Star Moss Question

[jamesstill84]

I purchased some Star Moss (Tortula ruralis) on Ebay. It came dry in a plastic bag stating that it would grow and grab ahold of whatever I put it on. I had it attached to a rock with some thread. It had been there for about 2 months and wasn't growing and wasn't grabbing hold of the rock. So I just removed the rock and sat the moss on the substrate. It's been there for about a month and it's still not grabbing a hold of anything. It just sits there until a shrimp or snail moves it. It's not growing at all, but staying green. It doesn't seem to be growing any type of root system other than the brown that it came with (which the package said would go away once it was aquatic). I don't have CO2 yet, but I'm working on that this week. I dose with Seachem Flourish Excel and have 2 lights on the tank. It's a 30 gallon tank with lots of plants.

Can anyone tell me whats up with this plant?

Here's a link to what I bought... Star Moss (http://cgi.ebay.com/Star-Moss-x-5-portions_W0QQitemZ260240707920QQcmdZViewItemQQptZL H_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item260240707920&_trksid=p4634.c0.m14.l1262)

[BioHazard]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but tortula ruralis, or star moss, is not truely aquatic. In fact, it can be found in deserts. It may survive for a while underwater, but not long term. Here is some info if you are curious.
http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/bryophyte/torrur/all.html

[jamesstill84]

GRRR!! They have it listed as coming from China! It says it's all over North America! Guess that would explain the plant... I hate people!

Thanks very much for your assistance. :D

[BioHazard]

Yeah.... the place you got it from is a little shady. More interested in selling stuff than helping people. You might be able to grow if on a piece of driftwood if it comes out of the water. Or, you could set up a little paludarium. It might work in something like that, just not fully submerged.
I feel your pain though... its so pretty! And it doesnt grow as thick as some mosses. Check out fissidens fontanus moss. It grows really slow, but doesnt get as long as most mosses.

[jamesstill84]

That's a beautiful moss! I will definitely look into getting some of that.