Flame Moss v. Java Moss

[Larry Little]

Hello -- I'm considering introducing a moss to one of my tanks and trying to figure out the pros and cons of each. I'm thinking about Taxiphyllum "Flame", Vesicularia dubyana (Java moss), or maybe V. montagnei (Christmas moss). I can read glowing reviews for all of them (from plant sellers), but I don't know what the drawbacks, if any, might be. I have read that some might support the proliferation of algae. Do mosses interfere with keeping other plants?

Thanks in advance for any information, opinions, or experiences.

 

[SaraB]

I have Christmas moss in my aquariums. It grows like crazy. Never had it interfere with my other plants, it just kinda grows around them. It also decided to plant itself into my gravel and looks like grass in some places.

 

[goatnad]

Hello -- I'm considering introducing a moss to one of my tanks and trying to figure out the pros and cons of each. I'm thinking about Taxiphyllum "Flame", Vesicularia dubyana (Java moss), or maybe V. montagnei (Christmas moss). I can read glowing reviews for all of them (from plant sellers), but I don't know what the drawbacks, if any, might be. I have read that some might support the proliferation of algae. Do mosses interfere with keeping other plants?

Thanks in advance for any information, opinions, or experiences.

here are pros and cons i can think of


pro
helps to filter the water and get rid of nutrients that may or may not be used by other plants
its a nice visual addition to a tank that can be used in many ways
its great for fry or shrimp if you are planning on having either
most moss is easy to grow
can be put into a blender and made into a paste (with other ingredients of course) that will stick on anything and will grow more moss


cons
yes i have noticed that algae is a bit more attracted to my moss
when you trim if you dont get it all out then you will have moss growing in random places
does not do well with hydrogen peroxide treatments
some like my java moss grow to fast and grow into everything


so far the pros seem to out weigh the cons. for the different varieties it will be based on your tank parameters and what you want out of the moss. you could do just moss on a rock to fill a gap or a bit of moss on a piece of driftwood and java moss is great for that. maybe you want to do an under water tree and you want drooping branches so weeping moss will look great. its all about what shape and how you want it to grow will decide what moss works for you. most moss is pretty forgiving on the tank parameters side.


moss interferes with other plant growth in the fact that it may comsume nutrients that other plants could have used. in my experiense unless you have the whole tank pretty much full of moss its not going to out compete your plants.