# spagnum moss coming to life??



## dom (Sep 23, 2007)

does spagnum moss come to life???


i have some in my viv that is starting to have green spots on it. it it located kinda near some pillow moss. maybe some spores got on it??


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## SusannahJoy (Jul 3, 2006)

are you referring to long fiber sphagnum? if you are, yes, it definetly does. one of the nicer things about it, i think!  just give it plenty of light and keep it moist, it'll get nice and green


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## syble (Mar 20, 2007)

Long Fibered Sphagnum (LFS) dose come back, takes some time. But it can also get covered in algee which gives it a lively green look but no actual growing ability. or as you mentioned another area moss could have spored on it. With out pictures hard to tell.
Sib


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## Otis (Apr 16, 2006)

yep, mine did that too, it's pretty neat. i think a lot of other mosses do that as well.


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## dom (Sep 23, 2007)

umm im not sure if its long hair.. probibly long and strandy. got it form the pet store. its pretty sweet tho. my tank is 99% humid 24/7 so yeah alot of fungus and weird shit sprout up its really nice


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## elmoisfive (Dec 31, 2004)

Here is what New Zealand long fiber sphagnum moss looks like as it is 'coming back'

New growth coming from sphagnum










More advanced moss growth with time.










Bill


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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

You'll find sphagnum moss in two products... milled and long fiber. Long fiber is literally just the moss tried out in the sun, milled is it chopped up finely, usually to be mixed into substrates.

If you only see a green layer spread over the moss, and no actual growth like Bill's pics show, you've got algae growing on it.

The last bag of this stuff I got from black jungle, all of it has been coming back to life when I start using it :shock: I've had mild to no success before, but it's taking over the ponds in my frog tanks... and my CPs... and even taking over some the of the plantlets I rooted it in :shock:


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## dom (Sep 23, 2007)

right now itsonly like a 2 or 3 spots that have a little green coming to them so i dont realyl know if its going to pop up like bills. if in time when i does i will know. thanx guys!


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## hopalong (Sep 19, 2005)

What if it's kinda turquoise/blue? Is that just algae? Will long fiber sphagnum moss that has algae on it ever start growing?

:?


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## slaytonp (Nov 14, 2004)

The turquoise blue is probably just algae, but this doesn't seem to inhibit any growth from the moss itself if it is going to grow. I think a lot may depend upon the source and whether the producers (or whatever you call them) just dry it first or further attempt to sterilize it for export. I've been using it for various plant purposes, especially to start seedlings, for well over 50 years now, and it seems to me that it always used to "come to life" years ago, but less so, in recent years. Perhaps there is also some difference between the New Zealand and Canadian sphagnum sources. The most recent bulk shipment I got about three or more years ago from a New Zealand source rarely begins to grow on its own, and then mostly rather sparsely over cork bark, and not in the substrate I almost always mix some into. Alive or not, it's still a most valuable asset.


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## ICS523 (Mar 10, 2012)

i took some sort of live stuff from a friends summer home, stuff produces all sorts of groups.


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