Marimo Balls

[bettagurl]

Any info on them?
I've been wanting some, but the cheapest I have seen is $10 :hypnotized:

 

[mellowvision]

yup. they're getting pricey as they get popular. I've seen them in several shops, in MA up to 12 dollars and in NY up to 19!

it's algae. pretty algae, but algae.

 

[jtburf]

Luck a cheap tiny one like the size of a softball is like 25 here and my lfs has one super huge one they are tryin to sell for 100 dollars! Shrimp just love emm. and they collect huge amounts of debris.

 

[mellowvision]

softball size is not tiny. that is a large ball. most typical balls are smaller than that, for around 8-12 bucks.

 

[jtburf]

well there Softball sized ones are really low quality and lumpy.

 

[mellowvision]

if you don't rotate them every day, they get lumpy.

they are formed in nature in fast rolling streams... that's why they're round.

 

[bettagurl]

lol, mellow....They are pretty :grinyes:

I haven't seen any for a while at my LFS's, is there anybody here that sells them?

 

[jtburf]

okay THEY ARE NOTT FOUND IN STREAMS the only place in nature that they are found is lake in Japan, northern Europe(lakes) and Iowa(lakes). in fast moving streams they break up and cannot form a ball shape.

 

[mellowvision]

interesting. that contradicts everything I've read from multiple sources. but I guess you're the expert.

 

[jtburf]

no i'm not the expert you smart *** I'm just sayin it is nearly imposible for them to form in swift streams, and they get a round shape in naure from risiing and falling back down because of the oxygen it poduces in the center.

But i guese both of us can have different opinions.