# Moss List



## TysonUnderwood (Jul 13, 2009)

I went back and forth on posting this as there are so many pages on moss already, but after reading through a ton of pages I wanted to try to consolidate the information a little before making a decision.

Common Types of Moss:
Kyoto moss
-usually sold in packets of moss spores that you make a slurry with
-looks very nice once grown in, but people find it hit or miss on becoming established

Ricca fluitans (liverwort)
-tends not to grow onto wood

Java moss
-must stay wet or it will dry out and die
-can grow on land or water given the correct conditions
-needs high humidity and correct lighting to thrive on land
-tends to look a little stringy in its terrestrial growth

Weeping moss
-similar growing conditions to Java moss
-bushier than Java moss
-doesn't root to structures, just hangs

Spanish moss
-high concentration of parasites
-high concentration of pesticides due to killing the parasites
-dead strands have the potential to entangle and cut frogs due to its "skeleton"

Sphagnum moss
-can regrow from dried moss
-often used as a medium to grow other mosses out of due to its ability to retain water

Peat
-this is decayed sphagnum moss
-high in nutrients
-great for water retention
-most likely will not sprout new moss as it has decomposed

Osmunda blocks
-both moss and ferns have been known to sprout out of these

Moss wet pack
-from neherpetoculture
-processed with co2 to kill pests

Tropical moss mix
-from dartfrogdepot
-60% sphagnum 40% south american tropic mosses
-includes seeds from peperomias, gesneriads, begonias, and ferns (has anyone had success with these extras?)

"Found" moss
-comes from pretty much anywhere people can find it
-some converts to grow in terrariums well, others just melt away
-critters can ofter be introduced through it
-many suggest processing first in bleach to kill any critters or diseases

In general, tropical mosses work much better than temperate mosses, but they are certainly not the only ones that work.


To process moss, a 10-15% bleach solution works well for 2 min. Afterwards the moss should be rinsed for 5 to 10 min in clean water.


Many people use a slurry method to introduce moss to their tanks. This method basically involves blending moss with a medium and spreading it on surfaces where moss is desired. Common mediums used are buttermilk, beer, and yogurt (all of which start to smell pretty bad.) It has been suggested that a slurry of clay would be much more beneficial to the spores as well as being more natural and lacking the smell of other methods. (Couldn't find much for experiments on this though.)



I think that is about it... If I missed something or am way off somewhere please correct me.
Thanks


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## MeiKVR6 (Sep 16, 2008)

Tyson,

We do 3 mins in 15% bleach solution... Care sheet is here: New England Herpetoculture - Downloads

I'm not sure how other mosses would do - but our tropical stuff & riccia does fine for 3 mins. We used to do Co2 in small batches - but bleach has been the most cost effective recently in 20 gallon tubs. 

Useful thread for sure. We usually just call our stuff 'tropical sheet moss' - but 'moss wetpacks' works fine. 

Basically anything that doesn't need a dormant period and isn't infested with critters is great for a viv in my opinion.  Processing really helps. 'Slurry' and moss mixes are mostly used for building beautiful backgrounds and on logs & things. Some moss mix + a drip wall is a nice finished look for sure.


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## MeiKVR6 (Sep 16, 2008)

Sorry for the double post!

Spanish moss... We've used it in the past. I think the dried stuff is really the potential killer (sold @ most pet stores). Using *live* spanish moss that HAS NOT BEEN DRIED isn't a large risk, in my opinion. 

Although if it's allowed to dry out in a vivarium - I can completely understand the risk of it entangling a frog!  It's a 'high maintenance' type of thing that I don't suggest using without a misting system. If you DO use it - use it sparingly.


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## harrywitmore (Feb 9, 2004)

Spanish Moss is not a moss. It is in fact a Tillandsia and needs high humidity, bright light and air movement to survive. The stuff you get in craft stores is long dead and should never be put in vivs.


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## Rick (Apr 10, 2009)

What are osmunda blocks and where can i get some?


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## brooklyndartfrogs (Nov 19, 2005)

Osmunda is a fern and what they used to sell were the roots of the plant in chunks basically to the orchid trade but over-harvesting has led to it's disappearance in the hobby.
Andy


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## brooklyndartfrogs (Nov 19, 2005)

And also in the right conditions peat bricks or panels sprout crazy moss!
Andy


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## Spud (Jan 9, 2009)

Yesterday I went to the local aquarium store looking for some java moss and came across a “moss ball”. I talked to the employee about the ability of the moss to live terrestrially in a wet and humid environment and he didn’t know of it ever being used like that. He said they do sometimes break up the ball and attach some pieces to driftwood. It actually looked like it was spreading pretty nicely on the log he showed me. After doing some research once I got home, it seems that this is actually a species of algae. 

Japanese moss balls, Cladophora aegagropila, with pictures

Has anyone had any experience using “moss balls?” I plan on trying to break up the ball and use in/ around my water feature. 

-John


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## Eric Walker (Aug 22, 2009)

I have had the tropical moss mix up and going for about 4 weeks now 
and have about 7 unidentified sprouts about 3" tall with two leafs at the top , and another 6 or so that are only about a half on an inch.

NOTE- i only used 1/2 of a small bag of the moss mix in a 30 gal. in smaller patches.


I am really likeing the way this stuff is starting to look, but it does take a while to grow in.


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## ghettopieninja (Jul 29, 2008)

Spud said:


> Has anyone had any experience using “moss balls?” I plan on trying to break up the ball and use in/ around my water feature.
> 
> -John


This is not a moss but an algae that grows in a ball shape and thus will not survive in an emersed/terrestrial environment. sorry! They are very cool though, you can also pull them apart and carpet the bottom of an aquarium with it.

I usually use a mix of several mosses, I really like to use christmas moss, taiwan moss, and weeping moss. All of these have a much better growing patter than java and will spread through out a tank fairly quickly. To find out more about some awesome mosses I really like this site: List of Aquatic Moss. How to grow Aquatic Moss. Info on Java Moss, Christmas Moss, Taiwan Moss, Peacock Moss, Stringy Moss 

I also really like many of the 'tropical sheet mosses' that you can purchase. I plan on trying epiweb moss mixture in my next project but I am waiting to see other peoples success with it.


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