Help With Identifying some Moss

[AndrewJC21]

So i received some moss in a tank that someone just gave to me. I separated all the plants and put the moss onto some small mesh screens that i had, Covered with screen, and started some small Moss mats for my guppy fry. It has been a little while now and the mats are growing well.
At this point i want to find out exactly what kind of moss that i have, I have been reading lots and doing my research but still after everything, it seems one post contradicts the other, and if i am right, what i just read told me that some mosses even appear different when grown in different environments ( i.e - lighting, water quality..)


So in turn, i am going to ask the people i always seem to come to for info, The AC community.

Just looking to see if anyone can tell me what i have for moss.

 

[Kashta]

That would be Peacock Moss -- which is also known as Spikey Moss... a Taxiphyllum sp.

Even a blurry photo is distinctive enough to tell. Notice how symmetrical, straight, and "feathery" it looks on all the sides and how dense and lighter in appearance it is at all the tips.... quite like a peacock feather in a structural sense.

Here's a visual example for comparison... http://www.aquamoss.net/SHMO/images/SHMO-01.jpg

 

[AndrewJC21]

Ok, great thanks. Can't say I have come across the name before. The photo in the link is very nice, is Peacock moss something I would want to incorporate into a piece of driftwood, or can it be m ore of a problem than a beauty in my tank.

Im slowly trying to put together a 75 gallon planted tank.

 

[Kashta]

It's one of the premium slow growing mosses... doesn't get all wild and rampant as java moss. So yes, anchor it down however you want. It will attach itself very slowly. To maintain the moss, you'll just trim it down now and then as it grows out. No need for added ferts, upgraded lighting, or CO2.

If you're not sure about using it on your piece of driftwood, try it out for a while on a stone using a hairnet or other netting (like from a new bath scrubby). Basically, just spread it out evenly over the surface.... cover the top with netting.... gather and secure the netting underneath with thread or fishing line. As the moss grows in, this will give you a little mossy "bush" accent piece you can move around easily. This gives you a chance to decide whether you like it not. Easy to cut it down later and use the trimmings on the driftwood or other more permanent decor piece. And, if you decide you don't like it, that little rock is easy to remove.

 

[AndrewJC21]

Awesome, thank you. I have done a bunch more reading and after seeing some, pictures I really want to try and make a wall wout h it, if not a whole 10 gallon shrimo tank.

Thanks agsin Kashta

 

[cradlefan]

Isn't the scientific name Fontinalis? Is that the same thing......trying to remember.

 

[Kashta]

Fontinalis would be willow moss.

 

[AndrewJC21]

But aren't Willow moss and singapore moss the same thing?

http://www.aquamoss.net/Singapore-Moss/Singapore-Moss.htm