Java moss dying at bottom layer and detaching

[williamdrichmond2]

Hi everyone. I have a piece of driftwood that was naturally covered in java moss for about 6 months. Id occasionally trim it down, and it was all firmly attached to the wood. All of the sudden recently, ive noticed the bottom layer died all at once so the healthy moss is just detached like a toupee. It can be peeled back in the picture. Any ideas? Will it grow back and reattach? How do i keep this from happening? Can i fix it?

 

[MattW]

I would presume that not enough light got to the bottom layer, causing the parts that have no access to light to die off and detach.

Another possibility but less likely is a sudden change in water parameters that the older moss is adapting too which I've had happen before.

@connorlindeman ?

 

[williamdrichmond2]

Do you think it will reattach if i just leave it sitting on the wood

 

[connorlindeman]

I would guess that the mat got so thick that the bottom layer began to suffer. I would just leave it. It looks good to me.

 

[MattW]

I suppose it could. Another option is a few small pebbles on top just to weigh it down (move the pebbles every few days so as not to cause any areas to lose light/die). There is gluing but that just becomes a mess with moss.

 

[connorlindeman]

Yeah don't glue it. You can trim away the visible dead pieces if you like.

 

[williamdrichmond2]

I would guess that the mat got so thick that the bottom layer began to suffer. I would just leave it. It looks good to me.

Thanks man. Hopefully it doesnt come off.