[bmnst4]

Howdy y'all!

I have a nice 5-6 gallon ADA tank where everything is growing quite well except my Java Moss. It has turned brown and has mostly died. I don’t know what I am doing wrong except possibly not enough water flow? I have cut it way back in hopes it might rebound.

Here are my aquarium specs,

Light: ADA twin 27W (10 hours/day)
CO2: Pressurized (1 bubble/sec)
Ferts: 1 pump of ADA Brighty K, two drops of Flourish Excell (all ferts added daily) I have also added a couple iron tablets to the Amazonia substrate
Water: 30% water changes weekly. PH is slightly high (7.7 but I have been adding some acid buffer to lower it) but KH and GH are all where they are supposed to be.
Plants: Needle Java Fern, Java Fern Fern, Trident Java Fern, Bobitis Heudelotii, Glosso, Cryptocoryne, Hair Grass, and Blyxa Japonica (large grass)

HELP!

 

[ao]

Hey
Can i get a temperature reading for your water as well as the positioning of the moss? A snap of it will also help


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[bmnst4]

I'm not sure of the water temp. I think its a little low as I do not have a heater going.

 

[ao]

Gorgeous tank! are you able to zoom in on just the affected java moss? is the moss tied down to something?

edit: oh i see it now, it's tied to the driftwood isnt it is there any green left?

where did you get the moss from?

I have a hunch it mighhhhht be the excel. Since you already have CO2 can you try cutting out the excel from your regime? it does ave a tendency to melt certain plants...

i also do recommend leaving the PH alone >.< working against your water can be quite tiring. And your PH looks just fine to me

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[bmnst4]

Thanks! This tank is acting as a green house, growing the slow stuff for my eventual larger tank. Let me know if this photo is better. And yes the moss is/was tied with riccia line to the driftwood.

 

[ao]

^added more comments in my last post. The riccia died too? I think I see a brown bit Definitely try cutting down on the excel. Riccia for one isn't very fond of the stuff >.<


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[bmnst4]

I never had any riccia, just the line to tie the moss. As for where I got the moss, its from the same place I have been purchasing my plants for years. I have done some additional research and a couple sources say that sometimes moss just dies, almost for no reason. I really do not see any green on the moss, just brown

 

[ao]

I've had all kinds of moss for a long time and they practically thrive on neglect I reallly do recommend on cutting down excel if you have CO2. The stuff isn't too great for your fish anyway, it is possible for it to have long term health effects on fish, it also kills off snails slowly...


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[bmnst4]

I didn't know about the snails! I'll stop right away.

 

[ao]

I didn't know either... until all my ramshorns and pond snails mysteriously dissappeared. My nerite was the first to go. The Malaysian trumpet snail population kept going strong though, probably because they burrow the substrate and are less affect by whatever is going on in the water column.

Excel is pretty much glutaraldehyde... which is used in hospitals for cleaning, sterilizing and as an embalming fluid. I don't try and stop people from using it since it does help certain plants grow in a low tech tank, but I recommend not using it if you don't have to

Keep us updated on your tank! I want more pretty pictures of shiny ADA tank! XD


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[willow]

hello and welcome…..that is a Beautiful aquarium !
and i certainly look forward to the pictures of the next one !:-D

 

[bmnst4]

Thanks for the welcome! I'm looking forward to setting up the new tank within the next couple months!

 

[bmnst4]

Moss Still look not looking good

A solid two weeks have passed since I performed a major trimming of that ugly/dying java moss. I was hoping to see some fresh green sprout from the clippings but no dice. I have some general questions and hope someone can answer them!

1. is it possible the original moss I bought was grown in an emerged atmosphere and just took longer to melt away in my tank?
2. Did I overly secure the moss to the driftwood, strangling it and not allowing it to grow?
3. Could it be something with the wood itself?

I just want some thick/green moss!!!!!

 

[ao]

Moss adapts to submersed conditions very well. It is fairly rare for them to melt after being submersed. I've subjected my moss to both submersed and emersed transitions with absolutely no problems. Do you see any green at all? You rmoss may simply be beyond recovery after suffering the envelope for three weeks in getting to the USA. how is the "flame moss" doing?

 

[bmnst4]

Yea thats what i was afraid of...I might give it another week to see what happens then remove it completely. Of course I can give up on it just yet! I'll throw all the clippings and remnants in a container in hopes of some recovery. If not, ill be playing Taps. I do not have any flame moss in the tank now. Im leaning towards some taiwan moss actually. With no poor success with the java moss, do you think other moss will survive?

 

[ao]

Of course they will survive! XD try to source them from the USA. You can usually request first class shipping from the good sellers as moss ships fairly well.

In my experience, moss grows slow... so it isn't worth it to risk shipping it transpacific/transcontinental because it's a few dollar cheaper >.< To be honest, besides the risks involved with aquatic magic and the time it takes to get here... their portions are small!


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[bmnst4]

Thats great advice...the fish store i go to is one of the best in the country (located in San Francisco) but they import their plants from asia. However, sometimes they sell moss clippings when they trim their showcase tanks. Do you think that I should test my luck with these clippings as are already used to the co2 injected environment

 

[ao]

Woohoo! I goto san francisco once a year. And I looooove their aq stores!
I went to one near berkley, and it was heaven. New york LFS cannot compare! XD I guess those are the perks of being closer to asia

Moss are highly adaptable! are there any specific moss you are looking for? each moss have a very unique look and growth patter. One of my personal favorites is the peacock moss! it grows fairly fast in beautiful triangular fronds (is that the right word for it?). I get to trim it about once a month if you are interested, I will be more than happy to send my next trim out to you ^_^.

Moss will attach to anything porous, if given enough time. you simply have to tie it to a piece of wood or rock. and it will grow fairly well. A good current is usually preferred.

A great way to attach moss (especially to wood) is to dry start it. Which simply means to grow it in a high humidity environment without water. This can be achieved by tying the moss onto a porous material (wood, lava rock works well for me) and placing it in a sealed container where your wood will fit comfortably . Place it near adequate lighting and mist periodically with a weak fertilizer solution ^_^.


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[bmnst4]

Yea the stores in the Bay Area area awesome. I feel like I am on vacation every time i go into Aqua Forest Aquarium! I never heard of peacock moss, but when i looked it up, it reminds me of christmas moss...one of my favorites. I would love to have some of your clippings. I could either send ya some $$ or trade for some of my plants. Either way...yes please!

When you establish the moss in an immersed environment, is the humidity just at 100%? is there water at the bottom? I like this idea!