New in mosses

[shihyong]

Hi All,

I am new in moss. Recently (since April 2005) started few mosses in my planted tanks. So far, collected Java, Christmas, Taiwan, Weeping, Willow, Erect, Pelia, Mini Pelia, Stringy and a few unknown from LFS, Hong Kong.

I got 2 version of Taiwan from 2 diff sources and not able to identify the genuine one yet.

Recently read from forum here and found out fissiden

Image Source : http://www.killies.com/images/Fissidens01.JPG

Tried to persuade one of the LFS to sell me, but was turn down by the boss due to most of his fissiden was not doing well recently.

Can anyone of you let me know where can I get this? Thanks.

Regards
Shih Yong

[timebomb]

Shih Yong,

The Fissidens in the picture can be found in the fish shop called Bioplast.
The moss was first found by Ben aka subzero who gave some to me. I grew them for a while in my tanks before giving the whole lot to Bioplast.

As far as I know, they're not selling the moss yet although they have quite a fair bit of it in their tanks now. I don't know the reasons but it could be their marketing strategy not to sell the moss until they have lots of it.

If you have 2 versions of Taiwan Moss and you're not sure which is the genuine one, it could be you have 2 species of Taxyphyllums. It could also be only one is a genuine Taxyphyllum while the other is a Vesicularia. Local fish shop owners are more confused over mosses' identities than we are so if your information is from them, it could very well be way off mark.

I'll try and get a side-by-side picture of a Taxyphyllum and a Vesicularia later for you to make a comparison.

Loh K L

[timebomb]

As promised, here are 2 side-by-side pictures of Vesicularia and Taxyphyllum mosses.

The 2 fronds on the left are Vesicularia dubyana (Singapore Moss); the one on the right is Taxyphyllum sp (Taiwan Moss). Please do not be misled by the size of the fronds in the picture. The Taiwan Moss does not necessarily grow to bigger sizes than the Singapore. It's just that, in this particular case, the Taiwan Moss is growing very well in my tanks.



Here's another picture of a single frond each. Left is Singapore; right is Taiwan.



Loh K L

[amber2461]

They are both gorgeous, the Singapore moss would love good in a Nano tank.

[shihyong]

Shih Yong,

The Fissidens in the picture can be found in the fish shop called Bioplast.
The moss was first found by Ben aka subzero who gave some to me. I grew them for a while in my tanks before giving the whole lot to Bioplast.

Thanks. I was turn down by Elder Tan from Bioplast. Not sure whoelse have it.

If you have 2 versions of Taiwan Moss and you're not sure which is the genuine one, it could be you have 2 species of Taxyphyllums. It could also be only one is a genuine Taxyphyllum while the other is a Vesicularia. Local fish shop owners are more confused over mosses' identities than we are so if your information is from them, it could very well be way off mark.

I'll try and get a side-by-side picture of a Taxyphyllum and a Vesicularia later for you to make a comparison.

Loh K L

Thanks for the photo. Both version of my taiwan moss looks like the taiwan moss in your picture. Indeed, it look quite similar to Christmas Moss as well.

I visited Mermaid on Sunday and Melvin showed me his Taiwan Moss in 3 different Tanks. They looks quite differently in different condition.

[timebomb]

Thanks. I was turn down by Elder Tan from Bioplast. Not sure who else have it.

Shihyong, I don't think anyone else has the Fissidens for sale. The only person who can help you is probably Subzero aka Ben. Unfortunately, he can't remember the exact location where he found the moss. You probably won't want to pay for the moss, even if they are selling it. Rumour has it that someone offered Sing $500 but was turned down by Bioplast. If I had known it was worth so much, I wouldn't have given them the whole lot

I visited Mermaid on Sunday and Melvin showed me his Taiwan Moss in 3 different Tanks. They looks quite differently in different condition.

Seeing is believing. Mermaid's mosses are very beautiful and over there, one can see many species of mosses. The other shop worth a visit is Generation X. The last time I was there, their display tank was truly amazing.

Loh K L