Marimo Moss Ball!

[magnum]

So, I'm considering making the change from fake plants to real plants! I'm super excited for this transition and I've seen so many people with Marimo Moss Balls, so I was wondering what are they, and what they require. I've yet to find one yet, but hopefully I will! Also, does anyone else have any other advice on easy to look after plants that require low light and little nutrition?

Thanks!

[Aurie]

Marimo balls are originally from Japan .. they roll in the current and it creates a ball. It's actually not moss, but algae that competes with regular algae and wins (most of the time) .. some people unroll them and make carpets out of them. to take care of them you toss them into your tank and look at them.. and look at them.. and look at them.. LOL .. once they sink you'll want to rotate them to keep the ball shape like nature does for them in Japan.

You can get them on ebay cheap but you'll only get smaller ones most of the time (quarter size) for like $2. You should be able to find some at petsmart or petco for $8-10 range and they're usually slightly smaller than baseballs

Other low light plants that I personally own are green crypts (wendtii green) and java moss and java ferns as well. Not only low light but don't really need C02 infusions. Some people have good luck with Naja (or is it Naga?) grass (guppy grass) that floats in the tank .. Also anubias is cool too ..

I just google "good starter aquarium plants" .. they're usually low light

[magnum]

Thank you! I like the idea of 'rolling out' your moss ball to make a carpet... Unfortuantley, I don't live in America, so there are no Petco's or such here, and nobody around my area stocks them in Australia... Also, is duckweed any good? I'm considering it, but I also think that if it grows to much, it might block out sunlight for other plants, and stop my betta's reaching the surface to breath.

[Aurie]

Duckweed is like java moss, either it stays under control or it goes absolutely nuts and you're scooping it out with a pool rake.. I wouldn't chance it.

You can check Ebay .. maybe someone in Australia sells them? I know lots of stuff is quarentined .. Maybe your LFS can order some for you?

[toad]

I bought a moss ball at Petco. I call him Clyde. He is a little bit smaller than a baseball, but I have no idea how much I paid for him. I saw one in a video on youtube and thought they were so cute; now I'm very interested in doing a planted tank, so hoping I can at least keep Clyde alive.

One tip - when you put the Moss ball in the tank and he floats around, don't squeeze him like I did (to get the air out, I was thinking lol): he will cloud your water like some kind of bio weapon.

As for other good starter plants for aquariums, I found this article; it might help :)

http://eveliens.hubpages.com/hub/Aqu...-for-Beginners

[magnum]

@Aurie: Looks like ill be staying away from duckweed! I dont fancy pulling the masses of it out with a shovel xD I'm going to a new store on Saturday, which mainly specialises in Betta's! Hopefully they will have some stuff there.

@toad: Thanks for the article! I'll be sure not to squeeze mine, i don't want my tank looking like any kind of bio weapon!

[Freyja]

You can squeeze it, just do it in the container with the old tank water your going to dump out.

[magnum]

Okay! Do they require any special lighting or anything?

[MSG]

Duckweed doesn't last long in my tank. My rosy barbs eat them like lettuce.

I think with a marimo, even though it requires little, it does need actual lighting.

I'm not sure how it will do with LED lighting.

I like the note about the moss ball clouding up your water like a weapon.