# 3 large marimo (not moss balls!) are on their way to my betta/shrimp tank!



## Chopstick Chick (Oct 25, 2010)

I posted this over in aquarium plants, but It really fits here as well so I figured I'd post for the betta peoples!

Ijust ordered three 5cm marimo from a wholesale company in the UK which I plan to add to my (currently cycling) 5 gallon tank. I plan on adding a betta and a small community of either ghost or cherry shrimps (which I hope he won't eat :roll. 
I have to confess that, as a Japanophile I have always wanted a marimo of my own. Now I will have three! ^_^

I am excited for them to get here, they will be my first additions to the tank, even before my fish get added. Everyone I've talked to online that has them says they are very easy to get attatched to, like having little algea ball pets. I guess because they move around the tank on their own sometimes, like little animals, and sink and float seemingly because they "choose" or "want" to do so. I know they are just plants, but I am very excited. I dare say I...I may name the marimo when they arrive .
These will also be my first live plants in any fish tank I've ever owned! Hooray! My first tentative steps towards the planted tank I eventually want to maintain some day. I look at the aquascapes with big stones, and drift wood rising gracefully out of underwater fields of javamoss and drool. 
And you know as an added bonus they will keep my algea growth down to an almost non existant level, if what I read online about them is correct they are excellent little tank filters and three in a 5 gallon with the help of my shrimp and tank filter should keep the tank sparkling! 

I know it's stupid to be so excited over balls of algea, but my first _real _hobby tank is coming together (plus I get to own an obscure, living piece of Japanese culture not many people have even heard of) so well I just want to jump for joy and finding these marimo were the icing on my fishy cake!


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## ilovebunnies (Oct 11, 2010)

That's pretty sweet! You'll have to take a picture and show us all.
If you like Japanese stuff you should check out Takashi Amano and iwagumi tanks online, they will make you drool...

Am I to assume that you are a big fan of manga and anime?


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## Drift (Jul 26, 2010)

I looked at buying some, but they're pretty pricey even ordering offline. =/ I have two medium moss balls in my 5 gallon now. 
You should look into some other easier low maintenance plants like anubias nana, java fern, and java moss to get you started and on the road to planted tanks.
They also fit rather well in a 5 gallon tank without getting too big. 
Can't wait to see some pictures when you they arrive and when you finally get your betta.


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## Chopstick Chick (Oct 25, 2010)

ilovebunnies said:


> That's pretty sweet! You'll have to take a picture and show us all.
> If you like Japanese stuff you should check out Takashi Amano and iwagumi tanks online, they will make you drool...
> 
> Am I to assume that you are a big fan of manga and anime?


I LOVE his tanks! And I will be sure to post pictures when I get them. And yup I do ^_~


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## TaylorW (Sep 4, 2010)

I had no clue what a marimo ball was, but I googled it and now I really want one! :-D I love it, you're so lucky to be getting some!


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## ilovebunnies (Oct 11, 2010)

TaylorW said:


> I had no clue what a marimo ball was, but I googled it and now I really want one! :-D I love it, you're so lucky to be getting some!


I want one too! They look like comfortable cushions. Chopstick Chic's fish is lucky! x.x


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## Posaune (Sep 17, 2010)

Congrats on the plants, and the cake is a lie! 
(I really need to get portal 2 o.o )


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## dukie1346 (Mar 22, 2009)

Congrats 

I got one of these balls from walmart a few weeks ago, and I think it's cute! It may only be a little green ball, but I like it.


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## Chopstick Chick (Oct 25, 2010)

Posaune said:


> Congrats on the plants, and the cake is a lie!
> (I really need to get portal 2 o.o )


Thank you! And I do too I just saw a demo at a game convention and it looks AMAZING!


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## wallywestisthebest333 (Nov 30, 2009)

Chopstick Chick said:


> I have to confess that, as a Japanophile I have always wanted a marimo of my own. Now I will have three! ^_^
> 
> _*finding these marimo were the icing on my fishy cake!*_


_Negima!_ Reference?








:lol:

Sorry. That's what popped to mind when I read your sentence and I had to post it! XD

Congrats on your marimo! =]


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## celine18 (Sep 25, 2010)

is there a difference between marimo balls and moss balls? cause i bought a marimo moss ball from petsmart a week or so ago, now i'm confused, haha.


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## Chopstick Chick (Oct 25, 2010)

celine18 said:


> is there a difference between marimo balls and moss balls? cause i bought a marimo moss ball from petsmart a week or so ago, now i'm confused, haha.


Some people call them moss balls, and it makes things really confusing when you are trying to locate real marimo because there are also things called "moss balls' which are just moss sheets wrapped around a cork or other object to make them look like marimo. Most people assume marimo are made of moss and so call them mos balls, when in actuallity they are a species of algea called Cladophora, not a moss at all. A lot of times what you get at petsmart, if it is advertised as a "moss ball", is these Jave moss balls, not marimo. Marimo means "algea ball" in Japanese.

If you squeeze a marimo is should be soft and spongy like...well, like a sponge and water and crud will come out. After you squeeze one out and put it back in the tank it will float for a while and then sink to the bottom of the tank. If you squeeze these "moss balls" that you buy at petsmart, unless they are mislabeled marimo (which I have never seen at a petsmart in Canada), then you would feel the round thing inside it and probably wouldn't be able to squeeze it much, if at all and the moss might break off. Also the moss balls you buy at petsmart always float, or require weights and fishingline to keep them at the bottom of the tank. Marimo, if you bought them at petsmart, would be purchased off the bottom of the tank, not floating around at the top because they really only float when they have too much oxygen inside them from photosynthesis, (you often see it leak out and collect like dew drops on the surface of the marimo before the floating takes place, this is called "pearling".) but most of the time they stay sunken at the bottom of the tank. 

Which one sounds more like the one you bought? I hope you didn't get swindled into paying a lot of money for a moss ball when you thought it was a marimo. I have heard that some petsmarts and petcos charge 10 dollars for a single moss ball! This is rape, considering the 3 marimo I bought on ebay cost me 10 dollars US total, and that included shipping. The marimo themselves were only about 1.20 each and they are good sized ones too 3-5cm. The bigger marimo are very old, since they only grow an average of 5 millimeters a year and get more expensive as the bigger and older they get. Moss balls do not grow in this way, the java moss just get's longer.


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## celine18 (Sep 25, 2010)

i have a legit marimo!!!! yaaaayyyyy!!!! haha mines squishy and sinks. also, it was super expensive ($7!!) but i needed it to keep ammonia levels down in my boys temp home until his tank ever decides to cooperate and finish cycling...siiigh. 

i think i might have to look on ebay for future marimo purchases, thanks for that tip


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## Jupiter (Aug 30, 2009)

They are really great! I'd been looking high and low for one since I can't buy online, and a petstore at the mall recently started carrying them. They are so cute! My betta could care less about it, though. 

It really does pick up a lot of junk, though. I was squeezing it out in the sink and a whole bunch of crud came out and discoloured the water.


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## Chopstick Chick (Oct 25, 2010)

Just an update my Marimo came!
Here are some pics of them all happy in their new home.


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## chavist93 (Oct 20, 2010)

Nice, I got one from Petsmart a couple days ago for my community tank. They have them for 7.99.


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## ilovebunnies (Oct 11, 2010)

Those are some chic green balls!


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## dukie1346 (Mar 22, 2009)

They are so furry


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## Chopstick Chick (Oct 25, 2010)

You'd think they would be slimy since they are algea balls, but they actually feel quite rough to the touch.


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## Waterbottle2 (Sep 8, 2010)

dont feel embarassed lol. i LOVE the marimo balls and so do my fish! I really hope you enjoy them!


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