# Planted Tanks > Plant Talk > Aquatic Moss Club >  Quite the interesting moss

## BeyondGomer

I have this moss in my 30g algae scape. It is starting to spread nicely. Thought I'd share some close ups of it  :Smile:  I think I posted a very poor picture of it before..hopefully these are better.

----------


## timebomb

Ok, Tony, I'll bite  :Laughing: .

What does it take to send me some of this beautiful moss? What would you want in exchange? Erect, Christmas, Weeping, Taiwan, Willow or Singapore Moss? Just name the moss and I'll send some back in return.

Loh K L

----------


## Piscesgirl

It's a beautiful moss, any info on it?

----------


## dennis

Tony,

You always seem to be comng up with new mosses to show us. LIke your mini-moss, did you collect this on locally also? What arec the conditions of your tank?

Dennis

----------


## BeyondGomer

Loh, Check your PM  :Wink: 

Deborah and Dennis,
I really don't have much info on this moss....it just appeared in the tank one day LOL. I believe the driftwood had some spores that decided to grow. As for growing conditions, it is currently in a med-high light tank....just think of a very prototypical tank and those are the conditions..nothing really special.

----------


## amber2461

Hey Gomer

It seems that the mosses love you lots, just keep posting the pictures and the rest of us will just drool and enjoy them ... again, thanks for posting.

----------


## BeyondGomer

Here is a large macro photo. ...maybe it will shead some more light'?

----------


## bettarism

Hi all,
saw similar moss like this in GenX.
Look very beautiful.
Regards.
Derric Tan

----------


## BeyondGomer

Hey Loh,

I figure this place is as good as any, but I was curious as to any update on the moss I sent you. Does it grow well for you? How fast? Does typical moss anchoring work well with it (I just let mine naturally spread).

Thanks  :Smile:

----------


## timebomb

Tony,

The moss is alive and well. I tied it to a piece of undergravel filter plate and stuck it to one side of my tank. 

By the way, I'll be meeting the professor this evening. I don't know if I'll have enough time but I'll try and put up the report tonight. 

Loh K L

----------


## Nevada

hi gomer, 

where did you get it ?
its a very interesting moss ...

----------


## BeyondGomer

I didn't "get it"...it "got me"...just showed up one day.

----------


## Nevada

u mean they just grow in your tank?

----------


## BeyondGomer

yes. I didn't put it there. the wood I have in that tank must have had spores on it.

----------


## lextre

Hi! Gomer,

Anyway, can you spare me bits of it. They are lovely..

----------


## RRG

Please sign in with your real name or just your first name, "unibro". No offence, but I keep picturing you as a person with connected eye-brows,  :Laughing:  .

Gomer, were you successful propagating that moss? How fast does it grow?

----------


## amber2461

Yes, tell us more Gomer, do they grow fast enough so that we could get some as well  :Laughing:

----------


## timebomb

You know, I get lots of requests for mosses and other plants from forum users. Usually, I try to oblige, especially when the request is from someone who does not live in Singapore. I can understand that it's quite difficult for hobbyists who live in countries like the USA and Canada to obtain the rare plants as more often than not, such plants are not available in their local fish shops.

But if the request is from someone who uses a nick, I will ignore it. I may be a bit old-fashioned but don't you think it's kind of rude not to reveal who you are when you ask for something from a stranger? 

I'm not sure if Tony feels the same way but knowing that he has only a bit of this interesting moss, I don't think he would want to send any of it to someone who doesn't put down a real name when he or she asked for the plant.

Come on folks, please use a real name. 

Loh K L

----------


## BeyondGomer

I can tell you that this is EASILY the slowest growing moss that I have grown..and I have pretty much grown them all LOL. Here is the neat thing...the ORIGINAL moss is still nice and green in the tank. You know how moss usually grows over itself and smothers the old growth...this moss is different. It just keeps on living  :Smile:  

I don't plan on sending any out any time soon as I am trying to get it to fill in for AGA2005 for a possible re-entry. If it grows as slow for Loh as it does for me , then well..if he is looking to grow a dencent amount out just for himself, it may be a while ....

----------


## amber2461

Hey Tony

Here's wishing you good luck then with the entry. Just keep posting those pictures then.

I am having problems attaching my name automatically and have asked Mr Loh on how to do it. I am not good when it comes to things like that LOL

Cheers
Marge

----------


## amber2461

Ah .. it came on automatically ! Yaaaayyy ... Mr Loh, kindly ignore the PM I sent you then.

Thanks !

----------


## RRG

Mr Loh,

Is it alright if you take a picture(s) of the moss that Tony gave you? I'm interested in how it progresses in your tank.  :Smile:

----------


## timebomb

Sure, Randall. Here's a picture of the _Fissidens fontanus_.



As you can see, Tony grows the moss much better than I do. I was concerned that the moss may die in my tanks so after the professor examined the plant, I gave a strand of it each to 3 fish shops in Singapore. They are Bioplast, Mermaid World and Gen X. These 3 shops specialise in mosses and I'm sure that over time, they will grow enough of it to sell to local hobbyists. 

Marge, I'm glad you signed off with your real name. Hope the Downoi and mosses I sent grow well for you. But hey, come on, show us a picture. It's the least you should do after what I've done for you  :Smile: 

Loh K L

----------


## BeyondGomer

This moss does NOT have those little "root hairs" along the frond. If you look at the close up picture, it has what looks like "roots at the base". This kinda leads to "creeping" type of spreading similar to a foreground plant rather than a traditional moss. might be why it is hard to propogate.

----------


## ruyle

Tony,
The driftwood these spores came in on, was it locally collected? I can see
a bunch of us getting on a bus and stripmining the area for driftwood LOL.

You must've been awfully surprised when it presented itself  :Cool:  

Thanks for sharing, and good luck in the contest,

Bill

----------


## stormhawk

Tony, if that's the case then it must have a primitive rhizome, probably a very very small and short version.

I have a theory that since yours appeared from spores that may have came along with the driftwood, it might be more better to try to insert it into cracks on the surface of the driftwood, rather than tying it down like the traditional method of attaching mosses to driftwood.

It does look more like a fern than a moss. The one plant that may resemble it closely would be _Ceratopteris siliquosa_.

----------


## amber2461

Mr Loh

The day that I can get my hands on a digital camera, trust me, I will take several pictures of it ... the moss is doing well and slow just like the Downoi, which is strange but hey ... I am not complaining much.

You have done a lot for me, kam siah!

----------


## amber2461

Tony

Those moses are just adowable! Keep sending pictures please!

----------


## BeyondGomer

I am constantly getting PMs and emails about sending people this moss. At this time, I am not going to send any off for various reasons. In the future, I will spread it around and till post in this thread when that time comes.


On a side note, Loh, any luck on growing it or it re-attaching?

----------


## RonWill

Kwek Leong & Tony,
If I'm may be allowed to a strand of that _Fissidens fontanus_, I'd like to try growing it emersed and see if their growth rate is any better than fully submerged.

I must admit that moss walls ellude me but as far as emersed/terrestrial plants are concerned, my thumbs do have a green tinge, albeit slight  :Rolling Eyes:  

Instead of other fancy moss, I'd like to share some pics of what Kwek Leong calls "Taiwan Mini Moss", which I almost killed from neglect.

The mini-moss was nearly 'browned-out' when a friend helped tie the remains to a driftwood. Using methods I derived from green houses, the moss was revived and now looks much better than I could have grown it submerged.

  

So either of you game?

----------


## amber2461

Wow !

----------


## timebomb

> So either of you game?


Ronnie, what I gave you are Taiwan Moss and not Taiwan Mini Moss. The Mini name is only used when people want to add "value" to their mosses  :Laughing: 

I have only a bit of the _Fissidens fontanus_ so you will have to wait a while before I can give you some to try with your greenhouse method. 

Loh K L

----------


## Jane of Upton

So I'm curious Gomer, 

was this driftwood with the spores something collected from a local lake, or was it something you got from a woodlands, and soaked? I'm wondering if this IS some sort of fern, capable of an immersed form, as well as an emergent form. From your description, it does sound more fern-like. Fascinating stuff! 

This makes me want to go out and experiment with terrestrial mosses and similar things in this area. Are you in Southern or Northern California? I wonder if your climate (and hence the spores) undergo any freezing weather. 

At some point, it would be interesting trying to grow it emersed (I think the lady with the greenhouse experience was alluding to that). 

Very cool looking! And it serves as a lesson, too - not to scrub that driftwood TOO well - you never know what sort of treasure might show up, LOL! 

Thanks for all the great picts in this post! 
-Jane

----------


## Jane of Upton

Hey Tony,

any updates on an ID for this? Are you thinking its a moss, or some sort of fern (with a rudimentary rhizome)?

I'm really curious about an ID.

Thanks,
Jane

----------


## timebomb

> I'm really curious about an ID.


Jane, the moss has already been identified several months ago as _Fissidens fontanus._ You can read the complete post here.

In Singapore now, several fish shops are selling this moss. 

Loh K L

----------


## kentucky

I just joined this forum to give a little information on a moss I collected in the wild which I believe to be the same moss Gomer has, Fissidens Fontanus. I collected this moss in kentucky, growing submerged on tree roots. I am very familiar with this creek, and the moss has been submerged for over two months. The moss covers all of the roots of a very large tree in a fast moving deep part of the creek. The moss extends from the top of the water several feet down. There are also smaller patches growing in the clay creek banks, also submerged. The creek water is of the highest quality, crystal clear. The water temperature here varies greatly from freezing to near 80º F in the summer. The water is pretty hard because of all the limestone we have here. The moss is in a very difficult place to obtain it, and the water is very cold right now. I hope to take pictures of the moss in my tank and in the wild soon, however my digital camera is cheap and the photos will likely be poor quality. This moss is very slow growing and hard to find, two months of searching creeks. 

I hope this little bit of information is helpful

Derek

----------


## Jane of Upton

Ah, thank you Mr. Loh,

I just returned to read the updates on your forums, and was surprised to see the name Fissidens fontanus in nearly every post on this thread! I apparently missed that it had been properly identified, but you must have gone back and inserted the name in places where it had been referred to as "moss". At least, I hope you did, *chuckle*, otherwise I read many, many occurances of the name without realizing it WAS the name. 

And thank you for the link to the stories of so many mosses identified from around the globe. 

I've taken to collecting small bits of moss when I see it (unless it is obviously something that is from a dry terrestrial environment, and unlikely to grow submerged) and experimenting with growing these bits submerged.

So I understand that the driftwood Tony obtained was not originally from California, but from Louisiana! Gosh, things travel so much. I'm sure it makes the identification that much more difficult.

This has been an interesting thread!
-Jane

----------


## timebomb

Jane,

I don't know if Tony is aware of this but the _Fissidens fontanus_ he sent me has now become widespread in Singapore. When I got the moss from him, it didn't do well in my tank. So after the professor identified it, I gave the moss to 3 local fish shops. 2 has since went out of business but Bioplast fish shop is still around. 

I've heard a hobbyist bought some of the _F. fontanus_ from Bioplast and it seems he's very successful at growing this moss. So successful, in fact, he has become a supplier. Quite a few local fish shops are selling the _F. fontanus_ now and they are often sold tied to driftwoods. The prices are a bit exhorbitant but over time, I'm sure they will come down. Take a look at this thread if you want to see pictures of the moss.

Tony would probably kick himself when he finds out how much the moss he gave to me for free is going for in our fish shops  :Laughing:  I've been kicking myself too  :Laughing: 

Loh K L

----------

