# Glosso on Rocks? and Java Moss Questions



## trystianity (Jul 21, 2005)

I was browsing through some of Amano's tank photos and drooling =P~ (I do this a lot) and I came across this one:

http://visual35.tripod.com/amano/amano5.jpg

I am pretty new to glosso, just got some a few weeks ago.  It's growing nicely for me and I've just started growing a bit of it emersed which is also working well but for the life of me I can't figure out how he made it grow on those rocks! Is there something I'm missing here? I'm guessing he made some kind of terrace with the substrate with the rocks as a barrier and the look is just achieved by allowing the glosso to creep over the rocks a bit but I'm pretty sure I've seen glosso on rocks/wood elsewhere.

Anybody know the secret? Glosso roots just don't look like they would be good at adhering themselves to anything "hard" to me. 

I was looking at some more tanks and drooling =P~ (I need a bib or something!) and I found this nano that Oliver Knott did with Java moss and I was floored! My java moss has never looked this good. 

http://www.pbase.com/plantella/18t

I bow down to you if you are reading this.  It's really inspiring work.

I can get it looking nice and healthy, pearling, everything but I would like to know the secret for making it look lush and amazing like that, not like the tangled mess it is for me. 

I'm thinking the secret is in attaching it properly and a whole lot of grooming but I'm not really sure how to do it. So what is the secret to non-messy-tangled-ugly java moss? I would really like to know because it is the only moss I can get locally that I have ever seen, plus it is cheap even by the pound but a lot of the time I don't use it because I can never make it look really attractive. If I can get some help with making java moss look nice I'll buy a pound of it and start tearing my nano tanks apart. 

I've learned how to grow the plants, now I need to learn how to do it with style.


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## cgcaver (Jul 10, 2005)

I cant get the Amano pic to load... but in the Nano pics below, that isn't glosso. Dunno if you knew that or not  I dont have my contacts in, but it looks like riccia to me, and if youre talking about pearling, it probably is


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## skinns (Apr 8, 2004)

Top link not working, Oliver on the other hand is great too. I too have been blown away by both artist. I have a 30gallon with a 20watt 6500k bulb over it and it does wonders. One day, my friend's tank (another 30gallon) had some problems and so I borrowed his light and through it ontop on my tank, giving me 40watts on a 30gallon tank for about a week. Within a week I was amazed at the difference my plants were taking on, Brighter colors, fluffly growth near the roots, it was great until my friend took his light back. Now im saving up for that RetroFit Light by AHSupply


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## trystianity (Jul 21, 2005)

Since the top link isn't working for people I cropped the bit with the glosso and hosted it on my image hosting account:










It looks like it's growing on the rocks but like I said above I'm wondering if he just created a small substrate terrace and allowed the glooso to spread over the rock barrier? I'm stumped but I think this effect would look very cool in a nano. 

The second gallery I linked was to show the effect I am looking to get with java moss, it's not riccia but it looks just as cool if you ask me! I have grown it under high light before and it does well, I am more interested in figuring out how to train it to look like that. Like I said in my previous post, it just ends up looking like a tangled mass in my hands.


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## brianclaw (May 17, 2005)

Java moss and most mosses need regular pruning for them to achieve greater leaf density...


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## trenac (Jul 16, 2004)

The main thing is to start off with healthy moss, then spread it out thinly over the object you are attaching it to. Then after it begins to grow, just keep it prune the way you like.

Here is a link for growing moss... http://www.nature-aquarium.com/xmas.htm


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## |squee| (Feb 3, 2005)

For the glosso, I think what Amano did was to place glosso plantlets in between the rocks, but rooted to the substrate. Overtime, since I believe glosso can take nutrients in from the water, they spread to get that effect. 

Would love a full picture of it. Email me if you do not have the space to host it


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## trystianity (Jul 21, 2005)

OK, I'm pretty sure I just need to prune my moss more.  Thanks for the site, trenac.



> For the glosso, I think what Amano did was to place glosso plantlets in between the rocks, but rooted to the substrate. Overtime, since I believe glosso can take nutrients in from the water, they spread to get that effect.


Hmm that could be worth trying. The only thing I would be worried about is light penetration between the rocks.... I guess you would just leave a bit of space but then I think it would look "lumpier" than it does in the pic. I would even try tying a bit to some rocks but those little stems are so fine, I don't think I have the coordination or patience for it. :lol:

Another idea might be propagating some glosso on window screen type mesh over some peat/sphagnum moss in just a few inches of water. Once it carpeted the mesh you would have a glosso rug that you could just lay down anywhere (I am growing my emersed glosso in peat, you can pull it out really easily since it's so lightweight). I don't know how well this would work, but if it can pull nutrients from the water then it should be ok. I might try this out, would certainly make for easier glosso planting if it worked.

I might try the glosso on rock in a nano. The more I think about it I think my original assumption would probably be easiest - create a raised glosso bed with some kind of barrier and allow it to creep over it. I do the same thing in my garden outside, why not do it in a plant tank. 

Here's the full pic, it's been resized a bit but I can email the original one if you want it, |squee|.


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