moss balls

[tamikakes]

my apologies as I feel I am swamping these boards, but doing searches seem to take forever filtering thru them.

Are Moss balls benifical to Betta tanks? are they bad?

Just curious as I've seen them in the stores and not too trusting of employees answers.

[Laki]

Moss balls are wonderful :) Pet stores really over charge for them though. I paid 8.99 for my first large ball... It split and now it's anchored to drift wood in my snail tank.
Then I paid 5$ for 5 nano moss balls on ebay. Ebay has them for much cheaper!! lol
They are live algae so if you're using fertilizers like Seachem Flourish for other live plants, you have to remove the moss.
Marimo moss apparantly competes for the same nutrients that reg algae grows for. This does NOT mean it will reduce algae in the tank! It just means in the process of photosynthesis that it's better than reg algae.
Marimo moss grows extremely slow. They say nano moss balls (size of a dime) are 20 years old..
Marimo moss in Japan is used as a gift for longevity and luck. People keep them on their own as decorative "pets". Nothing looks as nice as a moss ball in a wine glass with colored pebbles. Here's my nano's when I was quarentinig them:

[Freyja]

I paid $7.50 for mine at my LFS but to be fair it is almost the size of a baseball and I live in Puerto Rico so shipping would've been more expensive simply because most people don't know that USPS rates are the same for Puerto Rico as for continental US.

[NapoleonUWS]

I had two and they were thriving, then died for no apparent reason... I want to try them again.

[tamikakes]

so if I got one to put in my betta tank (currently 2.5 gal) would I be able to do it? and how do I "care" for it?

[Catie79]

Whoa, wait, we have to take the moss balls out if we use a fertilizer? That's the first time I've heard that one. I've got some live plants and I've added some Flourish to the water (once a week, about two drops for my 10 gallon). Does that mean the moss balls need to permanently move out?

[MyRainbowBettaFish]

i have never had live plants. Do you think moss balls are suitable for my 10 gallon and a snail i will be getting(mystery or apple)? i seem to have an algae problem......i like the look of moss balls and my local Petsmart sells them. could i put one in without any special fertilizer or lighting? my lighting is just a regular bulb...

Thanks :)

[Laki]

Yes, I forgot to mention. Moss balls don't need special lights or fertilizers. They do fine in all kinds of water. Mine is still thriving in with smelly dirty snails and no special light. They're awesome like that. Anybody can keep them! And they're hard to kill, I don't know why yours did Napoleon.
Yes, tamikakes, you can get moss balls for your 2.5. They can live in a wine glass perfectly fine (only changing the water weekly or so.)
I think it was Mo who told me that Flourish kills moss. I don't know why but I would ask him to clear it up.

[MyRainbowBettaFish]

Originally Posted by Laki

Yes, I forgot to mention. Moss balls don't need special lights or fertilizers. They do fine in all kinds of water. Mine is still thriving in with smelly dirty snails and no special light. They're awesome like that. Anybody can keep them! And they're hard to kill, I don't know why yours did Napoleon.
Yes, tamikakes, you can get moss balls for your 2.5. They can live in a wine glass perfectly fine (only changing the water weekly or so.)
I think it was Mo who told me that Flourish kills moss. I don't know why but I would ask him to clear it up.

Thanks!

[LebronTheBetta]

Originally Posted by MyRainbowBettaFish

i have never had live plants. Do you think moss balls are suitable for my 10 gallon and a snail i will be getting(mystery or apple)? i seem to have an algae problem......i like the look of moss balls and my local Petsmart sells them. could i put one in without any special fertilizer or lighting? my lighting is just a regular bulb...

Thanks :)

I thought Nerite Snails were best for eating algae.