# What on earth is a marino ball?



## LittleMissSunshine (Mar 26, 2015)

I saw these at my local petco in the display along with the bettas. What are they? do they do anything?


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

They are a form of algae. The nice thing about them is all you need to do is roll them every once in a while so they don't become flat on one side. Don't need fertilizers or special light.

The other nice thing is they require the same nutrients as "pest" algae so can starve other types of algae.


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## Elleth (Feb 23, 2015)

I love my Marimos! I even had two survive two weeks of total darkness and aquarium salt, when I was treating one of my guys for velvet. I love the look of them in the tank, too. I'll add that I squeeze mine out occasionally when doing a water change (into the dirty water) and then reshape them. It's supposed to help if they "bite off more than they can chew" according to what I read.


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## bserrano2 (Mar 12, 2013)

I love marimos!!! I have two and my betta loves them. Sometimes I catch him resting on the big one. Like everyone said, not much maintenance just make sure you give a light squeeze and reshape them every 1-2 weeks.


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## Aqua Aurora (Oct 4, 2013)

Marimo is a specialized form of slow growing hair algae, all they do is grow veeeerrrryyyyy sllloooooowwwllllyyy... seriously though its painfully slow growth.. they also.. are debris magnets! No seriously the hairs of the marimo seem to catch floating crap in the tank better than a swifer sweeper duster thing-y. But they are easy to clean out, just remove from the tank and put in a bowl of cold (never hot) tap and ring out with your hands or gently rinse it (don't put faucet at full blast). Ring excess water out after and put in some dechlorinated water before putting back in the tank.
Some people are misinformed and think marimo is either a moss or that it causes the nusance fast growing hair algae tanks can get, but both are incorrect. If you get the fast growing long green hair algae in your tank it means your lights are one or more of these: too powerful(wattage), too close to the tank, on too long each day. Raising lights and reducing time they are on will help with the issue. But to kill the pest hair algae in a tank with marimo you either do thorough manual remove or remove the marimo and use an algaecide of some form (Flourish excel in 3x doses a day over a few weeks will kill hair algae). If you use an algacide make sure to do several water changes before putting marimo back in the tank, it is an algae and ill be effect by the chemicals if they come in contact with the marimo.
Marimo prefers colder water and shadier places rather than warm and high light tanks. You can actually keep marimo in a jar of water in your fridge for months (just give it some time in indirect sun light once in a while)! 
Because its so insanely slow growing it is NOT useful as a nitrate absorber, yes it will absorb some but your betta will produce more nitrate than an entire tank full of marimo can consume (in other words don't except this 'plant' to keep your nitrates down its just there to look pretty for you).
The only real care it needs is periodic rotation, move it so the 'bottom' gets some light. Failure to do this will lead to dead spots (browning) on the undersides.
It never forms roots and will never attach itself to a surface. If you want it on a rock/wood you'll have to tie it on with something that won't break down (I recommend low poundage clear fishing line).


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## mrldragon (Feb 24, 2015)

These are marimos. I had one in my tank, but you do have to turn it and rinse it out once a week. Also, they're not fond of warm water. Otherwise, they're super easy to keep. These live in a jar on my desk. Once in a while, my snail takes a "vacation" there.


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## explicitlyperfect (Sep 12, 2014)

Not to be mean or dissuade you from marimos, they're very helpful when they're healthy or don't harbor any diseases, but I've lost my favorite boy on a marimo that had carried ich...


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## LolaQuigs (Mar 28, 2010)

Yes, as with any live plant, if it was in a fish tank in the fish/pet store, it's best to quarantine before adding to a tank. I think the ones that come singly in the little plastic cups should be safe to add right away though, since the cups they're kept in on the shelf are basically like qt containers themselves.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

+1 ^


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## cfaye3char (Sep 20, 2015)

*marimos (moss balls) carry diseases ?*

If Marimos carry diseases, how long should they be quarantined ? I ordered online at Amazon, they are coming in this Friday. Is Amazon a good place to order plants ? I want to put in 5 gallon tank with my Betta, do other plants need to be quarantined. This is new to me years ago you just put plants in and let them go. I never heard of these balls until a few months ago. Saw them in small glass jars.....I also brought ball food will this harm my fish, lol, Newbie :shock: Oops my tank temp is 82 F, Will my ball make it ?


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## Strawberry12 (Mar 6, 2015)

I QT most plants for two weeks to a month. just throw it in a jar near the window for that amount of time, easy peasy  

and i'm not sure what ball food is.


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## Aqua Aurora (Oct 4, 2013)

cfaye3char said:


> If Marimos carry diseases, how long should they be quarantined ? I ordered online at Amazon, they are coming in this Friday. Is Amazon a good place to order plants ? I want to put in 5 gallon tank with my Betta, do other plants need to be quarantined. This is new to me years ago you just put plants in and let them go. I never heard of these balls until a few months ago. Saw them in small glass jars.....I also brought ball food will this harm my fish, lol, Newbie :shock: Oops my tank temp is 82 F, Will my ball make it ?


I don't think I'd trust amazon sellers of live plants, a lot of them have some bad reviews, also would not trust anything coming from overseas. Try asking jdaquatics on this forum if he has marimo (and other plants you want) great healthy plants for cheap from him! 

If the marimo balls are kept in tanks with other animals that have parasites/diseases/etc it is possible for the parasite/etc hitch hike over on the marimo. Its best to ask the seller if the marimo are kept in a tank by themselves with no other flora or fauna-completely isolated. But a 1 month (4 week) quarantine never hurts if you're paranoid. The only plant that really should get quarantined no matter what is anubias, as it can carry a contagious disease (spread to other anubias in the water) called rhizome rot... its a costly lesson to learn to quarantine after spending a few 100$ on anubias and getting 1 sick one that wipes them all out. 

Marimo needs very very very LITTLE light to live, it can kept in a jar of water in the fridge for a few months if need be (during hot time of year if you don't have AC). If you can, return the marimo ball food, its just puffed up [censor] to make $, like "betta water" which is I think just distilled water (or possibly just tap from the store). Marimo really don't need anything aside from the most minimal of light and nearly non detectable-ly small levels of nitrogen (nitrates). They grow insanely slow, i think 5mm a year? Slow grower=absorbs less nitrogen, fast grower (anacharis for example)= absorbs more nitrogen. Marimo do better in cooler tanks, but people with bettas have kept the marimo balls successfully in 78F tanks, not sure about 82, that may be a smidgen on the high temp side for them.

Be careful not to put the marimo somewhere too bright, it will discolor or get fast growing hair algae (or other invasive algaes) growing on it which are very difficult to get rid of since marimo is an algae, you cannot use any chemical means to kill the bad algae as it will kill the marimo as well.


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## cfaye3char (Sep 20, 2015)

thank you all for the great tips, I do not think I will order plants from Amazon. I was wondering about that...thanks. I think I will get in touch with jdaquatics


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