Why are my marino moss balls floating?

[iamaj]

I just got 4 marino moss balls today. One of them sank and the other 3 are floating. I thought i read they will float at night, but they have been in there for close to 5 hours in direct light and still floating.

any one know why?

aj

 

[Allivymar]

Unusual; mine sank immediately and have yet to float (I'm sorta bummed about that LOL).

Is it possible the center is hollow, and theres enough air in it to cause em to float?

In their natural habitat (that lake in Japan) supposedly they move up and down in the water column, according to light levels. I think its up near the top during the day to grab the light, then sinking as it gets dark. I don't think thats whats going on with yours, but its a possibility.

 

[iamaj]

Possibly, ill wait till i get in from work tonight (2-3am) and see if they are still floating. I think if they float, like you said, they are hallow inside. I think i red something about tearing them, rolling them into a round shape, and stapling it so it doesnt unroll. But would the staple rust in the water?

aj

 

[fishluvr]

The staple might rust, but a small wrap of fishing line won't!!!

 

[oscarbreeder]

I have got to get some of the moss balls.
Cool!!!

 

[iamaj]

I want mine to sink! I dont want them to float

Well its 2:46 (am very very very am) est. 3 moss balls have sank, and one is still floating.

aj

 

[TankGirl]

They should only float during pearling so I don't know why they would float when you got them. Were they shipped to you or did you get the from the LFS? If they were shipped they might have dried out a bit and surface tension is holding them up there, until they absorb water. I do have pearling in my tank, but my Marimo balls are sitting pretty. :?

 

[ostrichkiller]

what are these things and what is there purpous??? sound kinda cool but i don't know anything about them??? will look them up in a min

 

[iamaj]

WHat exactly is pearling?

Yup I ordered them online. There are very few plants around here i can use in my low light aquarium.

ostrichkiller, a marimo (not marino like i said ) moss ball, is exactly like its name just a ball of moss They come from japan and are supposedly "the next big thing" in planted tanks.

That image isnt mine, but from the company http://aquariumplant.com where i bought mine.

There purpose...... just set there i guess

aj

 

[TankGirl]

Pearling is when there is so much photosynthesizing going on that the plant actually has to start dumping larger amounts of O2 into the water and streams of bubbles come off the plant's leaves. Usually it comes off in a very orderly stream of bubbles that almost looks like a tiny string of pearls, thus the name. This occurs in higher light tanks with CO2 injection.

I'll bet your moss balls will all sink once they get good and soaked, since they might have been out of the water for a while before they got into your tank. Also, turn them periodically or they will develop a dead patch on the bottom, which is sort of tan in color. Once they are larger and are hollow in the center then you can split them, and tie them up with cotton thread, so that by the time the thread rots the ball will be intact. I think they are lovely to look at and are a very rich, dark green.

 

[Guest]

Technically pearling is bubbles of O2 trapped under the leaves or in the plant such as one would see with Ricca. What TankGirl is talking about is called streaming and is actually much easier to accomplish. If you prune the plants and/or do a water change streaming is very common. Pearling on the other hand is much harder to achieve.

 

[TankGirl]

Well, I do currently have one plant (hygro) that was trimmed and is basically "leaking" O2 from the open stem, but I don't consider that pearling.

The bubbles I am getting is just coming up from the broad part of the leaf on my dwarf lillies and ozelot sword, as well as from my java fern and Amazon sword. I have not pruned anybody in there but the hygro, which wants to take over.

There is also false pearling that you will see sometimes after a water change when the water you add is a different temp than the tank water and air bubbles stick to everything, ornaments and glass included, and that has nothing to do with the plant releasing excess O2.

At any rate, I'll bet by now those moss balls are sunk!