# Selaginella on driftwood



## Antman (May 12, 2017)

Can one grow spike moss to driftwood without any soil will it attached to the wood with time?


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## Antman (May 12, 2017)

And also want to know if a birds nest fern will grow to driftwood without soil if i atatch it with fishing line and spagnum moss around the roots?


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## Dane (Aug 19, 2004)

None of the Selaginellas I have used (plana, kraussiana, erythropus) would work well as an epiphyte. To the contrary, they seem fairly particular regarding soil type and placement while becoming established in a viv. Ultimately you could probably train one up a structure over time, but they need to be able to root somewhere. I would also have my doubts about the bird's nest fern, but I've never tried to grow one.


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## kimcmich (Jan 17, 2016)

Greetings,

I agree with Dane about the Selaginella - it would be hard to establish on just driftwood. A true moss or liverwort is a better choice for bare wood.

The bird's nest fern, however, should do fine with a little sphagnum (and assuming the sphagnum does not dry completely). Bird's nest ferns frequently grow as epiphytes and their growth habit actually catches leaves and debris from above - presumably to gather their own compost. That said, bird's nest ferns are fairly large-growing - I would consider them too big for all but the largest vivs.


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## Antman (May 12, 2017)

My camera is very bad but this is what my setup looks like any comments advice?please


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## Dane (Aug 19, 2004)

It looks really wet, and a little too dim for some of the plants you have. The broms at the bottom are likely to rot out quickly if left alone, and I don't know that the bird's nest fern would last much longer. I would re-position the smaller broms, as they would be much happier inset into your background where they can get better air movement, and higher intensity lighting. I might even suggest switching to a brighter fixture, or adding another bulb to whatever you have going at the moment. Is the base of the tank all water?


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## Antman (May 12, 2017)

Yes the base is all water we are not allowed to keep dart frogs in South-Africa,mist the tank before the photo was taken it dryes oit thrue the day!Will get a exo-terra light hood this weak still that cab take two globes and will move the broms higher up thanx alot.


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## Betta132 (May 12, 2012)

That moth orchid up in the top right will rot if its roots are constantly wet. The roots need to be allowed to dry out between waterings, so you might want to uncover them, as moth orchids can happily grow as epiphytes.


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## Antman (May 12, 2017)

if the broms will rot because of the high Humidity what other plants will work better then?


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## Sammie (Oct 12, 2009)

Antman said:


> if the broms will rot because of the high Humidity what other plants will work better then?


High humidity isn't the problem, it's the wet substrate. 
What type of lights are you using? Because if it is as dim as it looks you don't have too many options regarding plants. 
Sorry to say.


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## Antman (May 12, 2017)

At the momant only one daylight 65000k led light orderd a exo-terra light hood picking it up tomorow so will be able to put two day light globes in


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## Sammie (Oct 12, 2009)

Okay, how many watts?
Is it a corn cob lamp?


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## Antman (May 12, 2017)

no idea what a corn cob lamp is ill get two day light energy saving cfl lamps think the biggest ibsaw was 23 watt


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## Antman (May 12, 2017)

Got mybexo terra hiod today and best globes i could find is two 16 watt leds


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## carnzayne (Jan 3, 2017)

Antman, let's see the cage all lit up under your new exo terra hood!

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk


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