Bought Coconut Hut with moss?

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MarkA123

Aquarium Advice Freak
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Aug 5, 2010
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I went to petco last weekend and bought a coconut hut with moss, and some tetra florapride. It didn't say what kind of moss it was, i was assuming java, is there any way to tell if its java or some other kind such as christmas moss? Also, how should i dose my tetraflorapride? I do weekly water changes, so should i add it into my bucket and then pour or pour my water then add it? Also should i spread it around or just pour it directly on my plant? Last question, whenever some of the moss falls off, should i take it out of the tank immediatly, even if its green and not brown? Or should i keep it in unless it turns brown, or what. Ive got mixed opinions on this, some say once it detatches immediatly remove it, even if green, others say it can survive detatched, and others say completely differebt
 
It's probably java moss. I haven't seen any other types of moss in any of my LFSs, much less a big box store.

Read the bottle and err on the conservative side if the moss is the only plant in your tank. Mosses don't need much to be happy. You can just pour it into the tank. Add the fertilizer in front of the filter return to mix it.

It depends on whether you want moss everywhere or not. Java moss doesn't need to be attached to thrive. I've got a 20H that's about a third full of java moss. There's no substrate and nothing to attach to. Just a few fish, a T5 light, and some Flourish has it growing really quickly. I pulled a little moss of my moss tree in my 20L and put it in the 20H to start.
 
A couple of good quality photos posted here and I am sure we could ID it for you; one photo of the shell as a whole and another one that is a close-up of the moss that shows some individual strand details would be best. But I'd echo BigJim's assessment that it is 99% likely that it is java moss, the most common and probably hardiest of all the aquarium mosses.

Pieces of moss that detach will grow fine in the tank; indeed my experience with java moss is that often you have the opposite problem, little pieces detach and end up all over the place and start growing and before you know it you have little bits of java moss stuck & growing on almost every surface of the tank! But if you like the way it looks and don't mind it growing in places other than on the coconut shell, then by all means just leave it.

As for dosing the fert, you can mix it in with your water change water before putting it in the tank, or else dose the tank directly. Doesn't really matter.
 
thanks, i was hoping it would soon cover my tank, but it seems that its turning brown and dying, any idea why? And i most likely cant get a clear picture, my good camera is not working, and all i have is my 5mgp phone which doesnt take pictures very good. is there any way to tell, or any pictures of them side by side?
 
Try spreading the moss out so that it is thinly even out, rather than in a large clump. It will grow back and thicken out. Remember that plants need to acclimatize to your new environment. Most likely it is getting used to your photoperiod and water parameters.
 
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