# Live Moss Slurry going to expire! Any options?



## 55105 (Jan 27, 2015)

Just got my moss slurry from NEHERP.

I wasn’t aware that I have to use it almost immediately! The package says it was mixed on 8-4 and must be used within 8 days.

I'm working on my first custom background and still have at least 2 or 3 more days left of cure time.

Is there any hope or should I just try to use it somewhere else?


----------



## Mavpa (Jan 5, 2015)

port_plz said:


> Just got my moss slurry from NEHERP.
> 
> I wasn’t aware that I have to use it almost immediately! The package says it was mixed on 8-4 and must be used within 8 days.
> 
> ...


I'm sure it's a coincidence, but the moss I put in right away didn't do much... I had some leftover and had an idea for it around the 2 week mark, and it held on. Work case, you put it on when it's cured and it dies and falls off and you put more on.


----------



## thane (Sep 11, 2014)

You will have to keep it constantly moist once you take it out of the bag, so I would consider how that would affect your background's ability to cure.

I would say if you want to kind of park it somewhere else in the meantime, you could put it in another tank, jar, or maybe even a clear plastic container (somewhere you'll be able to keep it humid and moist without drying out). Lay down a thin layer of sphagnum, then put the slurry over that, then just keep it bright and moist. You should be able to keep the moss alive indefinitely that way. 

I had a bunch of extra fern moss (just the regular "NE Herp moss," not the slurry, which I ended up putting in a plain jar terrarium. Got a big glass jar at Wal-Mart (looked a bunch of places, but they had the biggest, cheapest glass jars), put in some drainage, then sphagnum, then the moss. I keep some water in the bottom of the jar and have a bright light over it and it's done just fine.

I think your best success would be putting it on some sort of surface, like a layer of sphagnum, or a piece of tree fern panel or cork bark. That's going to make transferring it back onto your background difficult though. With sphagnum you could just kind of moosh them both onto the wall together.

Another option would be to just put it on a flat surface by itself, like inside of a container, but without something under it. The risk you might run there is without something below for drainage, if it's sitting in stagnant water too long it could rot.

A 3rd option would be to put it onto something like plastic screen, on top of some sphagnum or drainage layer below, keep it moist and happy, then when your background is done, take the screen with the moss and stick the whole thing onto your background. If you can get the moss to grow in eventually, you shouldn't see the screen. That might take a while though, and if the moss doesn't grow in nice, you'd have the screen exposed. So if you try that you may want to not adhere the screen to the background permanently, like maybe stick it on with toothpicks or something.

Those are just some ideas. The way I did mine personally was I put them on top of the frog hides (made out of cork bark stump cut in half, but you could use the coconut shell hides too), and smeared the paste on the top of those. It's grown in slowly, but surely. I have a cork bark background and put bits all over that too, which took a while to grow also.

Sorry for the long-winded response, but just throwing ideas out there, hoping one of these works for you.

I'd say no matter which one you go with, the secret to keeping the moss alive is keep it constantly moist (I hand mist mine twice a day) and bright light. If it's too far away from the lights, or in shade, it will die.

Good luck,
Thane


----------



## thane (Sep 11, 2014)

I would add if you put it on something like a piece of cork in the interim, and you have to scrape it off to put it back on your wall, that's not going to kill the moss, it just might be a little messy. The moss slurry itself is just a bunch of chopped up moss, so as long you can keep it alive, you should be able to scrape it off one surface and "transplant it" onto the other.


----------



## 55105 (Jan 27, 2015)

Thanks for the advice!

I think I might just use this in my other vivariums (they need some attention anyway) and order a new batch since I'm going to need some plants anyway.


----------



## thane (Sep 11, 2014)

Sounds good. If you're looking to order from NEHerp, I bought 2 of theirs - the NE Herp moss (which is also called delicate fern moss) and the slurry. I'd say each has its advantages and disadvantages. The fern moss is basically ready to go, and can just put it on something and keep it moist with high light and it should do fine. I found mine got pretty out of control though, and I had packed it in too densely so didn't see the nice "fern shape," so it got kind of leggy/stringy. The slurry came in with a little more variety, and lower growing in general, but took a lot longer. I'd say if you got the fern moss, space it out more, just a little bit hear and there, don't try and cram in the maximum amount.

That's just my 2 cents. Good luck with your build.


----------



## JPP (Mar 25, 2015)

Like Thane, I've used both the NEHerp Moss and slurry. My results were also similar to what he states as well. The fern moss grew "tall" for me. The slurry has a few things growing from it for me, but the dominant moss appears to be live sphagnum perhaps. It took a few months to start growing too.

Port_plz: it says in the slurry product description on NEHerp's website that it should be "used within a day or two of receipt for best results." There is also a link to the slurry instructions that states "For best results, plant our moss slurry within 2-3 days of arriving to you."


----------



## 55105 (Jan 27, 2015)

JPP said:


> Port_plz: it says in the slurry product description on NEHerp's website that it should be "used within a day or two of receipt for best results." There is also a link to the slurry instructions that states "For best results, plant our moss slurry within 2-3 days of arriving to you."


I ordered it on a last minute impulse while shopping for background material. It was on sale or a newsletter special... I'm not complaining or anything, just hoping I can find a way to use it.


----------



## thane (Sep 11, 2014)

If you've got some other vivs, just smearing it around in there wouldn't hurt to try. Worst case scenario it'll be dead or take an extra long time to come in.

Actually the sphagnum moss that I used to fill in cracks between pieces in my cork bark background has all come to life and I like that the best of all. It's pretty bright green and low growing (at least for now, worried it won't stay that way long-term). I'm thinking the next build I do I'm just going to do the sphagnum and if I do anything else, it'll just be a little bit here and there.

If you look at this picture you can see all 3.










There's sphagnum at the top right corner, growing along the glass. The NE Herp/Fern moss is on the far left of the wall, then on the cork stump hide and driftwood piece at bottom left. The slurry mix is on the cork stump hide at bottom right. Sorry I don't have a more close-up view of the slurry, but you can see closeups of the others on my build log here if you feel like it.


----------



## 55105 (Jan 27, 2015)

Wow! That's a beautiful build! 

Just started trimming only to find that the pond foam hasn’t cured. Now my fingers are covered in sticky black gloop...

I'll definitely be putting it in my other vivariums.


----------



## Darrell S (Jan 9, 2011)

I have done as someone else suggested with the glass jar and a layer of sphagnum moss. I had a west facing window with frosted glass in the bathroom and it worked great to kick start the moss. It spread through the dead sphagnum moss real nice.


----------

