# Planted Tanks > Plant Talk > Aquatic Moss Club >  My moss is very dark green!

## kelloggs

i always envy those moss pic posted here which show very bright green colour moss..on the other hand, mine is dark green or dirty green.. some almost look black.. i am having java, xmas and erect..(pls dun debate on the actual name, i got it where most of you guys got it from) 

light- 36w X 8 PL on 4 feet tank (90 gallon), temp 28 c, Co2 4bph, amm-0, PH- 6.7, KH- stupid and exp kits cant tell at all

Issit the lite or temp which costs this disgusting colour???

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## bclee

What fertilisers do you add?

BC

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## lorba

have long have you kept them and where did u placed them?

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## Zhane

where did you get them from?

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## cheeboonyong

More importantly, is the moss growing well? If it's not, then I suspect the darkening colour is due to decay as it dies.

If it grows well, then there's no real reason why it shouldn't have a nice colour. I think the new shoots tend to be light green.

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## xxdivinityxx

I get this problem too!
Why is my moss dark green and VERY VERY slow growing?
My temp is 27, 3 wpg, dosage of Dr Mallick's Macro and Micro every 2 days.
Is it true that current/movement is important to the growth of moss?

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## Aeon

Moss like cool flowing water I think.

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## lorba

[quote:f082741570="xxdivinityxx"]I get this problem too!
Why is my moss dark green and VERY VERY slow growing?
My temp is 27, 3 wpg, dosage of Dr Mallick's Macro and Micro every 2 days.
Is it true that current/movement is important to the growth of moss?[/quote:f082741570]

Moss grows very slowly, especially the half emersed form that you get from NA or Teos. Dark green is the color for these.

Have some patience. They will probably take from a few weeks to 1-2mth. Thereafter, you will have too much of them.

Current/Movement has little importance in the growth, except if you mean the circulation of nutrients in the water column. I grow mine in a filterless tank without fertilization nor CO2 at all. They grew all, except a little smaller in size.

What is the CO2 level of your tank?

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## Green Baron

I noticed most people seems to have problem growing moss in their main planted tank together with other plants but no problem if the moss is grown in dedicated low maintenance tank. I believe this is due :

- Too much fert, algae overwhelming your moss
- All the young shoots are eaten by SAE/Yamato ! Remove SAE if you want your moss to do well.

Gan

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## bclee

My moss grow best in my low light, no CO2 and filterless tank. There is almost no water movement in this tank, barring convection and swimming fishes.

The moss that I placed in my high light and CO2 rich suffered badly. It was plagued by algae before it even adapted to the submerse environment.

My guess is that keeping moss in lower light helps it to establish without getting plagued by algae.

BC

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## mordrake

i have the same type of moss on driftwood in 5 tanks.
4 of these tanks are low light and no co2. the moss in these tanks are growing well and pretty fast.

the 5th tank is a 3ft fully planted setup with co2, etc etc. the moss in this tank has hair algae growing on it and is pretty dark as compared to the rest. other plants in the 3ft do not have any algae problems.

think what GAN CW said might be true.

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## kelloggs

Hi all

Thanks for the reply.

I am a newbie and got my moss 2 weeks ago from the bro here. Grateful...

The only moss i bought from a LFS is an Erect on mesh. It was unique and nice and the last piece. One customer wanted to buy but the LFS sold to me as i opened my mouth first  :Opps:  

As for fertilisers, i am using those from nature-aquarium.com- K2So4, M2So4, Fe + trace, CaCo2- the full works.. add in after changing water once a week.. convenient as i do not have the time for the daily dose type. However, i guess for the next round, i will be getting fertiliser from Dr Mallick .. what do u think i should get????? BTW, will the CaCo2 raises the KH like those ppl who use soda bicarbonate??? Thinking of getting those insertion in soil fertiliser but i already have base Sera fertiliser which can last 2 years....

I have read some bru here saying low maintenance tank is better for moss. I am curious and intend to try. Should i put some moss in a container and leave it outdoor so that nature takes its own cause??? low lights means no light tubes at all??

I bought 50 Yamato shrimps yesterday. They are giant size - 3 to 5 cm, very active. I heard from an expert that even we dump 200 pieces of shrimps in a 4 ft tank, you can buy Toto if you manage to spot one becoz all of them will go hiding. On the other hands, my shrimps are all very hyperactive. They seem to be everywhere. Some swim here and ther and other dart suddenly up from nowhere, making my eyes busy and strained  :Shocked:  My concern is that looking at their size, i am afraid that they may take my lovely cardinals for dinner.. will they?? 

Talking about cardinals which i shouldn't have in this thread but i am eager to know, i bought 25 pieces for S$15 in a LFS. They came in a big bag form. When i bought it, i noticed their colour quite pale and pinkish. They are also quite small about 1.5 to 2 cm. I tot they were in a state of shock and would change the colour to deep red after they settle down. But it has been the 4th day and although they seem to have settled down, their colour is still in a "shocking" state... er.. i believe this will be permanent  :Opps:  So any bro here can recommend where i can get deep red, nice, and big cardinals??? about 3cm (issit the max??) My cardinals don't eat much and i have only Tetra flake to offer.. what do u think cardinals like best????

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## lorba

[quote:6f4a398b40="kelloggs"]Hi all
I have read some bru here saying low maintenance tank is better for moss. I am curious and intend to try. Should i put some moss in a container and leave it outdoor so that nature takes its own cause??? low lights means no light tubes at all??[/quote:6f4a398b40]

Putting them in a container might work. But outdoor meaning exposed to the heat of the sun. Restricted within a small container, the water temperature may get too high and result in poor growth or even dying of the moss.

[quote:6f4a398b40="kelloggs"]I bought 50 Yamato shrimps yesterday. They are giant size - 3 to 5 cm, very active. I heard from an expert that even we dump 200 pieces of shrimps in a 4 ft tank, you can buy Toto if you manage to spot one becoz all of them will go hiding. On the other hands, my shrimps are all very hyperactive. They seem to be everywhere. Some swim here and ther and other dart suddenly up from nowhere, making my eyes busy and strained  :Shocked:  My concern is that looking at their size, i am afraid that they may take my lovely cardinals for dinner.. will they?? 

Talking about cardinals which i shouldn't have in this thread but i am eager to know, i bought 25 pieces for S$15 in a LFS. They came in a big bag form. When i bought it, i noticed their colour quite pale and pinkish. They are also quite small about 1.5 to 2 cm. I tot they were in a state of shock and would change the colour to deep red after they settle down. But it has been the 4th day and although they seem to have settled down, their colour is still in a "shocking" state... er.. i believe this will be permanent  :Opps:  So any bro here can recommend where i can get deep red, nice, and big cardinals??? about 3cm (issit the max??) My cardinals don't eat much and i have only Tetra flake to offer.. what do u think cardinals like best????[/quote:6f4a398b40]

Please start new threads in the appropriate forum for discussion. thank you.

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## squall99e

> My moss grow best in my low light, no CO2 and filterless tank. There is almost no water movement in this tank, barring convection and swimming fishes.
> 
> The moss that I placed in my high light and CO2 rich suffered badly. It was plagued by algae before it even adapted to the submerse environment.
> 
> My guess is that keeping moss in lower light helps it to establish without getting plagued by algae.
> 
> BC


Look through the old threads and found some thing that I have experienced in a high light co2 tank? Does moss do better in a high or low tech tank better? I saw most LFS that grow nice moss have relatively low light. 
Another thing is temp is no a problem as i have a chiller at 25-26deg.

Any comment??  :Smile:

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## Dreamgarden

Me too have the same problem, moss just die on me. While others grew their moss well I failed miserably though I have provided all the necessary stuff eg. CO2, etc.

Determined to succeed, I searched through AQ and Killies.com I found the following factors and advises mostly given :
1) Need cool(26-28 deg C) and clean water
2) No SAE
3) Minimal yamato shrimp
4) Reduce fish load (look at NA, their moss tank don't have much fishes)
5) Need not have high light (but I think erect moss need more light to grow fast)
6) Do not need much nutrient

Thanks to those that have given the advises, I have succeed in Erect and Christmas though the growth is still slow. Now I'm trying a creeping moss wall.
Hope the above will help.

BTW, I have an observation on my tank.
When my PH is maintained at 6.9 to 7 my moss is greener, but when I drop my PH to 6.5 to 6.6 moss is darker. Other factors remained constant.
Any one try this before?

Regards
Chan

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## turtlehead

bclee won't you get bga if there is almost no water movement?

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## hii

I have tide my taiwan moss on a driftwood and after 5 months it grow quite a lot but really slow, and notice some moss cover by plant grow longer and healthy.... I did chat with the boss next to NA and he told me when he put highlight all moss grow brown and die .. than he change to once FL (maybe 20w) and say the moss grow well. 

So I think the conculsion is taiwan moss cannot stand highlight...they having sun burn easily ...  :Laughing:   :Laughing:  

I will shift my moss to new tank with low maintenance see if it grow better ....

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