# Are moss balls good?



## BettaMiah (Sep 12, 2011)

I heard Moss balls help with controlling ammonia, is this true?


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

Moss balls should be in everyone's tanks. Not sure about the specs, but I'm pretty sure they absorb ammonia. Either way they look cool and are super hardy little things. Ebay sells them dirt cheap (I got 5 reg size ones coming to me for 99c bid winning and 5$ shipping)


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## BettaMiah (Sep 12, 2011)

I will only buy one it it absorbs ammonia. 

I have enough decor.


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## Kytkattin (May 15, 2011)

Well it is not going to get rid of all of your ammonia... You will still have to do the same number of water changes depending on your tank size. It won't change that. You would have to have quite a few to make a notable difference. 

However they are nice and fluffy and my bettas like to rest on them sometimes. They are also wonderful if you have shrimp because the shimp get to feed off little food bits that get caught.


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## BettaMiah (Sep 12, 2011)

I have a Goldfish tank, a shrimp bowl, and, of course my Betta tank.


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## Kytkattin (May 15, 2011)

Depending on the size of your goldfish, you could have moss balls in all of your tanks. They actually prefer cooler temps than our bettas need (however they do fine in 80+ water!). 

Mine pearl like crazy. I joke that they are trying to get one of my boys to build a bubble nest because he won't. They are really cool, but be careful, they are a gateway plant. Soon you will be thinking about doing the whole tank planted!


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## BettaMiah (Sep 12, 2011)

>.< He is small for now, only 3 inches. He might eat it. He has eaten all my live plants.


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## bahamut285 (Dec 10, 2010)

Mossballs are usually fairly large...it's not physically possible for them to be eaten unless you buy the micro moss balls. Regular moss balls are usually 2" in diameter.

They do a very good job controlling algae by removing nitrates from the water (and some ammonia), but as Kyt said, they shouldn't replace your water changes.


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## BettaMiah (Sep 12, 2011)

I wasn't looking for them to.

Do you think it would be okay with a Pleco? If it removed all the Algae my Pleco would starve...


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## bahamut285 (Dec 10, 2010)

I'm not sure how WELL they control algae (it depends on how much nitrate/light) but I would personally feed my pleco algae wafers instead of relying on it to scavenge, haha.


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## BettaMiah (Sep 12, 2011)

I do Feed him Algae Aafers, and Romaine Lettuce and Spinach, as well as Zucchini. But he needs Algae also.


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## bahamut285 (Dec 10, 2010)

Ahh okay. Well, don't get 1000 moss balls then to take up the competition for nutrients. Again, depending on the size of the tank, amount of nitrate and light...

For example, 1 moss ball is not enough for a 5 gallon. I still got algae growing. However I have TWO now, and I haven't seen algae in a while, and my nitrate levels are fairly low now. HOWEVER, in my goldfish tank, I have to scrub the walls very frequently, even with live plants and two moss balls in them.


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## Dozzem (Jul 29, 2011)

Laki said:


> Moss balls should be in everyone's tanks. Not sure about the specs, but I'm pretty sure they absorb ammonia. Either way they look cool and are super hardy little things. Ebay sells them dirt cheap (I got 5 reg size ones coming to me for 99c bid winning and 5$ shipping)


Really?! i saw them at pet store for 10$ a peace! I would LOVE a link!! (would it be good for a shrimp tank?)


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

I don't think I can post links... ? But get onto ebay and search marimo moss balls. The seller is in Malaysia and has free shipping on a lot of items. Their user name is AquaMagic but you can find other sellers too. (*I apologize if I went against any link-info posting rules)


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## Princess Penny (Aug 26, 2011)

I haven't seen any problems with posting links, I've done it a ton and no one has said anything to me >.>

I am gonna have to check out eBay for moss balls, mine needs some friends!


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## ollief9 (Mar 16, 2011)

My pleco doesnt really eat plants anymore. He is 8 years old and 12 inches long, so I think he prefers bigger foods like cucumber.


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## ninjaofthe9seas (Jul 6, 2011)

My snail eats all the algae off the sides of my tank. right now i have some sort of greenish/greyish/blackish algaeish stuff growing on my Amazon Swords though... :/ Idk what it is. But either way the mossballs are cute. :3


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## Dozzem (Jul 29, 2011)

Cool, I wild do look into the ebay! Thanks


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## ninjaofthe9seas (Jul 6, 2011)

Got mine on ebay from someone in Cali. Came kinda quickly and in the regular mail cause it was in a smaller box. Havent had problems with it at all. :3


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## Draug Isilme (Aug 7, 2011)

bahamut285 said:


> For example, 1 moss ball is not enough for a 5 gallon. I still got algae growing. However I have TWO now, and I haven't seen algae in a while, and my nitrate levels are fairly low now. HOWEVER, in my goldfish tank, I have to scrub the walls very frequently, even with live plants and two moss balls in them.


Ah, really? I've only got one moss ball and I just got a new 5g... I just might go out and buy another one, now xD


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## Kytkattin (May 15, 2011)

I have 3 in my 5 gallon. I did have an algae problem at first. It just depends on how much light your tank is getting. My tank went from being in a fairly dim room to right in front of a window. The plants couldn't keep up. But now things are growing nicely. And the Marimos must love it because they pearl all day!


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## Draug Isilme (Aug 7, 2011)

Oh lord, don't tempt me, I just might push for three instead of two xD
I've never had an algae problem, but the only tank I've had before now is a 1.5g. The only light source, really, is from the two 4 watt night lights hanging in the shelves. I suppose they're not really strong enough to support plant life (already tried xD) and I changed the water frequently enough to where algae never really had a chance to bloom.. The moss ball, I got 'cause I loved the idea and figured it would help with the ammonia a smidge and on the off-chance algae started to show up. Since it's now sitting in a 5g, though... I am somewhat worried algae'll start popping up- the bulb that came with the tank is 5,000k. Dunno if that'll help random algae sprout up or not as I'm not experienced in a situation like that just yet >.>;


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## Kytkattin (May 15, 2011)

Want to be tempted more? Here is a picture of my tank with the three of them near the front. 3 is better because it provides a good balance. If I had room I would have 5...


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## Draug Isilme (Aug 7, 2011)

;__; That's mean...... >.< Now I'm gonna have to save up money and buy two more one at a time >.< Hopefully I'll be able to find a good deal online, but at the same time, I've already been wearing my patience ragged so I might opt for 'instant gratification' and go to my pet store to buy one xD
Also, I love the tank along with your decorations ^.^ It's very nice, and definitely appealing to the eye with it's natural look! Is that java moss, as well? I'm a plant noob, so that's why I'm double checking >.>;;; If so, I've thought about that, too, but my pet store doesn't sell any.. then again, there's always the internet.... Also, also! Your bettas are very lovely ^.^


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## Kytkattin (May 15, 2011)

Haha. Well if it helps, I bought one, and then they went on sale at Petsmart so I bought 2 more for cheaper than normal. 
Thank you, I put a lot of work into this tank. It is my first attempt with plants, so I feel lucky things have gone as smoothly as they have. I am not sure what it is, but I think it is Christmas moss. It was sold at Petco as Aqua Turf. 
Well, I can only have 2. Might as well make them as pretty as possible!


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## Draug Isilme (Aug 7, 2011)

Heh, hopefully Petsmart will have theirs on sale again. I bought mine for $6 and they usually sell them for $8. Dunno when they're gonna have another sell though...
No prob ^.^ I hope everything goes well with your plants! I bought some anacharis, and I believe it was the lighting that messed me up.. It started to melt and... yeah... very disappointing -.-
Christmas moss? xD Sounds awkwardly interesting! Looks great, though, and I'm sure you'll do great with taking care of your plants ^.^


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## Princess Penny (Aug 26, 2011)

If you're going to get more than one, check out eBay! here is a link to some for $3, plus $2 shipping but each additional one is .75c more for shipping. I am thinking about getting two which would come to $8.75, which is less than what my LFS sells them for at $8.99 a piece!


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

My PetSmarts moss balls are covered with a fine gross fluffy slime (oxymoron I know) but they look SO gross. I would never buy one there again. God knows what the tanks' fish might have.


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## Draug Isilme (Aug 7, 2011)

o.o;; Well, Laki, maybe you can give us the name of the person who sold the jank ones to you so newbs like me can avoid that if its decided to buy from E-bay >.>;;; That'll be one less person down... And if anyone can, how about providing a name or more from the site that've had no problems at all whatsoever with their moss ball? I know these people won't be selling all the time, but I figured it would kind of help on the off-chance they are er somethin.. I dunno -.-


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## Princess Penny (Aug 26, 2011)

I'm confused what you mean, Laki said that those moss balls were ones at Petsmart. As far as deciding who to buy from on eBay, just look at the Seller's feedback. You can see what other people have bought and what they say about the item. The one I posted has nothing but positive feedback about their moss balls.


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## Draug Isilme (Aug 7, 2011)

Oh, my bad xD i was in a hurry and read it fast... Kinda missed some things >.>;;; I usually read reviews and such, but I also like to directly talk to the person when inquiring about experiences with certain things if possible, which is why I brought it up


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

Re-read my post then  I said the ones in PetSmart now are all covered in stuff. Not mine. I got it when it was new. The ebay sellers have comments on their channels, and if you feel like it, email them or call them directly. I have bought some off ebay seller http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Marimo-Moss-...542?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cbbeb76de Aquaticmagic in Malaysia. This link is for a current bid. They sell them really cheap and ship within 3 days. Mine are on the way


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## Pitluvs (Jun 22, 2011)

Laki, thank you. Hope these clear customs lol


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

Never thought of that!! o.o I'm in Newfoundland and I checked the seller's "map" of customers. They sent more than 100 orders to my island so there shouldn't be a problem getting them to NS 
*ps, my bf is from Dartmouth and I've been to HRM. I LOVE NOVA SCOTIA!!


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