moss ball?

[neil_04]

hey everyone i was getting cat food at petco and was looking at their fish and plants they had these moss balls what is it and are they ok in tanks? whoops sorry i forgot to search thanks

 

[kangster]

i have 2 in my tank...
i heard that they are actually algae...my shrimp and my pleco nibble at them once in a while

 

[fisch]

Marimo balls is another common name for them. They are actually algae so they wont root to the substrate. My shrimp nibble at them too. Work fairly well as filters. I give them a good squeeze into my waste bucket during water changes.

 

[Uglydog]

I bought one of these moss balls from petco. If it is the one advertised on their website it is just java moss wrapped around styrofoam and the wrapped around a rock. I ended up taking mine apart and tying it to a rock. Look for a true Marimo moss ball they are way cool IMHO.

 

[mgamer20o0]

uglydog as a good point they are not all the same. there are some moss balls that is java moss others are algae known as marimo balls. they look way different.

 

[kangster]

i have both javamoss and mossballs...
i think mossballs look much cooler...but they seem to be growing really slow...

 

[gzeiger]

I have one too. They are kind of neat. They don't spread like other algae, and they look nice if maintained. Mine isn't.