# Marimo balls



## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

Hey again, I bought a marimo moss ball at PetSmart a couple weeks ago and it was fine. Then I noticed 2 days ago Laki had a bit of white on his black head which I assumed was from the moss ball. The moss ball (which I foolishly named Poof) is no in a decorative wine glass in the window and Laki is in his new tank... Yes I bought the tank when I went out to get meds:lol: 

Could my moss ball be the cause of Lakitu's white?? I couldn't get a pic of it bc it's hard to see (the clearest pic I have is my avatar pic).. It's not fungus and he's acting totally fine. I put some bettafix in there (day 3) to help kick start his growth and health.


----------



## Littlebittyfish (Jan 5, 2011)

Does it look like a grain of salt?
I would probably just keep an eye on it and watch for anymore popping up..I am not sure how common it would be to get anything from a marimo moss ball.


----------



## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

It kind of looked like a bit of salt.. Hang on..no. Even smaller than that. Like, spots of flour. It's no ick. I've battled ick before. It's too small for ick. And it's only on the black part that I can see. 

someone on the other forum I'm on thought maybe it was due to stress or cold water


----------



## lordadamar (Aug 24, 2011)

I have about 15 marimo moss balls in all my tanks, and have never had them cause any sickness... But Buying from Chain stores you really dont know if the tank it came out off had sick fish.....

Something you can do to clean the moss ball though is:

Take it out of the tank, Under running water ( tap water ) gently squeeze it, be sure not to squeeze very hard you dont wanna damage the natural structure that holds it round...

On a monthly basis I usually give mine a rinse they will hold allot of particles and eventually will look dirty...

Marimo moss balls can also be fixed to items like driftwood, rocks, and decor and will start to grow plate and blanket the item.. Looks cool

Anways hope this helps


----------



## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

Thanks! Yes it does help! I'm re-thinking my Poof is the cause of Lakitu's head thing. But at the same, it looks so nice in my window in a wine glass!! lol No I don't know what to do.. I'm embarrassed to admit I fell for PetSmart's "oh-my-gawd-fad-item-you-need-to-buy-now" scheme and paid 8.99 for it.. I'm not buying another one for that price!!

Since my dear bf gave me his wishes to do whatever I want with the fish I think I'm gonna separate the gravel and only use 1 color. I think both Lakitu and Poof look much nicer on a contrasting color like the orange ;-) You think it's safe to add Poof back in?


----------



## lordadamar (Aug 24, 2011)

Whoa,

$8.99 not that I dont believe in supporting your local pet store but when it comes to plants most of them pillage....

I bought these

http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?liveplants&1315011416


----------



## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

yea... The LPS has nothing good in the way of good quality live plants that aren't ridiculous. Since I have such a brown thumb and kill everything that grows from roots I need something like a moss ball which I cannot kill!!  Those are cool (link you sent) but wth would I do with 15 moss balls?!?!? lol ... Guess I could just order a few :0


----------



## lordadamar (Aug 24, 2011)

Laki said:


> yea... The LPS has nothing good in the way of good quality live plants that aren't ridiculous. Since I have such a brown thumb and kill everything that grows from roots I need something like a moss ball which I cannot kill!!  Those are cool (link you sent) but wth would I do
> with 15 moss balls?!?!? lol ... Guess I could just order a few :0



Great news Pretty hard to kill a Moss Ball...

Also Low Light Plants and plants in Beginner Plants are hard to kill also... I Buy from this place allot..

http://www.shop.plantedaquariumscentral.com/Live-Aquarium-Plants_c6.htm


----------



## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

I was doing some looking around on the first link and once I get my credit back in order I'm gonna split an order with my sister and get a pile of the mini marimo!! They're SO cute!! I never considered online shopping for live things, including plants, bc I live on an island in Canada and scared to death things will be delayed and won't make to me in good condition. But I think I'll take my chances  Thanks guys, for the links! 

I love my marimo already.. Question, 
It's in the window now in a wine glass and although I like the look and it's gettting a lot of natural light, can I add it back to Laki's tank while it's being treated?


----------



## lordadamar (Aug 24, 2011)

1st thing,

I have only had problems with getting plants in the mail, when I order a bounch from Thailand, the 12 days in the mail cause the more delicate plants to not survive... Thailand to US via United States Post Office didnt work out... I would almost bet if the Came on Fedex or UPS I would not have had the issue..

2nd thing, 

Natural light actually grows moss better, at some point because it will be growing you might find it floating, Dont worry this is normal as its trapping the oxygen in it... but if you rinsed it out a few times and its sat in clean water for a week or two it should be fine to put back in the tank...

3rd thing,

If you want to keep the moss ball round you will need to rotate them every 2-4 weeks, if they sit still they will eventually look like a moss blob and spread out...


----------



## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

Oh!! I read about them floating but I thought it was to get more light!! lol If it floats it's growing?!?!? DEADLY!! That's what I want! Then I get cut it up and make baby balls  Actually I don't know where to cut it so I don't kill it :/ Is it the very middle that I cannot cut?

I roll it around it in it's glass so that it gets even sunlight, I didn't know about it spreading out!! lol Thanks for the tip! 
Well, while I'm treating my Laki I'll keep it in the window. I have such a craving to see what betta's are at the store when I go get aq salt!! Bf will kill me!! lol


----------



## lordadamar (Aug 24, 2011)

Heres a few of my Moss Balls

And yes you can cut them...


----------



## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

Cool!! So they don't compete with each other for food?? I know they compete with bad algae but I seen many people's tanks with multiple moss balls. I really like the look if them!! 

PS, I never even knew they existed until I asked the PetSmart employee what they had in the way of beginner aquatic plants for bettas. Our PetSmart actually employed people who know what they're talking about it seems!! I've been impressed with the employees there thus far. (It only opened like 2 months ago)


----------



## ALS1104 (Aug 11, 2011)

mine started floating today! im so excited because hes sat in the same spot for a month... bart isnt sure what to think of him floating though-he keeps going over there and checking peat out lol


----------



## lordadamar (Aug 24, 2011)

Those are Albino Bristlenose Longfin Pleco's I have had them sense they where the size a Quarter...

He's actually about 3.5 inches now, there are 4 of them in that tank.. I would say every once ina while the compete, but thats because ones a Male and 3 are females... and hes pushy..


----------



## lordadamar (Aug 24, 2011)

If you give them a gentle squeeze and rinse they will sink again..


----------



## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

lol!! The pleco's are cool looking, never seen albino pleco's before. I meant the moss balls competing for food though!!


----------



## lordadamar (Aug 24, 2011)

In that tank they are not competing, The bio load is on the heavy side.

Right now in that tank there is:

6 Multi-stripes Pygmy Loaches, imported from Cambodia ( they are Wild, not Domestic ) Straight from the river

4 Albino Long fined Pelco's

16 Melanotaenia _boesemani Fry about 3 months old

_5 Assassin Snails, and some offspring I will be selling soon..

And about 30 plants..

Its also a High Tech tank on a 24 hour cycle

CO2 injection 
10 hours of dual 8400K Day light
14 hours of 453n Moonlight
All automatic


----------



## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

Just a question. I'm on the website suggested earlier, are there any good plants I can get for beginners (ie, hard to kill)?? What's the light and heat specifics for things like anubias, banana plants, java fern and java moss??


----------

