Something you may or may not encounter is those deterius worms living inside the moss ball if it was grungy and full of food bits. Mine had worms when I got them.
I dubbed them evil and threw them in a cereal bowl of dechlorinated water on the bathroom counter where they got bright indirect light from a window being nearby and i've had mine for a year like this with no problems. When I infrequently change their water I rinse them under cold running water from the sink and squeeze them out before tossing them back into their fresh bowl. Despite the "abuse" they are bright and beautiful, so I don't think you will have any problems with yours.
Flourish Excel will kill them though, they are an algae ball rather then a moss. (you can google more about that if you wish) Some of the sites with their history are fun to read, and there is actually a festival dedicated to them.
GL with your first live plant btw :) It shouldn't take more then a day or two to sink, as mine got older it seems like it water logs quicker then when I first got it.
Thanks Twilight, this was really helpful. I am concerned about the worms, but i have not seen any lately, nor when i squeezed the ball out in the bucket. Would i have seen them already? I have seen these little white "worms", although they don't move,they just flow with current and get sucked up by the filter (they are almost completely transparent).
those might be the worms I had in mine, I thought mine were a slightly opaque yellow though? It's been so long and they were tiny enough that I couldn't take pictures of them. They mainly hung out on and inside the moss ball. I ended up getting ghost shrimp to eat the worms, then the bettas ate the ghost shrimp.
Deamon and Satan have been happy bathroom decorations for quite a while now though. I keep saying I may rip them apart. They are lumpy feeling which I guess is a sign they made moss ball babies. I just never can bring myself to start tearing them up.
Mr. Puffles is doing great, and Honeycomb hasn't changed a bit
I plan on doing another water change today to get anything else i might have missed out of the moss ball. I haven't seen any worms or bugs, nor have i seen and abnormalities on Honeycomb
About the "worms": I haven't seen any more, and the ones i did see when i first got the ball looked freeze-dried and opaque, like some freeze-dried worm they were feeding the fishes. They got sucked up by the filter, and the water is clear!]
SO EXCITED to have my first live "plant" in my tank!!!
I like the name. I have an unnamed moss ball (I haven't found a name I like), which I also plopped unceremoniously in the tank the day after I bought it. Freyja and MB are currently doing fine.
I like the name. I have an unnamed moss ball (I haven't found a name I like), which I also plopped unceremoniously in the tank the day after I bought it. Freyja and MB are currently doing fine.
Phew, thats a relief you did just as i did with no problems - i haven't had any issues :)
nice on not finding any nasties, and your worms turned out to be just dirt. I guess I was lucky enough to get the only two evil moss balls in the forum lol. Maybe since they haven't been in with fish for over a year it's safe to try again... then again maybe they will try to kill my fish again... hmmm I will leave them in their private apartments. ;)
If anyone didn't read about their history, supposedly: If you take good care of them your wishes will come true. :)
I love JJ Puff. Marimo Moss Ball I officially christen thee JJ Puff. Welcome to the forum lol. Yeh the name suits my girl perfectly because she is a feisty little thing. She'll jump out of the water sometimes if I don't feed fast enough.
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