How to grow various types of mosses?

[ashleyxavier]

I'm wondering if anyone knows what are the optiumun parameters to grow various types of mosses?

For example, I have a planted tank with CO2 at home and a planted tank w/o CO2 in the office. Both tanks parameters and plants are quite similiar, slighlyly acidic waters and high amount of light. I tried planting christmas moss at home, it hardly grow at all over a few mths, neither did it brown off or die.. but when I took it to the office, it started to grow very fast. Currently the only thing I can think of is temperature. Home tank is about 28-30C whereas my office one is 26.5-28.5C.

Does anyone notice how are the parameters of your tank when the mosses started to grow very well and which type of moss you planted.

[itssg]

Hi Ash,

All type of aquatic plants do need lower temperature to grow. Especially mosses. 24-26C is the ideal temperature to grow them well and beautiful. Some mosses are able to grow in high temperature like 28-30C. But won't be so nice.

Btw, beside signing off with your name. You gonna put the location where are you from. Otherwise, no one will reply you. :P

Cheers,
dom

[ashleyxavier]

Hi, thanks for your reply. I am aware that most aquatic plants prefer cold waters.. But I'm from singapore and the ambient temperature is pretty high. Some of my plants grow very well, but some like the christmas moss hardly grow in my warmer tank of 28-30C but grew very well in my other tank of 26-28C.

Just hope that everyone can share their experiences in growing mosses and which moss manage to grow well in 28-30C range, etc.

[CO2]

Just hope that everyone can share their experiences in growing mosses and which moss manage to grow well in 28-30C range, etc.

I have had my 60cm tank at 29 °C for 2 weeks, and Spiky Moss is growing as fast as ever. It looks just as good as it does at 25 °C.

Here are a few pictures I just took yesterday:

http://dub.bz/plantedtank/moss4sale/...yMoss.tank.jpg

http://dub.bz/plantedtank/moss4sale/...Moss.close.jpg

[GaspingGurami]

I think low temperature for mosses is overrated.

I have a high maintenance tank that refused to grow nice moss. Parameters there:
Tank sixe: 24L bowfront
Light: 2x36w PL, 10 hours daily (11.4 wpg)
Temperature: 25 degrees C (chiller)
Total Fertilisation dosed a week: NO3 35ppm, PO4 6ppm, Fe 3ppm from Tropica Master Grow.
CO2: 301ppm (4dKH, 5.6pH)

All plants are growing wildly except moss, and temp nor CO2 is in short supply.

Then I moved the mosses to a low light, non-co2, low tech tank with no fertilisation etc, temp 28-29 degrees C. There it grew wildly.

My conclusion: Moss need medium light, and water with low dissolved salts (meaning clean water) in the water column most. Lower temperature might help, only if the clean water requirements are met, because lowered temperature can hold more dissolved gas, (CO2) which will help the moss grow.

[ashleyxavier]

Hi GaspingGurami, which moss did you try to grow? If I am not wrong, different moss have different requirements.

I just tried weeping moss and mini moss in a 3rd tank which have temp ard 24-26C (cooler ambient with aquarium fan running as exhaust to draw out heat) and I have yet to observe any significant growth.

Parameters:
2ftX1X1.5 Tank (60L)
24-26C
1X18W FL
dosed with Florish Fert
No CO2 dosage
Powerhead Filter inside tank

The one which Christmas grew very well but another moss did not, I think it's java (taken from bag when I bought Shrimps)

Parameters:
2ftX1.5X1.75 Tank
26-28C
1X15W FL, 1X55W PL
No liquid fert dosage but I used pellet fert inserted into gravel for other plants.
No CO2 dosage
Overhead Filter

My tank at home, all plants growing wildly except for mosses

Parameters:
2ftX1X1.5 Tank
28-30C
1X36W PL, 1X55W PL
No liquid fert dosage but I used pellet fert inserted into gravel for other plants.
CO2 dosage via CO2 tank
Eheim Canister Filter & HOB filter (turn down to min flow rate)

[GaspingGurami]

Ashley,

I've tried the following in my hi-tech tanks and did badly:
Java Moss
Taiwan Moss
Fissidens
Christmas Moss
Weeping Moss
Mini Pelia
Pellia

The same were then put into my low tech tanks and they flourished.

So how to figure this out? Chiller, CO2, high lights and fert, crazy plant growth and moss is skinny and barely surviving.

Throw it into a dim tub of water, no filter, no fert, no waterchange and it shows a quick turnaround.

[ashleyxavier]

Interesting parameters.. I guess you may need to do more observations and also understand the nature of the rest of your plants in addition to water parameters, etc.

I'm just wondering, what plants did you grow in your high tech tank? Could it be that the rest of the plants out-compete the moss for the nutrients?

Other possibility includes the rate of water movement, i.e is the current strong enough to remove debris from the moss.

Nutrients is one of the items I am considering for the lack of growth in my CO2 injected planted tank. Since I only use pellet fertilizer, only the plants with roots benefit from it.

[CO2]

Nutrients is one of the items I am considering for the lack of growth in my CO2 injected planted tank. Since I only use pellet fertilizer, only the plants with roots benefit from it.

Plants leak nutrients into the water column, so even if you only fertalize the substrate, there will be nutrients in the water column.

[ashleyxavier]

Not too sure about that. Besides, how much nutrients are leaked? and all types of nutrients?

[GaspingGurami]

Not too sure about that. Besides, how much nutrients are leaked? and all types of nutrients?

They surely do. If you look at a Walstad-style planted tank, there is absolutely no water column fertilisation to be done except for frequent and generous feeding. Although rooted plants are logically better suited for such a setup, there are many who have anubias, moss and Jav ferns doing well in such setups.

Also, there is a famous brand of substrate fertilisers that is specifically "designed" for stem plants, Ferka Stemma. Now if the dissolved Stemma capsule does not release its contents into the water column, how is it going to work for stem plants who are mainly foliar feeders?

I grow a mixture of both rooted and non rooted plants in the high tech tank of mine. Echinodurus oriental, E. tennelus, Eleocharis parvula, E. vivipara, Cryptocoryne Nurii, C. parva, C. balansae, Hemianthus callitrichoides are rooted to soil. Water column feeders, I have Java fern, Anubias nana, moss, Hemianthus micranthemoides, Amazonian frogbit, Hottonia palustris. None of them except the mosses have any growth problem nor nutrient deficiency because I fertilise generously E.I.-style, and I supplement with Ferka substrate capsules fortnightly.

You may be onto something here, in saying the plants out compete the mosses, but I doubt that it is for nutrients. (I've grown very beautiful fronds of mosses in low light, low TDS water.) Perhaps the plants outcompete the mosses in such an ecological niche because the equipment and ferts are all geared to grow plants aggressively.