# Java moss: Rhizoid, capsule and infection



## Faruk Gençöz

From a distance this java moss (probably Vesicularia dubyana) looks OK.










As we look closer it is easy to notice hairy red-brown rhizoids. Some people argue that these hairy extentions are in fact red algea. I am not sure.










Below are the two different moss types. The one on the right is an emersed one. The other is our regular submersed java moss. Their rhizoids are colored and located very differently (Brown hairs on the left, white and tiny uniform extention on the right).










I found the emersed moss on a tree in a snowy winter. I took a part of it and put it into cool and moist environment. I observed a very fast development at home. On the other hand after a while a type of white fungus appeared on two spots. Within a couple of days small points were enlarged very quickly. After a week or so all the culture was gone. 



















While under attack, emersed moss developed capsules.










The capsules above were not like the emersed capsules of our java moss (probably Vesicularia dubyana)


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## Faruk Gençöz

Did anyone encounter capsules developed submerged? 

I did not. Moss is more primitive plant than anubias. On the other hand submerged anubias frequently develops flowers. I guess the likelyhood of having a new generation plants from the submerged flowers is very low. Anubias keeps on developing it although it seems useless. But more primitive moss do not develop capsules when submerged as far as I see.


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## Gumby

I've never seen a moss enter the sporophyte stage of it's life cycle while submersed. I'd imagine this is because the sperm of mosses require small amounts of water to swim to the egg, ie: rain droplets. When completely submerged I'd imagine sexual reproduction would be futile because the sperm would be dispersed too greatly and the sperm may never reach the egg, especially if the water had flow. 

If you wanted to treat that infection, you might be able to spray the fungus with a dilute solution of H2O2 and water. I know people who grow mushrooms do this when they are trying to kill a mold contamination.


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## Faruk Gençöz

I didn' know H2O2 would also treat fungus. Very practical. Thank you.


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## Faruk Gençöz

What is your idea about the red-brown hairy extremities on the second picture? Rhizoids or red algea?

I thought they were rhizoids. Hairy structure makes me think in this way. On the other hand the moss did not attach itself to the driftwood at all, besides it had too many rhizoids. 

I guess java moss has enough intelligence to not develop its rhizoids if it does not want to attach. There is no attachment but many rhizoids exist. It makes me think that rhizoids, in this case, are used to get something from the water.


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## gnome

Very interesting! Recently, I had something similar happen to my erect moss. However, it happened while it was growing submerged. It had been growing well and prolifically in my shrimp tank (no fertilizer or CO2 injection) for about a year and a half - I'd supplied many people with cuttings from it during that time - and all of a sudden, the color washed out and all of the moss became yellow. At about this time, I noticed many little capsules growing out of the fronds. I thought maybe my tank conditions could no longer supply the nutrient needs of all of the plants in this tank, so maybe the moss decided to expend its energy into forming these capsules for future growth...? I noticed that even some of the leaves of my Anubias nana were dying back around the same time. I'm quite certain that my plants had reached some sort of "critical mass" in this tank and since I wasn't about to add fertilizer to it, the plants would have to make any necessary adjustments to survive. 

I've never seen moss growing out those red things, but it doesn't look like red algae, either. Sometimes, plants get rooty when they're desperately looking for nutrients that are lacking. Maybe the moss is doing the same thing. 

Oh yeah - I don't mean to nit-pick, but it's recently been determined that Java moss is actually Taxiphyllum barbieri, NOT Vesicularia dubiana. The latter is actually "Singapore moss." 

-Naomi


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## Faruk Gençöz

Very interesting points Naomi.

Tan and Leong discussed the type of mosses and a more valid taxonomy in TAG 18-3 issue. They provided clear pictures derived from the microscope. As soon as I got a microscope which can take pictures I would love to discuss the identification issue, too.


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## gnome

fgencoz said:


> Tan and Leong discussed the type of mosses and a more valid taxonomy in TAG 18-3 issue. They provided clear pictures derived from the microscope. As soon as I got a microscope which can take pictures I would love to discuss the identification issue, too.


Yes! I enjoyed that article. I was also following along at killies.com while people were getting mosses and liverworts identified. Amazing, isn't it? I'm not a big moss person, but it's always great to read about new discoveries that add to this already-addicting hobby...

Keep us updated on what happens with the moss growing the hairy red things. I'd like to know!

-Naomi


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## Faruk Gençöz

These are what I am able to do with a toy microscope and the camera. When compared to pictures of the article addressed above, the moss is either Vesicularia dubyana or V. reticulata.


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## Faruk Gençöz

gnome said:


> I was also following along at killies.com while people were getting mosses and liverworts identified.


Thank you for the address. I searched in killies.com and found an article in which following statements were written:

"...Bryophytes also lack real roots, which are used by other plants for water/mineral absorption and anchorage to the soil. Such functions have been replaced by "rhizoids" whose only purpose is to keep the Bryophytes in place over the surface it grows..."

This is generally what we read in the textbooks about the rhizoids. OK. But why did this highly adaptive plant shoot its rhizoids when there is no place to attach? There was in fact a group of driftwood beneath the moss but no individual moss attached itself to a driftwood.


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## gnome

Hmmm... In that case, I really don't know. All I can say is that to *my* eyes, it doesn't look like algae. But I could be wrong.

Those are pretty neat microscope photos, by the way. It certainly does appear to be a Vesicularia species of some sort. I just acquired a small sample of V. montagnei (erect moss) a few days ago and will tie it onto a piece of driftwood. Eventually, all of my mosses have to go into my shrimp tank (the one that receives no fertilization) to get a good algae-cleaning by my shrimp. But then they get deprived of nutrients and can start to look weird or do weird things.

Hope you figure out what those red root-like growths are. Maybe send the photo to Loh K L ("timebomb").

-Naomi


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## Faruk Gençöz

I haven't seen any algea developing systematically in the downward direction. After seeing several rhizoid photos in killifish.com I am now sure that they are the rhizoids. 

I think especially in an aquatic environment rhizoids can have more than the stabilization function. Another thing is that although they are not used to attach, they have a contribution to the total weight and to the balance of the plant which can be considered as an indirect support to stabilization function.


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## Xema

Mosses are Bhriophytes, they have basicaly 2 life stages, gametophyte (capsules) and sporophyte (moss). Capsules are typical in terrestrial moss, the question is that we are growing differents species in our tanks, the most ones are amphian moss with hair sporophtycal structure with capsule. The real underwater moss like vesicularia dubyana does´nt have that structures.

I would say to the people who think taht the red hair are algae: An algae which does grow down? like it was running away from the light... It is a struture to attach itself to the objets.

Anubias is an amphibian plant... it´s blooming ussualy within tanks underwater beacause it is cofused on its real situation. Due to the the unussual higth co2 concentration in the most of the planted tanks, anubia thinks it is over the water surface, so it is sending its flower over the water.

(It´s my opinion, i am not and expert in this issue)

Greets from Spain


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## williamst

I found this website while searching the net for aquatic moss. 
http://www.aquamoss.net









The site is very comprehensive and has all the information you want to know about aquatic moss, such as java moss, christmas moss, and other interesting moss I've never seen in my life. Remember to check out the list of aquatic moss in the site. It also has detail explanation about rhizoids, moss biology, etc. Microscope pictures are nice too.

William S.


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## DaFishMan

Going to tap into that site right now and check it out 

Whoops, already have it LOL !


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