# Planted Tanks > Plant Talk > Aquatic Moss Club >  Growing Weeping Moss

## strung_0ut

How to achieve what oriental does?

I know this moss is around, and whenever I send/sell this moss, 
I try and ask the reciever to give me updates on how their moss 
is doing. I rarely remember or rarely get updates.The best updates
I have gotten were Mr. Loh's photos and Gan's beginning photos, other
than that I don't know how this moss is growing in other people's tank.
I've had this moss for about I think 7 months now and I have a lot of it, 
but I can't seem to 'make' it look like Oriental's. This has been my main
goal out of aquarium so far. Any other moss I think I have reached my goal
at one point or another. Any tips?

My weeping mosses




Oriental's weeping moss


Thanks,

Dennis

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## BeyondGomer

My weeping moss looks exactly like yours and I got mine from Loh. I too wish I could achieve the OA look.

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## strung_0ut

Tank specs:

60 gallon
4 48 watt florescents
ph:7.0 - 7.2
kh:15 degrees
gh: around 21 degrees
nitrate: dosed to get 5-10ppm
phosphorus: 2-5ppm (I ignore the N to P ratio)
potassium: unknown but is dosed through potassium nitrate and mono 
- potassium phosphate
co2: pressurized w/plantguild internal reactor 

I know, its the only moss I have trouble with. What are your tank specs Gomer?

Regards,
Dennis

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## timebomb

> I too wish I could achieve the OA look.


So what's the OA look supposed to look like? I don't know what you guys are complaining. Your moss looks great  :Laughing: . 

Tony and Dennis, I don't know how Oriental does it but I know what you mean. When grown well, the Weeping curls and wraps itself around driftwoods. I can't achieve that look in my tanks too. The best I can do is to keep the moss alive  :Laughing: . I'm growing the Weeping as a carpet now. Will show you all when they're ready for pictures.

Loh K L

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## Robert

Hi Dennis, WOW!!!!
Your moss looks really great! I wish mine would do so. BTW, I still did not get you packet yet. 
I got some Weeping moss a few weeks ago from Mr. Loh. It grows but very slowly and some parts are brown, too. This weeping effect is visible, the branches start to bend. But They are too small to ge the same effect like Oriental's does. The new branches start to bend from the stalk onwards. It's hard to describe in a foreign language for me. I'll try to take some close-up shots soon. 

regards

Robert

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## TS168

> How to achieve what oriental does?
> 
> I know this moss is around, and whenever I send/sell this moss, 
> I try and ask the reciever to give me updates on how their moss 
> is doing. I rarely remember or rarely get updates.The best updates
> I have gotten were Mr. Loh's photos and Gan's beginning photos, other
> than that I don't know how this moss is growing in other people's tank.
> I've had this moss for about I think 7 months now and I have a lot of it, 
> but I can't seem to 'make' it look like Oriental's. This has been my main
> ...


HI Dennis, May i know what is the temperature of your tank.

Are they keep constant?

Thanks
TS

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## strung_0ut

This is what a nice guy from Oriental responded to me a long long while back.
Mr. Unni Krishnan wrote:



> Dear Mr.Singh,
> 
> How long you have been growing this moss in your tank? Scientific name of weeping moss is Vesicularia ferrieri. Are you sure you have the right one ? If u are very sure about it, generally it grow downwards in 4-6 weeks time. In my tanks I have not encountered this problem so far. I use very soft water GH around 5 and KH 3in my tanks. But, that may not be problem because this moss is very adaptive.
> 
> rgds,
> 
> Unni, Oriental


Mr. Loh, 
I am sure that a lot of people have it, but it doesn't seem really talked about. I think the moss is very nice too, but call it tank boredom and I've always wanted it to take form as Oriental, that is like ultra nice.

Robert,
I think it got lost or something, its been 3 weeks now so I don't think it will get there. What I did was box it all and declared it as vesicularia scientific research, let me know how I should send it and I'll send you another packet, probably pm me best.

TS,
My temperatures are very very constant. On colder days it gets to 19 degrees Celsius, on the norm its 21 degree Celsius.

Regards,

Dennis

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## timebomb

Dennis,

To answer Mr Unni's question, what you have in your tank is the genuine Weeping Moss. The ones I gave you were grown from a bunch given to me by Oriental. As for it being common, the Weeping Moss is still sold at high prices so many people still do not have it in their tanks. I'm referring to hobbyists living in Singapore. You don't know how lucky you are, Dennis  :Laughing: 

Loh K L

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## strung_0ut

> Dennis,
> 
> To answer Mr Unni's question, what you have in your tank is the genuine Weeping Moss. The ones I gave you were grown from a bunch given to me by Oriental. As for it being common, the Weeping Moss is still sold at high prices so many people still do not have it in their tanks. I'm referring to hobbyists living in Singapore. You don't know how lucky you are, Dennis 
> 
> Loh K L


Haha, I actually gave that whole bunch to CS. I have no doubt that it genuine though, I purchased them from Gan and Tan. I was actually wondering about the hard water vs. soft water. I am very lucky  :Cool:  .

Regards,
Dennis

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## Green Baron

I have the same problem too. I have a tank which the moss curls down while in other tanks they don't. I have this strange feeling that there could have been a mixed up of identity !

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## BeyondGomer

Here is my little office tank ....ever so slowly growing in with no CO2, non high light, lean ferts (I wanted it low maintenance LOL)

The moss is weeping moss from Loh, but strangly, it grows like erect moss LOL

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/f...tachmentid=748

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## strung_0ut

That is a pretty little tank Gomer. Is that HC in there? Weeping moss will start growing that way, perhaps for you, you just need to wait longer until it starts to droop downwards.

Also I've always been curious on the technique of growing algae nicely just on rocks, anything to that, or you just scrape off whatever you don't want?

Regards,
Dennis

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## timebomb

> The moss is weeping moss from Loh, but strangly, it grows like erect moss


Nice tank, Tony. What's there is Weeping Moss alright. It sort of curls upwards slightly in the beginning but will start to droop when the fronds become longer. 

Loh K L

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## shalu

I got a bit of weeping moss from Dennis(MrSing) a few months ago as a plant exchange. I put it in a tank with no CO2, kh=4, gh=8. It has been growing slowly but steadily. The moss does grow weeping down for me. I had enough recently to make a moss wall.

I don't have much moss yet, but here are some photos showing the weeping growth habit:

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## timebomb

Nice tank, Shalu. We would be most delighted to address you by your real name if you would signed off with one  :Smile: 

Your weeping moss is coming along nicely. Be patient. When the fronds become longer, they will curl and wrap themselves around the driftwood.

I saw what looked like strings on your filter inlet and outlet. Did you tie moss to the equipment too?

Loh K L

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## shalu

My real name is Sha Lu  :Smile: 
Yep, I wrapped some around the filter intake tube and heater just recently. I used thick, white cotton strings and afterwards, I found out I have thinner, black string, oh well, LOL.

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## timebomb

You have a heater in your tank, Sha Lu  :Shocked: . What's your temperature like?

Loh K L

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## shalu

I set the temp at 75F, about 24C. I am not in Singapore, so room temp can be below 20C  :Smile:

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## strung_0ut

Here is an update on growing my weeping moss on wood. I am more happy with the results. Things that are different transitioned HOB filter to eheim cannister, softened the water a little bit, and changed the substrate from coral sand to ecco-complete. Oh one more thing that I thought was pretty big as well, instead of tieing it all thick, just a simple layer this time.



Best Regards,
Dennis

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## shalu

Looking great, Dennis. Well, my weeping moss is sticking up instead of weeping down now  :Smile:

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## Robert

Hi Dennis,
your moss looks great! I seems as if its habitus varies a lot due to different conditons. I keep it in a tub with little water (1'' high, 20-23°C)and strong light and it became light green and develops mainly long single fronds, similar to yours.
The weeping moss I keep in my moss tank (23°C, noticable current, DIY CO2, liquid fetiliser like in the tub) is dark green, stiff and devloped triangular, mainly upwards growing fronds. The only real difference to the tub are the strong current, a little bit more CO2 and less light.

best regards

Robert

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## whuntley

KL sent me some, a while back. It has just been slowly losing it, and there are more brown fronds than green on it, now.

My water is soft (GH = 3) and cooler than most of you. I just moved it to a west-facing window, where it can get some filtered sunlight (mostly shade) and a lot cooler nights. 

The Taiwan moss he sent has gone well, indeed. It quickly covered a piece of driftwood and was overgrowing the tank. I still have most of a shoebox full of it, too. Wish I had a clue on why my fellow Californians do so well with weeping moss and it defeats me. Maybe it is too cold here.

Wright

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## BeyondGomer

I am using weeping in a new ADA (substrate and ferts) tank and I am now getting really nice growth out of it. I'll see about shooting some photos of it. Actually getting the weeping look LOL.

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## strung_0ut

Wright wrote:



> Maybe it is too cold here.


Wright, 

You should have no problem growing the moss in super cold water. What are the other aspects of your tank, and how do you use the moss? I believe you have your moss in still water which it seems that taxiphyllum species will do fine in opposed to vesicularia species.

Regards,'
Dennis

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## whuntley

AHA!

Dennis, I have it in a one pint clear food-storage container, with zero current. [I only had a tiny start.]

Now, which genus is it? _Taxiphyllum_ or _Vesicularia_? Bet it is the latter, based on your diagnosis. If so, I can easily fix that.

Wright

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## strung_0ut

Yep, vesicularia *fererri*? Some of the moss species names sound like cars. I meant to say also, it won't do so well free-floating.

Regards,
Dennis

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## whuntley

Thanks Dennis,

Glad you got that last part in before I tried to move it. I'll tie it to a piece of very porous Lava that most such plants love to cling to.

Wish me luck,

Wright

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## timebomb

> I believe you have your moss in still water which it seems that taxiphyllum species will do fine in opposed to vesicularia species.


Is that what you have discovered, Dennis? I'm curious about this. In some of my tanks, I use simple sponge filters which create only minor water movement but it does not seem to have any ill-effects on the growth of _Vesicularia_ species. The _Taxiphyllums_ are easy to grow so it's also hard to tell if they prefer still or moving water. But my bet would be moving water benefits both genus.

Loh K L

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## strung_0ut

My main focus which I totally forgot to put in my first post and what I actually meant was the attachment vs. the free-floating. With the word stillwater, that is what I actually meant. In my opinion, I'm not really sure if current is a factor as I have/had/have/now had a backyard tank which was unplugged(unfiltered) due to lawnmowing and never gotten around to plugging back in, and the mosses in there grew really thick attached to driftwood with no artificial light, just shaded.

Regards,
Dennis

Good Luck Wright = )

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## PeterGwee

Think of nutrients here..plants can't reach for it and needs water current to bring it to them. Do you still think "still" water is the best?

Regards
Peter Gwee

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## strung_0ut

Hi Peter,

Said nothing about it being the best, just meant that I've been able to grow moss in still water. As far as attachment goes, free floaters I have only had success with taxiphyllum species. I hope I cleared that up. Someone once told me moss was like algae, it doesn't need that much nutrients. I treat it as so. In history, didn't moss evolve from algae?

Regards,
Dennis

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## jerryC

Hi Dennis,

I have a few bunch of weeping moss on rocks and from my observation they behave rather differently.

1. They need fair amount of lights otherwise they become erect moss  :Very Happy:  
2. They need time to adjust to new environment
3. They fall off easily just like riccia

My tank is pretty warm 29 - 30 deg. PH 6.8, KH 3

jerryC

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## strung_0ut

Thats interesting Jerry. How is the moss doing for you? Any browning? Do you have any pictures? I suppose if I see others come forward with warmer tanks, I'll need to change my views on moss requirements.

Regards,
Dennnis

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## jerryC

Dennis,

Here is a picture of my weeping moss.



Any difference?

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## strung_0ut

Here is mine:

I can almost, just almost taste Oriental.

Jerry,
Looks like you can grow the moss pretty well. Add some coolness and more light and achieve the extreme.

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## BeyondGomer

here is mine

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## timebomb

Wow, Tony!!

Your Weeping Moss is so lovely!!! You're one of the few, besides Dennis to achieve the weeping look. 

My Weeping Moss doesn't weep at all. In fact, it grows upwards instead of hanging down. 

Please tell me how you grow them. I suspect this moss needs more light than other mosses. Do you think this is true?

Loh K L

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## jerryC

Guys

 :Sad:   :Sad:   :Sad:  Sad day. My weeping moss turned brown.

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## BeyondGomer

I had weeping moss in another tank as well. It grew upwards as well. THe tank had plenty of light, but no CO2.

The weeping moss in the picture is part of the medium light section of the tank. Another section is heavily shaded by some floating stems (need to find a new home for those) and it is weeping there too.

...so it isn't an issue of light. I think it might be CO2. Also, the weeping really happed more so as it got older/established. The mass of moss is on a 1" diameter rock LoL.

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## strung_0ut

That is a very nice picture Tony. Your moss looks very delicious. You sure have some good plant growing skills.

Mind my sidetracking...
My weeping moss wall is constantly getting attacked by utricularia. How do I get rid of this stuff? I remove it but it keeps on coming.





Here is a recently new moss that I can tell is going to look very nice. My great friend passed it to me. Its a type of vesicularia.

Creeping Moss:

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## Sugarlevi

You people and your mosses continue to make me soooo greedy. I wonder and I wonder why are my mosses taking such a long time to grow and grow and grow, and than they get infested by algaes so a restart is required  :Sad:  .

But these look great. Allthough the utricularia is a pest indeed.

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## timebomb

> My weeping moss wall is constantly getting attacked by utricularia. How do I get rid of this stuff? I remove it but it keeps on coming.


I'vethe same problem with my moss wall too, Dennis. I don't know how the _Utricularia_ got into my tank but it must have come with the "Dragon's Claw". Wish I could grow that one instead.

As far as I know, there's no good method to remove the weed other than to physically pluck them away, one strand at a time. If you leave just a little bit of it behind, it will grow into a big bunch in no time. It's very frustrating but at the same time, it can also be very therapeutical, in the sense that although it takes a lot of patience and tedious work to remove the weed completely, it's also a labour of love.

Loh K L

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## kimco

> It's very frustrating but at the same time, it can also be very therapeutical, in the sense that although it takes a lot of patience and tedious work to remove the weed completely, it's also a labour of love.
> 
> Loh K L


Looks like we both have something in common for I too, feels the same way. The taiwan moss which you sent me was infested with utricularia which came with my cendol grass (Dragons claw). Its become some sort of an escape for me (from wife, sons, house chores etc stress) to sit in front of my tank and remove those strands, one at a time, that goes on for hours. It has become my time alone/my space! Funny, though it is quite frustrating to keep on doing this, deep down, I harbour the hope that I have not completely clear up all the pests.............. LOL!

Cheers,

KG

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## hemiolopterus

Here's my weeping moss that grows upright. I just got a few strands a few months back and now the moss are picking up in term of growth as I black out the whole tank for a week recently. The tank was attacked by hair algae couple of weeks back. As you can see in the picture there are still a few strands of algae here and there.

Now I wonder if my weeping moss is the real mccoy or some weeping moss wannabe. KL, is this something like yours?



regards,
JS Tan

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## timebomb

> KL, is this something like yours?


It looks similar to mine, JS but the ones in my tank have larger fronds. I've already sent some to you so you can make a comparison when you receive it.

Loh K L

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## BeyondGomer

mine looked exactly like that in my non-co2, very lean fert tank.

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## Green Baron

I bought some Weeping Moss from Beijing in early 2004 and grew it in a no CO2 tank in my office. For a long time the moss grew nicely with very big fronds but it does not 'weep'.  :Crying:  The fronds are flat like Taiwan Moss. I thought I made a mistake and resigned to the fact that I have mis-id the moss from Beijing. 2 months ago, suddenly the moss start to 'weep' ! All of them started pointing downwards !! I was right after all ! I am not sure what caused the change but this just goes to show that mosses how variable mosses can be !

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## erirku

I'm so jealous that you got yours to weep. Mine just grows massive amounts of fronds. I guess I have to wait and see.

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## Green Baron

I just remember I shorten the lighting period from 9.5 hours to 8 hours 2 months ago as I will be travelling and away from my office most of the time. I am not sure if this is the trigger but you might want to give it a try.

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## greenmiddlefinger

This was originally sold to me as "willow moss," though it seems obvious it's not; which I knew at the time but still bought because it looked different. After seeing everyone's photos here, I think it might be weeping moss.



It doesn't curve as much as some here, but there is a definite downward arc. Sad that such nice growth should appear from moss attached to a filter.  :Laughing:

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## BeyondGomer

weeping moss seems to only weep when it is established. Initially, it just grew outwords similar to most other mosses.

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## strung_0ut

> This was originally sold to me as "willow moss," though it seems obvious it's not; which I knew at the time but still bought because it looked different. After seeing everyone's photos here, I think it might be weeping moss.
> 
> 
> 
> It doesn't curve as much as some here, but there is a definite downward arc. Sad that such nice growth should appear from moss attached to a filter.


Hi Steven,

You probably already know this but just thought to show a couple pictures of willow moss. Here is how it looks, my willow moss wall.

A close up


A wall


Hi Tony,

I'm not sure what you meant by established but here in the same tank is newly tied weeping moss thats been initially somewhere else in my tank and its drooping right from the start. This moss has so many ranges of growth.

This is at about a month or less.
[/img]

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## greenmiddlefinger

Thanks dennis. *sigh* the tips of your moss looks a lot pointier than mine, so maybe it is a different moss? This stuff confuses me soooo much . . .  :Neutral:

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## shalu

Here is my shrimp tank with weeping moss now(from Dennis originally). The left is a weeping moss wall. The dwiftwood is also covered with weeping moss. The tank still gets no CO2. It does look different from that in a CO2 tank.


a Virgin nerite on the weeping moss

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## Green Baron

Sha,
That is a lovely no-CO2 tank ! We rarely see red plants in such tank.
What is the red plant you have at back and do you dose fertiliser ?

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## shalu

thanks, Gan. The red plant is Ludwigia arcuata. It does very well without additional CO2. I dose the same ferts as in CO2 enriched tank, just less amount: KNO3, K2SO4, KH2PO4, Flourish.

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## timebomb

That's a lovely tank, Sha and to think you did it without using CO2. Amazing but it reinforces what I believe about mosses - that CO2 is beneficial but not essential. I would like to know what's your temperature though.

Loh K L

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## shalu

Loh, I set the heater to 75F, but room temp is hotter in summer. I saw the tank thermometer at 80-84F last few weeks. I do think mosses like lower temps, I tried some mosses in my high tech discus tank, but they don't do very well and attract lots of algae, summer temp 85-90F.

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