How Do You attach Moss Balls to Wood?

[garfieldnfish]

I am trying to attach my moss ball pieces to either some driftwood, slate rock or a breeding cave (have not decided which) I have about 3 large moss balls that have over time devided into many smaller pieces. What is the best way to attach them to either of the above? I saw some driftwood with moss balls on AB and it looked really nice. Any hints?

I have nylon threat, aquarium sealant, and putty like glue (I have used it in the taks before it's for use).

 

[Lornek8]

I don't know if its true for all moss balls, but the one that I have is hollow on the inside. You could cut your moss ball open & tie it down to the driftwood. I don't know if it'll stick long-term or if you'll have to re-tie it though.

 

[garfieldnfish]

They are no longer 3 balls but about 50 small pieces. I could check to see if those are hollow inside but I rather doubt it.

 

[Lornek8]

They are no longer 3 balls but about 50 small pieces. I could check to see if those are hollow inside but I rather doubt it.

Mine started out as a ball about 2" in diameter but was broken open by the activity of a few fish. As pieces broke off they formed smaller balls but weren't hollow but had some dimensionality to them due to the thickness of the moss. If this were the case for yours. I might consider trying the moss balls down using a mesh or hairnet type material. As the mossballs grow they'll grow around/through the mesh. The same technique is used for growing moss/riccia/pellia on rocks & wood.

 

[garfieldnfish]

I have used a hairnet once before a long time ago. A male BN got caught in it. I had to cut him out of the net, tough for him and me. I told myself I would never use a hairnet again. But this decoration will either go in my cory tank or with my snails so that might be a good idea. I will let you know how that works out.

 

[Kingtiger]

Moss balls your guys referring to is it Marimo Balls?

Cheers

 

[garfieldnfish]

Yup, those would be the ones.

 

[macvsog23]

They are not meant to stay in one place they move about

 

[garfieldnfish]

This is what I am trying to do
http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?driftwood&1255967404

I have just realized that I have a lot more of the moss ball pieces then I thought. Some must have been growing in the rear of my 46 gal for some time. A lot of the small pieces have actually formed balls again, only about 3/4" in diameter but definitely balls again. I will leave the best ones alone to grow larger but that still leaves me with a ton of odds and ends pieces, not yet balls.

 

[scatz]

i would guess that they have been cut open and tied on with thread/ fine fishing line

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
"Mossy" wood in the link looks really good, Even though they are called "moss" balls, they are really a green algae (Cladophora sp.). They don't tend to stay attached very well, unless there is very little current, shrimps love them. I've got some growing on some of my wood, but it never forms a very good carpet, it also collects a lot of sediment so I give it good swirl around in a bucket of tank water every couple of weeks

I got fed up with trying to keep Riccia etc attached, but I found the moss they sell as "Christmas" moss (probably Taxiphyllum montagnei) attaches to everything really strongly (including the aquarium glass) and real Java moss (Taxiphyllum barbieri) isn't far behind.

I've got another moss, which forms the most amazing lush green cushions, like moss balls but on a much bigger scale, which I think is Peacock moss (another unnamed Taxiphyllum sp.), and that also grows on wood, although its not quite as good at staying attached.

Tropica says Xmas moss doesn't grow very well, but that hasn't been my finding and I've given away loads of it (mainly to PP members).

Peacock moss at the top, Xmas moss below

Link here to a good mosses resource:
<http://www.aquamoss.net/Introduction.htm>

cheers Darrel

 

[garfieldnfish]

I have decided to use some aquarium sealant and a few pieces and glued them to the top of a clay breeding cave to see what happens. I will let the other pieces grow into larger moss balls. They seem to be doing pretty well since I stopped paying any attention to them and they had disappeared behind the Valinsneria forrest.

I have ordered the following mosses: Star Moss, Weeping Moss, Plagiomnium Affine and Fissidens Splachnobryoides. These are for a moss wall as backdrop in a 10 gal. But I have not decided which will go on the wall. I want to see first what they look like when I get them in the mail.

Would any of those plants make a good attachment for driftwood? I have a really nice new piece of Eucalyptus root that makes a perfect tent for my corys and it needs some plant life on it. I was hoping for the moss balls, but maybe some of these other mosses would do better. What do you think?

 

[garfieldnfish]

Update. Aquarium sealant does not work too well. I guess that is because the moss balls have to be kept moist and that keeps the sealant from setting properly. Most pieces stayed on when I put the cave in the water but just barely. I decided to wrap some fishing line arond it a few times to keep the moss balls in place, so far that has worked. Let see what my fish can damage over night.
I love the moss website. I will do the moss wall they way they explain it there. And I added Christmas moss to my shopping list.

 

[Lornek8]

I have decided to use some aquarium sealant and a few pieces and glued them to the top of a clay breeding cave to see what happens. I will let the other pieces grow into larger moss balls. They seem to be doing pretty well since I stopped paying any attention to them and they had disappeared behind the Valinsneria forrest.

I have ordered the following mosses: Star Moss, Weeping Moss, Plagiomnium Affine and Fissidens Splachnobryoides. These are for a moss wall as backdrop in a 10 gal. But I have not decided which will go on the wall. I want to see first what they look like when I get them in the mail.

Would any of those plants make a good attachment for driftwood? I have a really nice new piece of Eucalyptus root that makes a perfect tent for my corys and it needs some plant life on it. I was hoping for the moss balls, but maybe some of these other mosses would do better. What do you think?

I've got a good idea who you've gotten those moss from, been moss shopping myself lately. From my understanding through researching on the web, Star Moss & the Fssidens splach are terrestrial species that will ive for a short time but eventually waste away & die when fully submerged. I've been interested in the weeping moss but as the only suppliers are foreign and a phyto cert is supossed to be required for "legal" import I've resisted purchasing as phytos usually cost quite a bit.

I've had pretty good luck with the Taxiphyllum species as they seem to do better in my warmer water. Even with a fan blowing on the tank I can barely keep it below 80F. Pieces of Christmas (supossedly) moss I purchased showed almost no growth while the Flame, Peacock, Java & Taiwan moss are showing good growth. A piece of f.fontanus is showing growth albight very slow compared to the others.

 

[Lornek8]

Sorry I forgot to answer your question. The weeping moss should work well on the driftwood. As would most of the aquatic mosses. A couple of my favorites at the moment are Peacock Moss & Flame Moss, probably because they are also growing well for me.

 

[garfieldnfish]

Lornek8, when I get the plants I will see how they look and then test what you think could be terrestial plants. I will put them at the top of the wall to see if they survive better at that level with some of it growing below and some above the water line. The others will go at the bottom of the wall. I will also do a little more reading as it will be at least a week before I get them if not longer. The seller has not even answered by emails yet.
I will try the weeping moss on the driftwood. And use the Christmas moss for the bottom part of the wall. I also have tons of java moss so if the top layer of the wall turns out to be terrestial and dies off, I can always fill it up with java moss. But I wanted to try something new.
Tomorrow it's off to Hobby Lobby and Lowe's to find suitable mesh. I love new projects. And to think 6 years ago I put 2 goldfish in a 2.5 gal. I still have Nemo and Rocky but they are now in a 29 gal with a rubberlip.

 

[dw1305]

Attaching moss

Hi all,
Plagionmium affine is definitely terrestrial as well, plenty of it grows on very shaded dead wood etc in all the woods here. It should have quite big "leaves", almost like a small fern, and would look great just out of the water (I've grown it in a terrarium, it likes lots of humidity).
<http://www.bioimages.org.uk/html/p5/p53051.php>.

It doesn't work with the algal "moss balls" the "stems" are too fine, but with the other mosses you can staple on with ordinary steel staples. By the time they've gone rusty they will be well hidden. I also use cable ties to fasten them (and java ferns) on to bamboo canes, thin branches etc.

cheers Darrel

 

[garfieldnfish]

The moss is staying on and it looks good. You can barely see the fishing line. The plecos left it alone so far but it is covered in baby MTSs. I guess because the food tends to get caught in the moss fibers. Main reason shrimp love the moss balls, too.

Max, I totally understand what you are going through. I see something that interests me I do a little checking and before you know it, it found it's way into one of my tanks.