# Planted Tanks > Plant Talk > Aquatic Moss Club >  Problem with keeping Moss

## stephen chung

Hi guys,

I am having problems keeping Moss.

I have chiller running btw 25-27.

4X 59w T5 on 8hr/day

CO2 abut 3bbs

The rest of the plants are doing well. Especially the ferns..But my moss keeps on dying.

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## Corleone

Bro, why don't you give us more information on your moss situation, like what do you tie it on, what you tie it with, what moss.

Cause you tank specs seem to be okay..

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## hii

it might be due to water problem..I having it for my weeping and Xmas moss last time, keep turning brown.

But now my tank condition back to normal and all moss grow well.

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## stephen chung

Corleone,
Well, seriously have no idea what moss is it. They looks the same to me.

hii,
What did you do to your water?

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## richietay

Is your moss newly bought?
Can try by maintaining water quality, moss like clean water.  :Smile:

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## hii

> Corleone,
> Well, seriously have no idea what moss is it. They looks the same to me.
> 
> hii,
> What did you do to your water?


I moved to new place so start everything from "0" lor ..  :Grin:  

Moss love clean water, if you bioload too heavy than you have to change water weekly, for me once in 2 weeks..

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## stephen chung

> I moved to new place so start everything from "0" lor ..  
> 
> Moss love clean water, if you bioload too heavy than you have to change water weekly, for me once in 2 weeks..


Ok....ic...Will try to do that.

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## Corleone

Yeap, most of the time the mosses that tend to turn brown and die away are usually weeping, Christmas, anchor mosses..they tend to prefer clean waters. Check on your filtration, if you haven't washed for a while, maybe give it a rinse.

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## stephen chung

> Yeap, most of the time the mosses that tend to turn brown and die away are usually weeping, Christmas, anchor mosses..they tend to prefer clean waters. Check on your filtration, if you haven't washed for a while, maybe give it a rinse.


Well, my water is clear from what I see. I have not wash my filter for awhile. Maybe is time liao. Thanks..Donno can revive any of the moss.

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## StanChung

I suspect fauna trouble... :Very Happy:  Got SAE's?

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## medicineman

Yes, SAE may nibble at moss and leave them bald, but usually not to a point of turning brown.

You also want to keep that temp more stable at the lower range of 25C. They just love it cold.

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## stephen chung

Lower that 25C..okok....

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## hii

I grow in 26C with chiller also perfect. Medium - High light will be better for them to grow into nicer shape.

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## EvolutionZ

OT abit guys,
is weeping moss or peacock moss harder to survive than other mosses? thanks

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## Corleone

not really, depends on your conditioning..once it meets their requirements, they will flourish non-stop too..

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## hii

> OT abit guys,
> is weeping moss or peacock moss harder to survive than other mosses? thanks


my experience, weeping a bit sensitive, peacock easy to grow in both chiller and fan condition.

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## EvolutionZ

> my experience, weeping a bit sensitive, peacock easy to grow in both chiller and fan condition.


thanks bro, dun think i'll be getting weeping.. a guy told me if my tank dun have tempreture of 25C, i can forget about keeping weeping moss :Shocked:  
looking for peacock moss or mini pellia :Grin:

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## hii

> thanks bro, dun think i'll be getting weeping.. a guy told me if my tank dun have tempreture of 25C, i can forget about keeping weeping moss 
> looking for peacock moss or mini pellia


err.. who told you that?? as my last post mentioned my tank temp is 26C and my weeping growing very well..green and healthy.

If you scare than you should forget about mini pellia as it need cold water too.

Brother just try don't think too much.

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## stephen chung

MY other plants are doing ok only the moss is dying. sians....

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## zenscape

The only moss I know that often mysteriously turns brown and fades away is erect moss. But that happens after it thrives in the tank. There were many such cases reported in Killies.com without conclusion. 

If all conditions are appropriate, most moss hobbyists keep here are generally hardy. The basic conditions for moss is cool and clean water, and it does well even in moderate light. I have a low maintenance moss tank in office and the moss is doing well without WC, light source from ceiling office FL, no fert, no Co2. Of course high light, good co2 and adequate fert will help them pick it up faster. 

How long is your moss in the tank? Could it be that it is in the phase of adaption? Also consider the source of the moss. Where did you buy it? Some moss are terrestrial.

Don't give up on moss. Its quite rewarding to see your tank full of flourishing moss. :Grin:

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## stephen chung

> The only moss I know that often mysteriously turns brown and fades away is erect moss. But that happens after it thrives in the tank. There were many such cases reported in Killies.com without conclusion. 
> 
> If all conditions are appropriate, most moss hobbyists keep here are generally hardy. The basic conditions for moss is cool and clean water, and it does well even in moderate light. I have a low maintenance moss tank in office and the moss is doing well without WC, light source from ceiling office FL, no fert, no Co2. Of course high light, good co2 and adequate fert will help them pick it up faster. 
> 
> How long is your moss in the tank? Could it be that it is in the phase of adaption? Also consider the source of the moss. Where did you buy it? Some moss are terrestrial.
> 
> Don't give up on moss. Its quite rewarding to see your tank full of flourishing moss.


I love moss but so far without an success. The moss has been in my tank for more than 6mths. I think is over adaptation period.

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## zenscape

Alternatively, do yourself an experiment. Go ikea and buy a small glass container (plant section). Get some fresh moss from LFS. Tie it nicely and dump them in the container and leave them alone. Store them in an open and cool place. Top up water when necessary. No frill, no co2, no fert and no skill needed. See whether they thrive with light green buds at the tips after a month.. If they do, you will no longer say you are not successful with moss  :Grin:

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## richietay

I suppose you had wash your filter, might be your bioload too heavy thus affecting water quality. Don't be dishearted. Anyway there are large varieties of moss in the market, one will be spoilt for choice.  :Smile:

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## stephen chung

> Alternatively, do yourself an experiment. Go ikea and buy a small glass container (plant section). Get some fresh moss from LFS. Tie it nicely and dump them in the container and leave them alone. Store them in an open and cool place. Top up water when necessary. No frill, no co2, no fert and no skill needed. See whether they thrive with light green buds at the tips after a month.. If they do, you will no longer say you are not successful with moss


Ill try that..really donno what happened?? Is it the light?

What is the the best temperatures for planted tanks? (esp moss)

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## crystalreds

Plants love low temperature. Especially moss which really show you their appreciation if you are able to cool the water down to 25 degress. From what I noticed, even without CO2 injection, and with cool water. It'll be really lush  :Smile:

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## stephen chung

Oh...is uv has anything to do with it? It seems that the moss die after I install the internal uv filter..Anyone has this experience?

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## stephen chung

Oh...is uv has anything to do with it? It seems that the moss die after I install the internal uv filter..Anyone has this experience?

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## zenscape

I have installed UV in my tank just to get rid of GDA and the moss is doing fine. Regarding your previous question about light and moss, surely more light will help moss to grow in better shape but my office nano tanks do not have additional lights other than ceiling FLs and they grow well. Give it a try and see for yourself. Just top up water now and then, and nothing else. 

I read you thread again and I couldnt see any reason why your moss didnt make it. Let us narrow down the issues:-

1. Moss needs cool and clean water- your tank has a chiller and there is nothing to say that your water is not clean.

Some folks swear that moss will need 25 degree and below to grow. I suggest you take a look at Chan's display tanks (NA). He is using fans only and he is doing business selling moss. How low can fans cool down a tank? 27 degree perhaps.

2. Light? If the rest of the plants are doing well, your light should be ok.

3. Critters chomping it? This is the main cause when i started growing moss. My moss couldn't grow until i read about SAE and moss. I had 6 big fat SAEs in my 4ft and after i took them out, the moss was growing. Amano shrimps to a certain extent love to chomp moss. There may be other critters that chomp you moss when you were not aware. Observe the critters in your tank and hunt for any culprits.

4. Fert? There are lots of example of low maintenance tank with thriving moss to indicate that Co2 and tonnes of fert may not be the main key to grow moss. Even low light is possible. On the other hand, it certainly helps with intensed lightings. Pay System Control & Engineering of Boon Keng Road a visit. Mr Tan is using MHs and his tankful of exotic moss is bubbling like beer.

5. Types of moss? Yes, i agree that some types of moss are less demanding than others, such as java, taiwan and spiky. These are good starter moss for you to begin with if you really want to try your hand on moss. Flame, Weeping moss and erect moss are slightly tricky. But i do not agree that weeping moss will certainly wither above 26 degree. The light is the cause for these moss to grow into desirable font shape. I tried weeping moss both near the light and bottom of tank. The former weeps whereas the latter comes up with a funny shape pointing up.

6. Tank often stirred up? Moss has a tendency to attract debris. Most new setup has this layer of debris on top of moss. But after a week or so, it will clear because moss bubbles like any stem plants and this will get rid of the debris. Otherwise it will suffocate the moss like in algae situation. This begs another question. Look hard at your moss. Do they have algae? Fine hair algae is difficult to detect in moss but it is not so fatal as BGA which is a blanket suffocation. 

Moss will prefer us leaving it alone. Stirring it too much will disturb it growing process.

A trick from Mr Tan. He told me he changes 1/10 of his tank water everyday but I dont think most of us can afford the time. You may try it if you are really determined to convince yourself.

The above is just my 2 rupees  :Grin:  and wishing you success in moss.

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## stephen chung

Maurice,

I also don't know what happened. The rest of the plant is spreading like crazy but not very healthy only 1 type of slow growing plant that is doing well. But, my moss is the worse I have try 2 time to grow moss but each time fail. They just turn brown n die. Is all those kh2so4 blarr blarr important for moss growing?

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## zenscape

The short answer is no. Fert will give you beautiful moss but without it will not kill it.

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## illumnae

i keep taiwan moss (one of the more hardy species) in a very low tech tank with high temperatures (no fan and sitting by window), no co2, no ferts and about 1.5 WPG...there's particularly low co2 for me because i use a trickle OHF with lots of agitation, yet the moss is growing nice and green, so i don't think it's a matter of moss requirements not being met for your tank as they really have not very high standards...perhaps you could look to other factors as mentioned by zenscape? could be critters nibbling on them or dirt settling on them etc

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## richietay

I suppose cleaning of filters (improving of water quality) is one of the changes you made so far, maybe you can re-tie the moss (get rid of the affected ones) or introduce new batches and monitor. Step by step? 

 :Smile:

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## stephen chung

> i keep taiwan moss (one of the more hardy species) in a very low tech tank with high temperatures (no fan and sitting by window), no co2, no ferts and about 1.5 WPG...there's particularly low co2 for me because i use a trickle OHF with lots of agitation, yet the moss is growing nice and green, so i don't think it's a matter of moss requirements not being met for your tank as they really have not very high standards...perhaps you could look to other factors as mentioned by zenscape? could be critters nibbling on them or dirt settling on them etc


Can it be the cherries?? or the flake food? MAybe I should get some taiwan moss and throw in my tank and see how... :Sad:

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## scotworm

Brother... 


Please help me.. i really don't know, it's my second time, doing this tank of mine and the problem still arises... and i'm feeling so pissed off. Seriously.. spent 3 hours to tie those moss on my DW...  :Crying:  

See, my problem is that, now is the 3rd day and i start to see soft, hairy substance growing on my moss.... then, i tried using my forceps to pull them away, MAN!!! a lot of 'dust' just came off !! i really don't know what are those.. it's only the beginning ....

Next, i saw my DW starting to have mouldy thing growing on them... what are those ? it's my first time seeing all these... the DW had been treated for more than 3 months with chlorine and hot boiling water... still, such things happened.... 

What is the problem with my tank ? is it the zero presence of fauna? my tank is now functioning with 3 small fishes and that DW of moss.. 
Temperature wise is at 26.... tank is a cubic size tank, 30cm x 30cm x 30cm..

Please please help............  :Crying:

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## ranmasatome

Got shrimps?

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## scotworm

nope... no shrimmps at all... just started....

I keep thinking about it and i think it's my filter... is it that my filter not strong enough ? such that, i could see particles 'swimming' around the tank when i on the lights... 

One thing is that, my DW got mouldy thing... i don't know why it grows.. after 3 months of chlorination and soaking in boiling water.. 

Filter flowing power problem?

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## ranmasatome

Nope.
This fungus sometimes just grows on wood... not harmful
If you want to rid of it then....
Once again.. Got shrimps?  :Smile:

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## scotworm

Wa, brother ah... it's not only the fungus thingy... They are slowly covering my moss !! YOu mean, those fungus covering my moss is ok? i also see 'dust' substance on my moss.. and they are soft and like a string.. very delicate.. 
And these fungus not only grows in one area.. it grows all around the DW !! Man.... i really don't know.... 

i've read from several sites and they also said, not harmful.. ok... i will get shrimps this week and monitor the situation. But sad to inform you is that, i used to have shrimps in my tank the last time i set up this tank of mine ... Still, these fungus didn't go off.. 

K, br0ther, if i get shrimps , that packet of 20 shrimps, will they do the job for me ?

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## crystalreds

IMHO, the circulation of the water in your tank isn't strong enough. Therefore kindda of causing a little dead spot or idle area...sort of like having dust settle on the moss and moss does seems to be a sucker for 'dust'. Had that once before I directed the outflow of water towards the moss. Now my moss are like grass been blown by the wind ....

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## hii

I once having this white thingy on the bogwood, and it stink .. I sifon it out manually twice a week and it grow back again.. so dont really care and just let the moss grow.. guess what .. after a week or 2 than it automatic gone.

I only have 2 cherry shrimp in their but now whole bogwood fully cover by moss.

I having lot problem when i start my new tank at new home which never see before, green water, water leaking and etc .. I was thinking maybe bad feng shui lor.. but I didn't give up. 

The more you see the more you learn, don't give up.

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## stephen chung

> I once having this white thingy on the bogwood, and it stink .. I sifon it out manually twice a week and it grow back again.. so dont really care and just let the moss grow.. guess what .. after a week or 2 than it automatic gone.
> 
> I only have 2 cherry shrimp in their but now whole bogwood fully cover by moss.
> 
> I having lot problem when i start my new tank at new home which never see before, green water, water leaking and etc .. I was thinking maybe bad feng shui lor.. but I didn't give up. 
> 
> The more you see the more you learn, don't give up.


Hi bro,

Do you still have any of the balanse for sale?

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## stephen chung

> I once having this white thingy on the bogwood, and it stink .. I sifon it out manually twice a week and it grow back again.. so dont really care and just let the moss grow.. guess what .. after a week or 2 than it automatic gone.
> 
> I only have 2 cherry shrimp in their but now whole bogwood fully cover by moss.
> 
> I having lot problem when i start my new tank at new home which never see before, green water, water leaking and etc .. I was thinking maybe bad feng shui lor.. but I didn't give up. 
> 
> The more you see the more you learn, don't give up.


I think maybe is deal to the oto sae and pleco inside my tank...now I have a royal pleco inside there some more...I m really looking for trouble.

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## grey_fox

> Hi bro,
> 
> Do you still have any of the balanse for sale?


Stephen, try in the buy/sell forums instead. 




> I think maybe is deal to the oto sae and pleco inside my tank...now I have a royal pleco inside there some more...I m really looking for trouble.


Personally from what I have experienced, I placed in handful of 'ghost' shrimps to clear up the fungus on the bogwood, they served as a dual purpose for my tank, 1. clear up the fungus, 2. discus food. 

You shouldn't be too concerned about the fungus actually, that will go away when your bogwood is more seasoned. 

As for mosses, if you have mosses such as taiwan moss, it is not advisable to have SAEs in there. From what I've noticed for my tank, peacock/spiky moss seems to be SAE-safe. They clean the mosses instead of chewing them up. 

Otos in general don't do damage to flora or in your case, the moss. Can't really comment on the royal pleco though.

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## hii

I have 2 golden SAE (never eat my moss and very hardworking) and 1 sucker fish (pleco ??) also working very hard to clean my tank and surprisingly it grow bigger just in my tank for 3-4 months.

Tried on SAE .. think just rubbish fish, fighting for fish food with my cardinal and eat moss too...give away all last time.

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## stephen chung

hmmmm...looks like I need to get rid of the SAE 1st and get some golden SAE..

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## scotworm

Hmmm.... so, it's my water flow rate... thanks a lot man... I'll change my direction of water flow then and see what happens... 

It's been a week now and i think it's time to get my shrimps now (red cherry shrimps).. then, i'll add in bumblebees too  :Very Happy: 


Hey reader, do the octus suck up those fungus ? 
will the shrimps' movements on top of the moss make the 'dust' away? 
Will shrimps eat those fungus grown on my DW ? 


Hmmm.. i'll let time deal with it....

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## exotic

yes..you right zenscape... may i know where can i find weeping moss and peacock moss.. now in my tank. i have ..taiwan , mini taiwan , erect, flame, java, spiky, moss ball and a rare type of moss this was what the shop told me... it a kind of hair moss from u.s.... 4 cm by 4 cm cost 30 buck....

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## Garry83

Too bright for the mosses brother...

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