Floating Moss Ball

Friendlyfins said:
Yes, they were all on the gravel. It is squishy feeling. I squeezed the LFS water out of it. Maybe that was why ... Here is a pic

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Nice looking setup there! Just like a sponge, you can give it a little squeeze and release... that should allow it to soak up more water so it will stay on the bottom. An interesting read if you want to check it out; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marimo
 
Mamajin said:
Nice looking setup there! Just like a sponge, you can give it a little squeeze and release... that should allow it to soak up more water so it will stay on the bottom. An interesting read if you want to check it out; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marimo
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Thank you, it's been set up for a few weeks now. When I get home from work, I'll see if it will stay sunk. That is kind of weird if it does move around the tank. I would like to get more. They are really cool.
 
Marimo balls are pretty cool. I have a bunch. They don't actually move on their own. It's the water current that moves them around, even if it's minimal. The only maintenance that you need to perform is to turn it every now and then, if it's staying in the same place for awhile. If a portion doesn't get light for a long time, it will turn brown.


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Okay, this may sound like a dumb question, but I want to eventually get snails, will they eat the balls? And do the balls reproduce?
 
Snails won't eat it and yes they "reproduce" just by growing but it takes many years. Look up the growth rate under your specific lighting but all the measurements were in mm when I remember looking it up. And from my understanding new ones start as growths on the big one, not sure on that though

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Most common aquarium fish/snails won't go after the balls as food like they may other forms of algae. I couldn't say for sure that there's no snail that would, but it's not likely you'd end up with one that would in your tank.

To spawn more balls yourself, you can cut a small chunk out of one, and it will begin growing into a new ball. The missing chunk on the main ball will eventually fill in as well, just make sure to keep turning them both periodically to ensure even growth on all sides and no brown spots. Also keep in mind Marimo balls are extremely slow growing, so it may be worth it to you to just purchase a second ball instead, depending on your particular aquascaping goal.
 
oo7genie said:
Most common aquarium fish/snails won't go after the balls as food like they may other forms of algae. I couldn't say for sure that there's no snail that would, but it's not likely you'd end up with one that would in your tank.

To spawn more balls yourself, you can cut a small chunk out of one, and it will begin growing into a new ball. The missing chunk on the main ball will eventually fill in as well, just make sure to keep turning them both periodically to ensure even growth on all sides and no brown spots. Also keep in mind Marimo balls are extremely slow growing, so it may be worth it to you to just purchase a second ball instead, depending on your particular aquascaping goal.
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Couldn't have said it better myself....this is exactly what you need to know. The only 2 things I'll add are:

1) marimo balls are actually an algae and not a moss.

2) snails will graze on them but not destroy them. They eat the biofilm off them, as well as any food that might get caught in them. Shrimp do this also.


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Thanks for the great info. I think I would be better off buying more, I might not live long enough to see one sprout an offspring ... lol I've seen some really neat snails. My tank hasn't got any algae yet. Just the brown diatoms on a few things. I don't think snails would want to eat that. Has anyone had any problems with snails eating the plants?
 
Okay, got the Marimo ball out from under the driftwood. It stayed on bottom. And yes, the flow does move it around. Funny to watch, but I have black sand. You can see it on it. Not bad tho. I still love it.
 
Just buy more when you find them on sale....that's what I do. There's actually a lfs near me that always sells them for $1.50. They're about the size of a golfball. I always walk out of there with 2 haha.

And they don't sprout off any newbs. You have to break pieces off.


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