Moss Carpet

[QuietPlotter]

Hello forum!

I have relative expirience with Christmas and Java Moss, using them on driftwood in my cichlid tank. That is as far as my green thumb goes. Buy green stuff and tie it, pretty simple.

Anyways, I wanted to carpet the front area of my tank with some moss. How do I do this? How is moss sold at the LFS? I bought all of mine online, it came in little half submerged plastic containers, sort of like a the betta thing they sell you bettas in from Petco or WalMart.

So, what do I do? I have normal aquarium gravel. My lighting is enough to heat the water 4 degrees in the space of a few hours.

Do I just buy it and tie to individual gravel pebbles? Any additional care? The driftwood I have grows under stock bulbs that came with the hood albeit slow.

I got a bunch online for 12$. How much at the LFS?


Thanks guys,




QP.


PS- Here is the 10g. I want to carpet the area in front of the tiki head...

 

[jetajockey]

Your driftwood grows?

I've noticed that a lot of LFS don't carry moss, but usually when they do it is balled up.

I've managed to grow some moss along the substrate just by putting gravel on top of it to weigh it down, but lots of current will move it and have it all over the place.

Another method is to use plastic mesh canvas and sandwich some between two pieces of it. Use a needle or something to pull the pieces of moss out of the mesh a little bit and then place it in the tank. The downside to this is debris often gets trapped under it.

 

[QuietPlotter]

Oops, I meant the moss on the DW

 

[QuietPlotter]

I'm afraid I don't have mesh or access to it...

 

[jetajockey]

Well you could try the gravel technique. I just stretched the moss out flat and then laid it on the substrate and sprinkled gravel over it.


You can find plastic mesh canvas at hobby/craft stores, it's used for latch hook or something like that.

 

[QuietPlotter]

I'll try the gravel. But I'll tie it individually, maybe 15-20 pellets. Want it to be on top. Anyways, on my DW it sort of expands everywhere on the surface. Can the same be said here? Does it grow across the substrate?

 

[jetajockey]

Java moss/willow moss tends to grow kinda outward, but it does attach to gravel if it stays touching it.

 

[aqua_chem]

Java moss will probably grow quicker, but IMO willow/christmas moss will look nicer.

I tried to grow it on mesh once. Really didn't work out that well, and the shrimp somehow got under it and made a shrimp-fort.