# aquatic moss light requirements



## the_deeb (Apr 21, 2008)

Riccia looks like it's starting to establish in the brightly lit parts of my paludarium, but I'm looking for a moss to add some coverage to the dimmer, shadier areas. I'm hoping to try some emersed christmas moss or peacock moss. Would those work in dimmer conditions or do they need as much light as riccia?


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## Okapi (Oct 12, 2007)

I dont have experience with either of those, but ive had java moss grow in every possible lighting condition from just inches under a bright light to the dark inside of a canister filter.


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## AaronAcker (Aug 15, 2007)

I use both Riccia and Christmas Tree moss in most of my vivs, and from my experience the Christmas tree moss doesn't require as much light as the riccia, and seems to do well as long as it stays wet. It hasn't done amazing in a few areas, but wherever the lights are too low you can always use java or leaf litter.


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## Mitch (Jun 18, 2010)

In my experience:

-Riccia needs the most light
-Christmas and Peacock Moss need moderate lighting
-Java needs low/very little lighting

Hope this helps.


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## vugger#1 (Jul 20, 2009)

Mitch said:


> In my experience:
> 
> -Riccia needs the most light
> -Christmas and Peacock Moss need moderate lighting
> ...


I have all of the above and this is also what I see. Both Christmas and Peacock most do the best for those moderate places. Peacock is great for ground cover and christmas looks the best on logs or walls.


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## the_deeb (Apr 21, 2008)

Thanks for those useful responses. Does anyone have any pics of peacock moss and christmas moss growing emersed? Both of these are available to me but I've only seen their submerged forms. I'm trying to decide which one to use - I'm hoping for the one with the more compact emersed growth habit (which is why I'm avoiding java moss).

Do both attach pretty well to surfaces (like java does)? I came across a post on the interwebs suggesting that peacock moss does not.


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## the_deeb (Apr 21, 2008)

Bump. Anyone care to comment on the relative growth habits of these two species (and specifically, which one remains more compact)?


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## Lance (Sep 8, 2008)

Again it all depends on lighting. Java will try and reach for the light if lighting is low or if you have a decent amount of light it'll stay low. Java has a fast growth rate while riccia is a lot slower I found. I personally would just grab every sort of aquatic moss and experiment with it to find which you like best. I was on ebay today and they have pretty much every sort of aquatic moss you could ask for.


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## Mitch (Jun 18, 2010)

Christmas Moss will grow in the tree-like fronds while emersed but they aren't as fluffy, kinda of hard to explain but it looks just as good out of the water IMO.


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## GRIMM (Jan 18, 2010)

My java filled tanks are growing like mad, however the moss does not stretch for the light. I have a 3/4" thick, dense carpet of moss. I only use a single 48" dual tube 6500k fluorescent fixture. And its about 16" from the moss.


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