moss, Christmas or similar. Only when I touched it did it feel different. For want of a better description, they felt crispy, much like fresh salad.
Submerged liverwort:
This one really interested me, as I've only seen it submersed(yes yes, a liverwort submersed in nature! unlike Monosolenium tenerum).
But its spread was so limited, only in the immediate surrounds of the trickle! I only took one frond, which doesn't seem like a frond but a row of leaf tissue (pic). Its huge though, the width was almost 1 cm. At first I thought it was the same species as the one further downstream (seen in my first habitat post), but after taking it back and looking closer, they are very different. This one reminds me of a centipede!
I've looked around, but only found this isolated population. I only took a bit of each (all you see in the picture). However, to my dismay, they all turned brown within a week in the food container. Probably first cooked by my careless placement near direct sunlight. Then further killed by the lowland temperatures of Sydney. The water where I collected them from was very cold, chilly to say the least (my friends can testify to that, they jumped into the cold, putrid water, tried to swim!). Sometimes, if only I have access to a chiller and a well equiped tank, not my current nano with a cheap pump and yeast CO2 (student budget), which runs out most of the time. And that I don't have uni and study and assigments and due dates and finals to contend with (at least when I have important 'botanical specimens' heh) . Ooops, sorry about the ventingRepressed frustrations. Kind of felt guilty collecting them in the first place. Should have just taken pictures. Ahhh, another infuriating area...look at my habitat photis, they all look out of focus! Does anyone have a semblance of an idea how to use Fujifilm Finepix without a tripod and stupid flash? Wish I bought my friends Canon instead (the macro pics). My Fujifim gives macro photos that fools you into thinking you're on a substance trip or something...
Anyway, out of topic. Too long a post, will start a new one.
Min
Oh yes, by the way, the two liverwort seems to keep well, even when its dead. I just gave them a check just now, and although they are as dead as a leaf skeleton bookmark, they still hold their shape well. Anyway, Loh, if you're interested, I'm bringing a sample of all my mosses, including some of which I haven't had time to take pictures of, back with me to Malaysia in a few days time. I can post them or deliver them straight to Singapore (I'm making a trip down in 3-4 weeks time). Just hope they make it till then (and customs?) I really don't know.
Min
Ok, now moving back to the campsite. The area around it was very dry, so most of the mosses were shriveled up.
This one was in a really shady area. Does not look anything like what it is now after I moistened it. The fronds spread out into beautiful split endswith deep green leaflets.
It grew rhizoids after about 3 weeks (all close-up photos were taken nearly a month after collection.) Its the only one which does very well emersed, but in water, turns brown in a matter of days. Will try it submersed again, as my tank is in a constant state of flux this few weeks as a result of a major overhaul. Even java and a Singapore moss suspect (collected locally) turns brown before growing green tips. So yeah, there you have it, the odds its against.
Ok, back to the campsite. Some fallen tree trunks were literally smoothered in moss. Here are two types:
Moss on the right hand side:
Doesn't seem to be something for the tanks. Haven't tried it submersed yet.
Moss left hand side:
Notice on either side of the main focus are the mosses you see in the habitat picture. But an interesting little moss, literally a nano, started growing after a few weeks. Use the 'original' moss (brownish, darker) as a comparison. The fronds of the 'nano' moss is only the width of a hairpin. This was a month ago. JUst checked it then and it seems to be growing everywhere, out of the original clump. Haven't tried it in water yet.
I have a lot of these mosses, as many were salvaged from my fellow campers from being burnt along with firewood.
Min
Hi Min,
Thanks for the documentation !
So how do u keep the mosses/liverworts emersed ?
In a food container ?
Kenny
Yes Kenny, I keep all the mosses in transparent plastic food containers. I've had success keeping Pellia, stringy moss and some Singapore moss lookalike collected locally since early this year. I place them on top of some peat moss in the container, spray enough water just to wet everything thoroughly, cover thightly and place in indirect sunlight.
I found this to be a good way of holding a surplus/ back-up supply of mosses in case those in the tank succumb to blue green algae or die off. Very low maintenence, just check on them monthly and make sure they dont dry out. Of course most of the time they won't, as it is tightly sealed. I found the only problem is mold- whitish strings growing on the medium and moss. I get rid of it with a small spoon or anything to scoop, along with the medium. The mosses tend not to like the mold.
You live in Canada am I right? It should do well in a cooler environment. I read somewhere in the forum that this container method doesn't sit well with tropical temperatures. The enclosed container probably heats up too much, more like a "moss sauna"..
Regards
Min
Hi Min,
Yup I'm in Canada now (for the same reason you are in Sydney)
Both countries very strict with importing plant material, or rather restricting them.
What I did with the mosses I collected was growing them submersed. In a couple of weeks I should be able to get some decent photos of them to show you guys.
By the way, the moss/liverwort that looks like a fox tail is cool..... I like....
Kenny
Yeah, I get you.
The moss you're refering to is certainly interesting. It survives dessication well, but not for under water though. Tried it submersed, but turns brown. Don't think it likes much water at all, found it in rather dry areas, away from water. Been keeping it emersed only now, rather like it in terrariums.
Regards
Min
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