Java Moss - detrius, excess food trap

[Fishmanic]

Today I did a 75 % water change on my 5 gallon tank. I disturbed the large java moss in the tank which then released loads of accumulated debris from feedings and from detrius/fish waste. Major clouding of tank was the result.

In this tank, a use a large sponge filter as the sole filter in the tank. I clean the sponge filter about every 4 months.

What a mess. I will need to do several 75% water changes to remove the resulting debris.

If you have java moss, I recommend removing it every 3 months or so and swishing it in tank water to remove accumulated debris. Then place it back in the tank.

Anyone else have issues with Java Moss in their tanks?

 

[MattW]

I had this problem in my old Sawbwa fry tank. I stopped using moss submerged mainly because of that reason. I do have emersed grown Java Moss in high humidity inside my Paludarium though.

 

[GaryE]

My best java moss growth is when it's being hit directly by a filter outflow. Since I use a lot of live food, I don't get as much debris in it, but I do get algae ruining it most of the time, if it's in slow moving water.

 

[Fishmanic]

I got my Java moss for free when I bought some shrimp. They gave me just a tiny piece as they said shrimp like it. In 3 years it grew into a huge mass. Today I trimmed it back significantly after cleaning it.

 

[Colin_T]

I used to gravel clean my Java Moss with my home made 2 litre plastic drink bottle gravel cleaner. It just sucked the gunk out from the plant and left the plant wherever it was.

You also need to gravel clean under the Java Moss to get rid the gunk that has settled into the gravel.

 

[Uberhoust]

I wanted to grow moss in my shrimp tank and went through a lot of effort to get it. Once it took off I just wanted to get rid of it. It was very messy, Java Fern is good, Java Moss just seems to plug things up.

 

[MaloK]

I never been able to keep java moss. I tried everywhere under every kind of light etc... Always melt really slowly.

I replaced that with Micranthemum "Monte-Carlo" or Taxiphyllum sp. "Spiky Moss" that I bought from Tropica in the "1-2 grow" line... And the pun "Want To Grow" is not a pun, it grows and looks good.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Mine would sometimes do that (more often I had hair algae grabbing into it, as @GaryE had, when in low flow area). I used to make a tree" before which I liked for a long time, but yes it can be a debris trap (shrimp help prevent that, depending on what else you're stocking), but hair algae was more of a problem for me.

I did make a point of sweeping over it with the gravel vac though, and would trim it back now and then, since letting it get too long can mean the stuff underneath goes brown from lack of access to light.

But if I were to make another tree or buy more moss, I'd choose weeping or christmas moss over java moss at this point! I just think they're both prettier.

 

[JackGulley]

I no longer have much java moss, but I've had a problem for a while with green hair algae completely permeating the substrate. It'll completely cover the bottom if I let it. I initially kept it, because I thought the fish would enjoy the way it caught potentially-yummy debris. Not so. My fish avoid it for the most part because they'll get tangled in it. And every time I try to remove it, it releases lots of debris from the substrate, which then settles on top of... more hair algae. Making the portion I missed both uglier and dirtier.

I think it thrives on fish poop, since I've noticed it growing in patches wherever there's a little oto pile. Perhaps I need to gravel vac more often. I had stopped doing it aggressively since the 'mulm' is supposed to be good for plants. but I never really get real mulm so much as just sitting fish poop.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

I no longer have much java moss, but I've had a problem for a while with green hair algae completely permeating the substrate. It'll completely cover the bottom if I let it. I initially kept it, because I thought the fish would enjoy the way it caught potentially-yummy debris. Not so. My fish avoid it for the most part because they'll get tangled in it. And every time I try to remove it, it releases lots of debris from the substrate, which then settles on top of... more hair algae. Making the portion I missed both uglier and dirtier.

I think it thrives on fish poop, since I've noticed it growing in patches wherever there's a little oto pile. Perhaps I need to gravel vac more often. I had stopped doing it aggressively since the 'mulm' is supposed to be good for plants. but I never really get real mulm so much as just sitting fish poop.

A bottle brush is good for sweeping up and removing hair algae!
Might find increasing flow (and more gravel vaccing), some faster growing plants to help outcompete the algae, along with manually removing the hair algae should help. At least, those things got rid of hair algae in my tanks anyway.

 

[Essjay]

I have Java moss in my shrimp tank, it's wound round a piece of wood. The shrimps love it and the wood makes it easy to lift the moss up to clean under it.

I don't have algae growing on the moss though there is something else which does annoy me and I remove as much as I can - Utricularia gibba, or dwarf bladderwort. It was ID'd in this thread

Any idea what this plant is?

This plant? algae? moss? arrived with some shrimp a few months ago. It is growing through the Java moss in the shrimp tank and I have no idea what it is. It is long very thin, brittle stems with a small pair of leaves at intervals along the stem. As you can see in the photo, it's mainly stem...

www.fishforums.net

It's easy to remove from other plants but not moss

 

[BigBurgassio]

I had it for a while but it grew huge and became entangled with algae and looked a real mess, so i ended up removing it.

 

[AJ356]

Today I did a 75 % water change on my 5 gallon tank. I disturbed the large java moss in the tank which then released loads of accumulated debris from feedings and from detrius/fish waste. Major clouding of tank was the result.

In this tank, a use a large sponge filter as the sole filter in the tank. I clean the sponge filter about every 4 months.

What a mess. I will need to do several 75% water changes to remove the resulting debris.

If you have java moss, I recommend removing it every 3 months or so and swishing it in tank water to remove accumulated debris. Then place it back in the tank.

Anyone else have issues with Java Moss in their tanks?

Have you considered opening up a detrius/fish waste of the month contest?

 

[Back in the fold]

Yep . Happens all the time if it gets thick .

 

[BrianK]

I have Christmas moss. I keep it thinned and I blast it with a turkey baster before water changes. That keeps the mess to a minimum. It looks like a mess right after the water change but half a day later, all is good. Actually my shrimp keep it cleaned up too.