How do I Plant Java Moss in Sand?

[MaffooJ]

Hello! Today I picked up some java moss from my local fish store. Once I got home I realized I had nothing to attach it to. All I have in the tank is some sand a couple rocks and some other live plants growing. How could I get for it to grow in a nice carpet without attaching it to anything but sand? Should I bury it? If so how deep? Any help is appreciated!

 

[RightTurnClyde]

It does better tied to stuff. I've seen people create walls or carpets of it by getting some plastic mesh and putting it in between two pieces. It will eventually grow out and spread and you won't see the mesh. Or you could get some flat rocks and tie it to those. I have a couple rocks in my tank with Java tied to it. It really fills in nice and looks lush if you keep it trimmed.

Trimming it is messy though. I usually pull out whatever it is tied to and trim it in a bucket of tank water during a water change.


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[wildroseofky]

You cannot plant moss. It will only die. You have to attach it to something like plastic mesh, rocks, or driftwood. You can also just let it float around.

 

[MaffooJ]

Thanks for the help! I think i'm going to find some flat rocks for the tank like you suggested.

 

[RightTurnClyde]

Thanks for the help! I think i'm going to find some flat rocks for the tank like you suggested.

Good choice! I like to use black or dark green thread to tie it. I feel like it blends in better during the beginning stage when you can still see it. Don't be afraid to tie it down fairly tightly, but don't layer it on too thickly. I find that overall coverage of the rock is more important than really laying it on thick. Remember to be patient. It will grow and spread like crazy soon enough, especially if you add glut and ferts to the water. Post a pic when you have some done!

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

I find that stainless steel mesh (SS Mesh) to work great in this case. The mesh is so thin it looks like the moss is growing right out of the substrate. It weighs the moss down good and a good quality ss mesh won't rust.

Here's some 2x2" ss mesh I have growing mini Xmas moss.



Han Aquatics or h4n in Aquatic Plant Central sells the ss mesh individually or by the roll.

 

[limnologist]

some java moss accidentally got into my neighbors pond somehow, it was just a tiny little thread floating around, but, 2 years later it has coated all the sides of the pond entirely and I didnt do anything to get it to do so.

 

[Fishfur]

Java moss produces a rootlike structure, a rhizoid. This attaches to many rough surfaces, and it will even attach to pieces of gravel. But if you bury pieces, the buried bits just die. It seems to need water circulating all around it all the time. So tying it to something works well. Don't use very smooth or shiny rocks, they need to have some rough texture to them. It will also fasten onto some types of sponge. I've been planning to make a moss wall with SS mesh and a thin layer of sponge behind it to help the moss stick, but haven't actually done it yet. But I've pulled pieces of moss out of my sponge filters more than once, so I know it will stick to the sponge.

 

[wildroseofky]

Yeah it sticks to sponge like crazy. My sponge filters have it growing on them. One way to camouflage them. LOL

 

[Gibberwatt]

I found that Java Moss likes driftwood best. However, it survives just fine floating around (mine did that for a year before I found a place for it), so you can pick out the perfect thingy for your tank, without worrying that it will die.

 

[Fresh2o]

I have moss (java?) growing on a few spots on the back wall of the tank. It started as a few sprigs at the bottom of the tank that clung to the glass and started climbing. There is a sizable mass next to the filter intake so I need to trim it periodically. I agree that rough surfaces are easier for it to cling to; the glass is a bit puzzling. It is not a new tank so the glass surface most likely had some type of algae already present. Here is a view from the top:

When I rescape the shrimp tank I may try the SS idea.


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[Fishfur]

Interesting the way that moss has grown up. I've had broken off moss strands get stuck around the base of plants, where they stick onto the substrate and eventually grow into fair size mounds, but never up the glass.

I wish I had a pic of a huge java moss 'ball' I saw growing in a store tank. The ball is very nearly the same height as the water column in the tank and it rolls constantly in a fair current coming from the output filter pipe. The front of the ball has scraped back the substrate to bare glass, leaving it piled it up behind the rolling ball. Never seen anything like it. If it were not bunched up from rolling all the time, I expect it would fill the tank it's in entirely.