# kyoto moss spores...



## antoniorocko (Aug 1, 2008)

i have tried searching previous posts and i cant find anything directly about this. is it safe to place Kyoto moss spores into a natural vivarium with reptiles living in it? i have crested geckos (i know this is a dart frog forum but you guys really seem to know your stuff) that i will place in it hopefully this weekend and i want to grow some Kyoto moss for some ground cover, but i don't know if the spores will pose a health risk. i can probably hold off placing them in for a little while if i have to but hopefully i dont.


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## nish07 (Mar 16, 2008)

I'd personally try and grow the spores with the animals out of the tank at least until they won't stick to the animal's skin. I've seen several people use it and it looks good but I hear it needs a lot of light to get that nice green color and cover everything well.

-Nish


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## Otis (Apr 16, 2006)

I just ordered some kyoto moss and it said not to give it too much light, at least not as much as one would think for a tropical moss. I can give you the rest of the info if you want, it came with directions.


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## nish07 (Mar 16, 2008)

There's a post on here of pics where a guy left his lights on during a multi-day period and the moss grew around 2x as much and was much greener. When he went back to his 12 on and 12 off schedule, I'm not sure if it darkened/receded. It probably just needs to stay wet.

-Nish


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## antoniorocko (Aug 1, 2008)

i wanted to double check with everyone, if i plant Kyoto moss spores into my tank and place crested geckos into it about a week later, there shouldn't be any health risks? these are my two "prize" cresties and i want the tank to be as natural and beautiful as possible but not at the risk of their health.


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## psychemjr (Jan 6, 2008)

I am trying to grow some right now and in 3 weeks I have one sprout of green definately not low light or bad spores.


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## LittleDip (May 20, 2007)

I bought some off ebay and they were pretty cheap $4 a pack. I haven't tried growing them yet, what type of substrate did you use? and how often do you water the spores?


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## porkchop48 (May 16, 2006)

I have some that were "gifted" to me 
I have them in a tree frog tank and I can see a little where they are turning green and actually growing. Took them a little while though


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## devin mac (Oct 4, 2004)

This stuff is very commonly used in the bonsai hobby and i've been working with it for probably 9 or 10 years. 

the best results i've had with it, were sowing the spores over a moist substrate (i haven't played with different substrates much, and generally just use regular potting soil spread reasonably thinly, maybe an inch deep) fairly generously. one of those packets (usually people are looking at the Joshua Roth spores that comes from the bonsai hobby anyway) should only be used to dover a little more than a square foot of area, for best coverage and quick growth. 

using a humidity dome helps a LOT, since the top layer of soil will dry out very quickly and the spores won't thrive. very little light until there's a good carpet of green, and then transferring it into higher light, or light equivalent to what it will see in your tank. keep it misted frequently, only bieng careful to not make a "bog" of mud. the substrate should stay moist all the time, but not get "muddy" or "soupy", if that makes sense. it IS important to keep it reasonably dark until there's some decent growth.

I haven't tried to grow it in the tank itself, but i've had great success with this method, and it transfers easily from the growing tray to wherever you want to put it (which, for me, has always been bonsai).


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## Mywebbedtoes (Jul 2, 2007)

Thanks Devin! Could you elaborate a bit more on the "reasonably dark"? I want to try this method as what I used before did not work.


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## devin mac (Oct 4, 2004)

hmm... i would qualify "reasonably dark" as what you'd have for ambient lighting in a room with the shades closed, i guess. 

essentially, just don't put a light directly over the tray and humidity dome, and keep it in a darker corner or shelf if the room your tanks are in.

i use a setup very similar to one of these, for starting seedlings for my hyrdoponic garden, but the same thing could be used to start a couple packets of kyoto spores, since it's very good at keeping humidity up without being as much of a pain in the butt as covering a tray with saran wrap (or similar...)

http://www.wormsway.com/detail.asp?sku=MGT#

just remove the 72 plant insert that the bottom tray has inside it, and you have a nice flat shallow tray with a humidity dome for growing moss 

you can also get shorter domes, since the moss isn't going to grow high like my seedlings do.


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## Mywebbedtoes (Jul 2, 2007)

Wow, dark dark! I will get on this, I really want to get it to work.


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## postal (Aug 12, 2008)

I'm curious about kyoto moss as well.

My big question though- Is.. does the stuff need a cooling period in winter? Kyoto gets pretty chilly in winter.. 

Without a cooling period, how many yrs would the moss stay alive? 

Or is this not an issue?


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## devin mac (Oct 4, 2004)

i've actually only used it in the past on my outdoor bonsai which all get temperate periods... so i actually don't have a good answer for you. 

That said, once you get the hang of it, it's pretty easy to get a new crop going to replace anything that looks like it's on its way out.


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## LittleDip (May 20, 2007)

Thanks so much Devin!!


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