# Moss and higher temps



## MrSanders (Mar 5, 2006)

I have a planted tank I keep discus in and There is a piece of drift wood I would really like to have moss attached to. I enjoy the look of weeping moss very much and attached some a while back but it never really started to grow or do well.... just sort of withered off.

Any one know of any species of moss that do.... do well in higher temps? I keep the tank at 82 degrees so I mean its warm but i dont feel that its really extreme. Any personal expierence would be greatly appriciated!


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## dhavoc (Mar 17, 2006)

try standard Java moss, seems to tolerate higher temps than the other varieties that like colder water temps.


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## MrSanders (Mar 5, 2006)

Yea i have had that on the drift wood in the past and it grew alright.... Though I didnt like the darker green color, nor the way it tends to grow straight out in every direction.... I was hoping to find something that would work that looks a bit more elegant


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## Steven_Chong (Mar 17, 2005)

Really all species of moss prefer it cooler in the water. The hobbyists in Singapore who specialize in moss even use really expensive chillers ($$!!!) to cool their tanks down to the 22 degrees C or lower that mosses love. I don't think you'll find any species of moss (or most bryophytes) that will tolerate 82-- even 80 is pushing it for them. I'd say try some riccia . . .


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## Burks (May 25, 2006)

One of my tanks hits around 80 degrees or so during the summer time. The Taiwan Moss in it didn't do so well. Parts started dieing and such. Placed it back into the 72 degree tank and everything was fine.


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## chiahead (Dec 18, 2004)

another option would be fissedens. Although not a moss, it is sorta similar and can handle higher temps. I even had some growing in 85 degrees for a stretch in the summer. I had moss in the same tank and it was alive but a bit unhealthy looking.


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## MrSanders (Mar 5, 2006)

I dont believe I am fimilar with "fissedens".... Is it attachable to drift wood the way moss would be? that is one of the main factors.... whats it look like? any info would be appriciated thanks


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## bigstick120 (Mar 8, 2005)

yes it can attach to driftwood, check out the sponsor aquatic magic, he has it for sale


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## tundrafour (Jun 8, 2006)

chiahead said:


> another option would be fissedens. Although not a moss, it is sorta similar and can handle higher temps.


Fissidens is just the name of a genus (like Taxiphyllum, Vesicularia, etc.), and it *is* a moss. Thus, ideal growing conditions, including temperature, will vary from species to species of Fissidens.



MrSanders said:


> I dont believe I am fimilar with "fissedens".... Is it attachable to drift wood the way moss would be? that is one of the main factors.... whats it look like? any info would be appriciated thanks


Fissidens fontanus has become somewhat popular recently (and is also, I believe, the species being sold by the vendor recommended earlier). Here's a link to an auction for it which has a pretty nice photo: AquaBid.com - Your Aquatic Auction Website

I've had this moss for about six months now and have found that it generally likes cooler water (it's usually found growing in cooler, flowing water in the wild). It might be worth giving it a shot in warmer water, though-- who knows? I think giving various non-Fissidens species a try might not be a bad idea, either. Even though mosses are commonly thought of as preferring cooler water, there are always stories of people having been able to, for one reason or another, grow some kind of moss successfully in spite of what seemed like less-than-ideal conditions. If you happen to have access to various kinds of mosses (or are willing to buy or trade for a few different kinds), why not give them a try and see if one does particularly well for you?

(Since it is native to North America, it might also be worth it to go and look for it growing in local, non-protected waterways! Much cheaper and easier than importing it from Asia if you find it!)


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## MrSanders (Mar 5, 2006)

Thanks for the Info.... after doing some digging it was looking to me like it was indeed just a different sp. of moss.... and beautiful at that! But as you suggested, I think i might try to buy, or trade for small clumps of various mosses..... attach them to several small stones and put them in the tank to see how they all do.... 

If I am able to get people to help out with in reason with various quarter sized patches of various moss.... I will post what I have found to work out in higher temps.


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## Steven_Chong (Mar 17, 2005)

There are a lot of fissidens, and I'm surprised to hear that they might be able to live at higher temps. They seem so delicate to me! I know that they do really well in lower temps.

TBH, it seems like a really expensive plant to "experiment" on. scary . . .


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## chiahead (Dec 18, 2004)

well I had both noblis and fontanus varieties in temps above 85 for extended periods,


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## MrSanders (Mar 5, 2006)

chiahead... how did the fissidens grow for you at that high of a temp? I went ahead and ordered some from aquatic magic, and also asked him about the higher temps.... he said that it would do better around 79 or so.... but it would still grow healthy at 82, just that the growth would slow, which would be fine with me....


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## chiahead (Dec 18, 2004)

it didnt seem to me affected much by the temps. They were already acclimated when the higher temp happened. They did stunt a little when the were first acclimated but dont seem to be affected by much after that. They grow really slow so I couldnt tell if the growth was slowed or not. I would assume with the higher temp that the metabolism would be higher which would make it grow faster. I dont know.


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## Steven_Chong (Mar 17, 2005)

fissidens are generally speaking, slower than the vesicularia and taxiphyllums-- so yeah, no idea how the heat works in that regard but good luck man


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## standoyo (Aug 25, 2005)

Not sure about fellow hobbyist experiences here but i grow more than 10 kinds of moss fairly nice at 80-82F [26.5-27.5C]
The only one that grow really slowly and poorly Fontinalis antipyretica.

IMHO don't exceed 82F or 28C for long periods.

I think you'd have to pat the moss regularly as I've notice with discus, their poop really clogs the fine leaves.

PS. Try not handle the moss for long periods [when tying] as the heat from our hands damages it. [all delicate plants for that matter] Standby a cold water spray to keep it cool and moist. HTH.


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## Steven_Chong (Mar 17, 2005)

I remember in Nature Aquarium 1, Amano wrote about a tank he kept and struggled with a similar problem. He was doing one of his African-style scapes with e. tenellus and moss, as well as Heckel discus. He had a conflict over what temperature to keep it, and basically concluded:

"Which is more adaptable, the plants or heckel discus? Certainly, it's the heckel discus."

He basically kept the tank at 77 degrees, and had good success.

Then again, I'm not a discuss keeper so I don't know much about it.


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## MrSanders (Mar 5, 2006)

Thanks for all the replies! as far as keeping the discus at lower temps I dont really know how that would work out.... but when it came down to something like that, I think i would rather have healthy discus than thriving moss  

seems to me though that at 82, I should be able to have success with several types, IME weeping moss didnt do well for me.... Im going to go ahead and try the fissidens... hoping it will at least do better than the weeping moss I put in


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