How many types of Spiky Moss?

[Ebi]

Hi,

Anyone knows how many types of Spiky Moss are there?
Everytime I see a familiar type, the LFS people will tell me it's spiky moss but they don;t sell me the ones in the display tank, instead they will see me either new tyings on a pc of driftwood or from the plastic container
Think i have at least half a dozen spiky moss by now but they definitely don't look the same.

[StanChung]

As far as I know there's only one type. It does have different growth pattern in different conditions. Sometimes it fans out but is flat like peacock feathers. Sometimes it's ruffled like a shuttlecock feather after a few dozen smashes.
After awhile in the same tank, you can predict what it will look like near the light, in the shade and when it's moved around a lot.

[Ebi]

Thanks for the info StanChung-san,

As u have described:

• I have the ruffled shuttle cock spiky moss. They had retain their looks so far.
• I also have what was supposed to be the flat type (peacock moss look, except slightly smaller frond). The LFS uncle didn't sell me the matured moss, just the cuttings that he claimed he had tied to a small pc of DW. 2 months now and still i have yet to see a single full grown frond. As of now they are still stringy, look more like mini taiwan than spiky.
• I also have some kind of so called (japanese) giant spiky moss (clained by the LFS owner). The frond looks like a peacock feather, full grown about 6-8 inches per frond. Bot from CRS Haven. U can see the full grown glory in their "mother" tank. I had the full grown pcs until I redo my tank. Had to retie and now waiting for it to grown again.
• Has another 2 "species" of spiky (as claimed by another LFS uncle). After 6 months and still see no nice, I have ditch it altogether.

[beetroot]

oh, Ebi... so many spiky "looks" , i wonder if you have some pictures to show for comparison?
i'm new to spiky, just gotten some and tied to wood. i really hope they grow out flat.....

[Ebi]

Hi Beetroot-san,

Will post some pic when i get hold of a good camera.
Yes, I have bought quite a few "types", but suspect may have been misled as so far, only one type is growing nicely.

Still struggling to get the "flat" type to appear...

The "giant spiky" was real nice until i had to retie it as they are falling off the DW, and now they are growing again (about 2 months now), but looking machiam suffering from malnutrition. It's ok though, believe it will flourish again over time
If you want to see it's full glory, drop by CRS Haven in Tampines and "peep' into the mother tank. I took a foto with the HP once but the tank glass reflection got in the way (was facing the afternoon sun)

[praxis5624]

Mosses are so unique because they tend to variate in different conditions.

[zonkkie]

I am also trying to ID some rogue moss that came with my US fissidens. Was checking websites and it looks like either Spikey or Peacock. Anyway, it is beautiful.

[timebomb]

There is a lot of confusion in the aquaria scene regarding the identities of various aquarium mosses. Generally, this is because it's really quite hard to tell one moss from another. Even seasoned hobbyists can be wrong, especially when the moss is grown in poor conditions or they were shown only a photograph or a small sample. The thing to remember about mosses identities is not to trust fish shop owners to give you the correct name. I'm not implying that fish shop owners are dishonest but the truth is, most of them are not familiar with the various aquarium mosses circulating in the hobby. When you buy or trade your moss with another hobbyist, it's also good to remember that he can be wrong about the name of the moss too.

However, I would say "Spiky Moss" is actually quite easy to identify. Well, unless of course, they were grown in poor conditions. Then it's hard. Grown well, the Spiky Moss throws out very large triangular fronds, the largest among all the current aquarium mosses.

Some people prefer to use the name "Peacock Moss" while others actually believe that "Peacock" and "Spiky" are 2 different mosses. If you like to find out which is the more appropriate name to use, please take a look at this post.

Loh K L