# Java Moss - good or bad thing? It's doing strange things.



## oddsoxdi (Sep 6, 2008)

I'd like your collective opinion on Java Moss. I bought a bunch of it thinking it'd make a nice feature. For about two weeks it WAS - it was a very nice very *GREEEEEN* highlight in the tank. Then I started noticing this 'cloud of green' around the upper portions of other plants and when I investigated, it was long green very slender threads from the Java Moss to wherever, and this happens quickly. It seems to love to grow upward - maybe light seeking I don't know nor do I care. I have to go in with a chopstick every couple of days and 'twirl spaghetti' with it to get it the *AITCH* out of my tank and from around my other plants.

There seems to be another kind of the same stuff (huh?) that just remains the interesting little thing it is. The Java Moss bunch I purchased from an on-line source seems to be the culprit while the moss that was around the little ball from P*t*c* is the moss that isn't interested in taking over the tank or even growing that fast. Both plants look to be the same, but one is innocuous and one is NOT. I keep thinking I've got all the bleep pulled up and more green clouds show up. Is this a second phase of the damned stuff or is this a mutant??

Thanks for any help
Diane


----------



## Quetzalcoatl (Feb 13, 2009)

The "fine green thread" thingy is most likely algae. Your tank might have ammonia level/phosphate level/nitrogen level that is too high. SAE and algae eating shrimp helps reduce these types of algae.

As for keeping the moss beautifully shaped, you need to trim it often. When the string gets too long, trim it down a little. Then, the moss will grow sideways for little bit, making it bushier. Occasionally you will need to shed it a little so that it doesn't get too dense.


----------



## dthb4438 (May 2, 2007)

It's almost impossible to keep algae from growing on moss. Moss is a very slow growing plant. Like the above post, you have to trim it often and it will get bushier just like a bush in your yard. I use an old toothbrush to get the hair algae off of the pieces. I personally have never had any success in keeping a ball of moss alive, but tieing it on skewers, rocks, wood, etc. I have excellent success. If the moss gets to dense, it will start to die out.


----------

