# Planted Tanks > Plant Talk > Aquatic Moss Club >  Mosses and the men who love them - Part VII

## timebomb

Hi, folks,

Gan and I were at the professor's lab today and this is my report.

Bioplast fish shop aka "The moss growers of Boon Keng" has a moss that grows upright and spirals. Bioplast calls it "Flame Moss". Here are some pictures:






Closer to the lights, the moss tends to get *burnt* and turns brown in colour. Further from the lights, it's a dark green and the spirals are more distinct. The professor examined the moss and he's sure it's a _Taxiphyllum_, another new species on a long list of _Taxiphyllum_'s that are appearing in the market periodically. It's a pity the prof cannot confirm the species name. The Flame Moss looks distinctly different from the other aquarium mosses we know and I'm sure it will become very popular after a while.

Okay, now for the other bryophyte - the one from Tropica that is commonly known as "Coral Pellia". Tropica's name tag states it's a "Moss div." Here's a picture:

I thought it looks more like a liverwort and for once, I was right. The professor said it's a species of _Riccardia_. He can't tell the species but is it the same as the _Riccardia_ known as "Mini-Pellia"? Here's a picture of the Mini-Pellia:


I thought they are the same but Robert who lives in Germany is quite sure they are different. He thinks the difference is obvious. When I brought the Coral Pellia to the professor, I also brought along Mini-Pellia. The professor examined both liverworts and I'm afraid I have to tell you the results aren't conclusive. The professor can't be sure. It could be they are the same liverwort or they could be different species. The professor is an expert bryologist but his speciality does not cover liverworts. And even to bryologists, identities of the various bryophytes can be very confusing sometimes. The prof told me this story:

A while back, a group of bryologists from Finland visited Singapore. The professor invited them to do a study of the various _Riccardia_'s found here and they confirmed what the professor said in his book, that there's only one species of _Riccardia_ in Singapore and that is, _Riccardia graeffei_. Not long after that, a bryologist from Japan came to visit and the professor invited him to conduct a similar study. The Japanese bryologist's findings were very different from the Finn's. He thinks there are 4 species of _Riccardia_'s here. 

So you see, even the bryologists themselves are confused  :Laughing: 

Anyway, when he was examining the Coral Pellia, the professor discovered a sporophyte among the leaves. I took a picture of it through the microscope. Here it is:


Did you see it? No?

Here's a better picture:


Does it remind you of something? A maggot of a housefly or something else?  :Laughing:  Anyway, the black tip is the capsule and the white stem the seta. Together, it forms a sporophyte. Not an erection, you dirty fellow, you  :Laughing: 

Loh K L

<<-- Part VI .... Part VIII -->>

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## stormhawk

Now you've said it, it does look pretty erectile to me.  :Laughing:

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## RRG

FLAMING moss & that phallic looking sporophyte.  ::smt005:   ::smt005:   ::smt005: 

The list of varieties or/and species of mosses is sure getting bigger.

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## dageti

Kwek Leong,

after seeing what a moss can do when observed by human eyes through a microscope , I suggest you rename this thread 'Men and the mosses who love them'.

francesco

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## timebomb

> I suggest you rename this thread 'Men and the mosses who love them'.


Great idea, Francesco. I had a good laugh when I read your suggestion.

By the way, guys, I hate to do this but can you all please take a look at this thread. It's got nothing to do with mosses but time's running out and we are still far from the target.

Loh K L

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## Martin

Hello from Denmark..

I've just read up on all the 'men who love moss... and vice Versa..'

1 thing I stumbled on.. Fontinalis Antipyrectica is sold as Willow moss.. for aquarium use..

Here in Denmark I just discovered that we have the same species listed on our moss/liverwort species list... It is reported to grow fronds of up to 3/4 of a meter... that's 75cm... Pretty large moss there..

Anyway.. funny thing is, that I recently imported the species all the way from Singapore (AquaticMagic)... 
I should've trekked into nature and brought some home instead...

oh well...

What's your sightings on size for willowmoss`?

Oh, and what's this 'List' that people mention. The one from Tropica, where you guys mentioned som 'Moss div' I know their site, and haven't come across any mosses apart from Xmas & Java...

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## Martin

uh, just noticed on Tropica.com ..

Utricularia graminifolia flesheating Viru--no wait... liverwort.... type.. thing....

will devour your hand if you try to trim...  :Laughing: 

sry.. so far the article is only in Danish..

http://www.tropica.com/catalog/image...9b_habitat.jpg
http://www.tropica.com/catalog/image...b_bl%E6rer.jpg
http://www.tropica.com/catalog/image..._aquascape.jpg

link to Danish Article :

http://www.tropica.com/article.asp?t...aristic&id=722

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## RRG

Hello Symbiot, please end your message with your real name. Refrain from using too much dot dot dot [] and use capital letters when necessary. Also please dont use sms words, its too distracting and not all people could understand it. Read this please http://www.killies.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=144. 

Welcome to the forum!  :Very Happy:  I love the picture aquascaped by Oliver Knott using the Utricularia sp.

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## Martin

thanks.. I'll add my name....

I will try to avoid using abbreviations, but I'm so used to it, it's hard not to...

dotdotdot is a way to smooth a sentence.. i doubt i'll be able to stop that.... <-- now stop that you... <--

anyway, I'm not here for a grammar lesson.

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## Marco Aukes

> He can't tell the species but is it the same as the _Riccardia_ known as "Mini-Pellia"? Here's a picture of the Mini-Pellia:


All I can add is that "mini Pellia" has been identified as Riccardia chamedryfolia by bio-images.uk. They are in the proces of re-styling their website, but it can show you the differences between Riccaride chamedryfolia, Pellia endivifolia and Pellia epiphylla quite obviously.

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## [C]irRuS

Hi,
I think "flame moss" is a very interesting moss.
I saw it in bioplast i think 2 - 3 months ago, but it is still
on the "NOT FOR SALE" status at that time. Don't have the 
chance to try it. Anyone know if it is on sale now?

Regards,
Zhixian

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## timebomb

> Anyone know if it is on sale now?


Zhixian, 
As far as I know, Bioplast is still not selling the Flame Moss. They gave me some when I asked for it because they were interested in knowing the identity of the moss. I still have some of it in my tanks but I can't share it with anyone, not until Bioplast puts the moss up for sale. 

If you noticed, Bioplast does not sell a lot of stuff. Besides bryophytes, they don't really have a lot of accessories, equipment or fish for sale. So their marketing strategy is such they won't sell a moss until they have lots of it. It's a good strategy because the moment hobbyists get their hands on the moss, prices fall very quickly. Bioplast survives where many other fish shops have failed because they are able to come up with new species of byrophytes regularly. Of the 3 local fish shops that specialise in bryophytes (the other 2 were Generation X and Mermaid), Bioplast is the last man standing. If they fall too, there will be no more such shops in Singapore. That would be a great loss to "moss lovers" everywhere.

On that note, I would urge anyone who has new species of mosses to either sell or trade his moss with Bioplast. It serves our interest that they continue to operate their business successfully.

Loh K L

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