# Where can I buy java moss?



## Treyg (Feb 13, 2012)

Can't seem to find a place to buy it all I'm finding is for underwater aquariums.


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## winstonamc (Mar 19, 2007)

aquabid.com or plantedtank.net's swap n' shop


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## GRIMM (Jan 18, 2010)

Treyg said:


> Can't seem to find a place to buy it all I'm finding is for underwater aquariums.


Java moss IS for underwater aquariums, and is sold at almost every aquarium shop. Just make sure to keep it well watered for the first 2-3 weeks while it acclimates to being slightly drier above the surface.


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## Bokfan1 (Oct 17, 2010)

ebay is also a good place.


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## winstonamc (Mar 19, 2007)

you can also prep it in a totally sealed container and grow it emersed wt 100% humidity.

Also, I was super surprised to find that plantedtank has RAOK (Random Act of Kindness) posts in the swap n' shop where people give stuff away for shipping


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## therizman2 (Jul 20, 2008)

Sent you a PM, I have lots available.


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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

The primary places that sell any of the semi-aquatic mosses in good amounts will be for aquariums - in a medium to high tech tank this stuff grows like CRAZY. I usually seed a 2.5g with some and toss in some fertilizer... can get a nearly full tank of it with regular fertilization in 6 months or a little less.

It doesn't really need any special work to get it to grow in a tank if you put it at the edge of a pond or water feature - as long as it's wet enough, or wicking water from the water source it will go bonkers with no added help from you. If you just toss it on a substrate it can dry out and may take it's sweet time in adapting if it does at all.


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## ICS523 (Mar 10, 2012)

Java moss is sold as an aquarium plant in pretty much every pet store, (java moss is actually a type algae) if you have an aquatic area in your tank set the java in there and it will start growing out of the water in a few weeks


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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

Java moss is NOT an algae - I think you're thinking Marimo balls which are a type of Cladophora algae (fun when it grows in a ball, hell if it's growing any other way). Java moss, and most of the other semi-aquatic mosses, are true mosses. Two other "moss look alikes" you come across may be liverworts (Riccia and Pellia respectively) and Subwassertang (looks like a liverwort but is actually a mutated fern gametophyte that never matures). 

With the exception of a few truly aquatic mosses, most of the above will eventually grow out of the water onto wet land if given the chance. The liverworts and Subwassertang may be a little more needy about light (it may die in lower light, the mosses just grow veeeeeeery slooooowly) and less forgiving about drying out, but otherwise have been used interchangeably with the mosses both above and below the water line.


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## B-NICE (Jul 15, 2011)

petco............


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## Shinosuke (Aug 10, 2011)

KeroKero said:


> Cladophora algae (fun when it grows in a ball, hell if it's growing any other way)


This is the first I've heard anyone mention this! I have those marimo moss balls that I love but they always grow huge mats of floating green gunk in my tanks! Is there any way to turn their growth pattern into balls instead of ugly green mats?


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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

Nope, that's actually an issue that many people have with the algae balls. A couple things could be going on... I've see java moss rolled into a ball and sold as a version of this (which doesn't last), and sometimes that brings in some extra algae, or maybe the algae is spreading out but since you don't have the conditions the ball was created in in the first place it's just seeding surfaces, or it was harboring other algaes and what not.


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## Shinosuke (Aug 10, 2011)

I'm pretty familiar with planted tanks and it looks exactly the same color / consistency as the marimo balls. There's some java moss in that tank, though, clinging desperately to some driftwood. 
Just a couple days ago I pulled a bunch of that marimo moss out, it easily filled a medium sized tupperware container. Is there anything you can do with that stuff? I've got it sitting by the tank still.


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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

It's invasive enough I'd just toss it. I've had similar type of algae smother mosses in a tank, on top of probably out competing it for nutrients.


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## ICS523 (Mar 10, 2012)

i got my java from a ball (they didnt have anything else), luckily it pulled through and now its healthy.


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