I want some green stuff on my rocks and driftwood

[Annie/Aggie]

I see different pics on here every so often and the tanks have a nice soft looking green coating on their rocks or driftwood. What is it? Is it a moss you grow or does it just come from no algea eaters or what? 8O

 

[Jchillin]

Most often you are seeing either Java or Christmas Moss. Very nice and fast growing. You attach it to the wood or rocks and it covers it very quickly.

 

[tropicfishman]

or its just an algea bloom thats out of control

 

[zephyr]

i think algae, which is icky

 

[Annie/Aggie]

so this "icky" algea is NOT good then, Is that the same "icky" I see when peaple are talking about a fish disease I've heard here called "ick". I'm thinking I definetly don't want to grow that stuff LOL

 

[rich311k]

Ich is a disease which is the shortened version of the name of a parasite.

The "icky" refered to here is just that algae is ugly and slimy and you dont want it in your. It is in no way connected the the disease.

Moss is a plant that will attach and grow on rocks, it is quite pretty and can make a very nice effect.

 

[Annie/Aggie]

thanks, the moss is what I'm looking for then. I have 2 tanks, a tank with fish and a seperate one for my ADF's. Unfortunately the ADF tank is very low light and I don't have the patience for hard to grow plants. Would the java moss be ok or can you think of another that can handle low lighting?

 

[Thebluyak]

yeah java moss is easy to grow, you almost have to try to kill it. But many pat stores/ retailer chains will sell stuff that isnt java moss and just say it is cause many people dont know the difference. Go look online at a plant site and look at the picture and the requirements then you will have an idea of what to look for. Here is a link for a java moss profile


http://www.tropica.com/default.asp

well it wont let me give u the exact link, but click on that and upper right hand corner in the search bar type Java Moss and it will bring up the regular and the christmas strand. Gives you all the info you need!

 

[Jchillin]

We would do our members a greater service by answering the question without posting pure guesses or speculation. This thread is moved into the proper forum at this point.

 

[Purrbox]

In planted tanks it's not uncommon to find algae on the back glass, driftwood, and larger rocks. A small amount of algae is perfectly normal, and it is nearly impossible to eliminate all algae. The goal is to get rid of nuisance algae, not all algae. Nuisance algae spreads extremely quickly and detracts from the appearance of the tank. There are actually some algaes which are normally considered a nuisance algae in the US but are cultivated as being highly desirable in other countries.

If what you are looking at on the driftwood is no more than say an 1/8" thick and just makes the the surface of the driftwood fuzzy and green, this could very well be algae. I've got some growing on a piece of driftwood and I think that it is very attractive and helps the driftwood to look more like a part of it's surroundings. That tank is by no means suffering from algae run out of control.

On the other hand you could also be looking at some sort of moss as many members have suggested. Rather than being a thin, even coating across the surface of the driftwood it looks like a bunch fuzzy of branching strands growing out from the driftwood. Check out some of the links that others have given to Tropica and Plantgeek for some excellant pics of what these mosses look like.

Java Moss is low light tolerant, but like all plants it does have some minimum requirements. Just how low light is your tank?

 

[resiak]

I have actually seen some cool tanks using algae as part of the scape. However, who knows how he keeps it from spreading to his plants and everything else? It is hair algae right?

http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2004.cgi?&Scale=3&op=showcase&category=0&vol=1&id=102


Mosses,

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/photo-album/31261-venturing-into-whole-world-series-three.html

http://www.aquamoss.net/

Dan

 

[Annie/Aggie]

this topic started out in general discussion as that was what it was at the beginning . These topics sure mushroom fast LOL. Thanks for moving it to planted tanks as that's where it should be now.
the light in my ADF tank is natural so I guess you would consider that very low. No direct sunlight of course but lot's of natural daylight. I turn a small desk lamp on for my frogs between dusk and 11 pm, that's it for the light from that one. My other tank has a 14w aqua glo? I'm not sure if that's good or bad LOL, it came with the tank.
I'm going to try a small piece of java fern in both tanks and see how it does I think. I just moved 2 pieces of java fern right into my substrate, it's pool filter sand. Can someone let me know right away if this was a bad idea. I stuck a piece of moneywort into it a short time ago and the roots took right away.

 

[Purrbox]

Java Fern tends to do better when tied to driftwood or rocks, but should be okay in the substrate.

I believe that the Algae in Resiak's first link is the same algae or very closely related to the algae that those Algae Balls are made of. Not entirely sure though.

 

[Annie/Aggie]

I'll let everyone know if it does good in there. (Pool filter sand substrate)

 

[zephyr]

java moss was the first plant i ever had (back in the day, lol)
it grew algae all through it and i didn't notice for a long time,
i ended up having to take it out
DONT BE A FOOL LIKe I WAS, lol
i dont know why it happened,

i guess i'm just warning you
good lcuk

 

[Annie/Aggie]

Actually thanks for the warning as I was undecided kind of, have heard some scary tales of it taking over your tank and I'm only looking for some soft fuzzy stuff for my frogs to lounge on. I'm only looking to cover one rock! Do you have any better suggestions, I do need an low light one though I don't mind some maintenance if needed. :?

 

[Lonewolfblue]

One thing that I'd like to comment on is nutrient imbalance. As long as everything is kept in check, shouldn't have a very big algae problem in java moss. I had a piece of driftwood covered in java moss, and it looked spectacular. Then I went and ripped it all out and it's currently growing back. My reasoning is that if you rip it all out and start the process again, it will come back in fuller, and even more beautiful. Yes, I did have a period where my moss was looking pretty nasty with algae, but you got to keep your nutrients in check, and not too much or too little light. And no, java moss won't take over your tank either. By doing a little maintenance and trimming as needed, you can keep it where you want it, and it will just get fuller and fuller.

 

[Annie/Aggie]

oh great, thanks, I can do the trimming ,I have alot of house plants so am familiar with how nice they grow when cut back.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

And when trimming java moss, have your fish net at the ready. You will get some floaters floating around, and can easily remove them with the fish net.

Another recommendation.....
When putting java moss in your tank, use a bucket of water when tying the moss on. Then dip it a few times in the bucket, and repeat til you get what you want. That way, all the floaters will be in the bucket. Then before entering into the tank, refill the bucket with clean water and do one more dip test to make sure you have everything secure. Then place into the tank. You don't want a bunch of java moss going up the intake of your filter and getting caught in the impeller, or you'll be cleaning that as well.

 

[Annie/Aggie]

I hear ya there LOL. I will definetly not forget. I'm having a bit of trouble locating some. My LFS doesn't sell it.