Easiest Way to Trim Java Moss

[meegosh]

Hey everyone,

I'm not much of a planted guy, I have a few swords in my 10g that seem to be doing okay. My main question is how can I trim my java moss back? I started my tank up sometime in June I believe and added a small clump of java moss, maybe the size of a baseball, and now it is almost to the point of taking over my 30g long. I've even added several large clumps to my 10g to give my guppy fry some hiding spots.

I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations on how to go about this. Should I just kill my filters and then pull it all out and trim? Just kill the filters and trim while submerged? I'm seriously contemplating just removing all of it except for a golf ball sized amount and start over.

1 day after adding moss:

Almost a year later:

Sorry about the latest picture being crappy, it was taken on my cell phone. All the moss in the center I balled up while I was creating the new slate 'bridge'. I kind of left it alone so I had some more room. You also can't see very well, in the corners there is a ton of moss also. None of the stuff that is on the inside is dying off either, it all looks green and healthy! After I moved stuff around I noticed a lot of new bright green shoots coming off the tops.

Thanks in advance for any recommendations.

 

[joy13]

I have my java moss attached to either rocks or driftwood, when it is time for a trim I pull it out of the tank. I cut and pull some off. Java moss does have a way of going wild when it adjusts to a tank!!

 

[neilanh]

I just grab a pull

 

[jcarlilesiu]

agreed.. i have java on all of my driftwood, and when it gets too lengthy, I just reach in and pull a clump off.

 

[theotheragentm]

Just make sure you do it regularly or you'll end up with this. Box of Water

 

[meegosh]

Just make sure you do it regularly or you'll end up with this. Box of Water

I'd say I'm more than halfway there. I did some trimming, I guess I should have asked if anyone wants any on here. I removed about a 1/3 of it from my 30g, I plan on removing half of whats left sometime this week.

I just killed the filters so any strands floating around would not get stuck in the filter and then started yanking on it. I was amazed at how well it anchored itself to my gravel. Almost every single rock underneath it was attached to at least one strand of moss.

Thanks for the help guys. If it was not so cold this time of year I would offer up my trimmings. I'm afraid you would end up with a Java Moss Popsicle.