Marimo ball...

[Lonewolfblue]

When I got my marimo ball with my plant shipment, I never thought it would be so fun, lol. When I first placed in my tank, 65W CF, 26G, Flourish excel, it did nothing, lol. But now, it's starting to move, lol. I had it sitting on top of a cave, on the right. Now it moved to the left side of the cave, lol. Trying to get waterborne, lol. This is too cool, lol.

Can you pull one apart in 2 pieces, or how do you get more?

 

[Zagz]

According to this site , you can tear them apart into 2 pieces. Got a pic of it? The lfs here sells algae balls all the time, am curious to see if they are the same as what you have.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

hi again...

Here's the pic...

I ripped it into 2 now, and formed 2 fairly round balls. Feels like steel wool, lol.

 

[hardcyder]

That blue "plant" on the left is plastic isnt it? Looks cool nontheless.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Yes, it's plastic. The live plants currently in my 26G is java moss, hornwort, marimo balls, banana plants, and Ludwigia repens (I believe that's what the red ones are).

 

[Zagz]

Yes that is what the lfs sells here. Wonder why they have so many, when it says they are hard to get? Everything else is hard to get here but marimo balls no problem. :?

 

[nitrous]

what is the purpose of these marimo balls?

 

[Lonewolfblue]

They are just interesting, lol. They do take in nitrates and phosphates, etc, but mostly just for looks. They say under perfect conditions, they will float around your tank, lol.

 

[nitrous]

sounds cool like another fish to watch, do the fish pick at it?

 

[Lonewolfblue]

So far the dwarf gourami has been checking them out, but not eating. The cory cats find them interesting as well. The CAE's are interested in the banana plants, and the cherry barbs made their nest in the hornwort, lol.

 

[Skyrmir]

Grabbed one of the moss balls the other day myself. I'd heard they are good for sucking up phosphates and I was having algea issues. Has yours actually moved or did a fish knock it around? Several sites I passed by said they only move in thier natural habitat for some reason. I gotta figure that's just becuase no one knew the reason when the articles were written.

 

[redwhiptailplec]

What kind of lighting do they require? They are pretty darn neat!

 

[nitrous]

they are demanding for light but they can pearl very nicely
Cladophora aegagropila is not really a plant, but a ball of algae, so it is a decorative exception from the rule about avoiding algae at all costs. It is normally found in shallow lakes, where the movement of the waves forms it into a sphere. In an aquarium it must be turned regularly to keep it in shape. C. aegagropila can be divided into smaller pieces, which become spherical with time, or which form a carpet, if attached to roots and stones. Protected in parts of Japan.

got that off of another site

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Grabbed one of the moss balls the other day myself. I'd heard they are good for sucking up phosphates and I was having algea issues. Has yours actually moved or did a fish knock it around? Several sites I passed by said they only move in thier natural habitat for some reason. I gotta figure that's just becuase no one knew the reason when the articles were written.

Mine moves around when the fish knock it around. Haven't seen it pearl though. Might not be enough light. They supposedly move on their own by the pearling. Since they are so light, when they pearl, it lifts them off the bottom and can move around in the current.

 

[nitrous]

you should put one in your 75 and watch it pearl

 

[Lonewolfblue]

I'm thinking about doing that.

You know what other plants move around on their own? My banana plants do it now, lol. On the bottom for a while, then they start to rise. The leaves are like lilly pads. Sometimes the pads will be on the surface, floating around. Then they drop in another location. I got a couple others that are appearing to be rooting, have runners that are now down in the gravel, anchoring them.