Moss Ball

[finalfantay85]

Ok was at the LFS earlier to get myself some more flame tetra to replace my losses and saw a moss ball and decided to get it....anyway i dunno what to do with it now

It's attached to a glass plate thing by a length of fishing line. So i buried the glass under the gravel and kept the fishing line wrapped around it, is this the right thing to do? Can't resist impulse purchases unfortunately then figure out i dunno what i'm doing with it lol

 

[lilacamy931]

I just leave mine loose on the bottom and turn them occasional to keep there shape

 

[finalfantay85]

I just leave mine loose on the bottom and turn them occasional to keep there shape

cool just didn't know what to do as i didn't like the idea of fishing line floating around in the tank

 

[ian]

just take it off, its not needed. It may float for a bit, but it'll soon sink.

 

[finalfantay85]

just take it off, its not needed. It may float for a bit, but it'll soon sink.

Thanks, once it's sunk properly i'll look at getting the line off. I don't want it floating about at the moment because there's a fry trap in there that is very precarious and i don't want they fry loose in the tank or else my guppies will be having an impromptu snack of molly fry

 

[loraxchick]

you can cut the fishing line and take the plate off..then give the ball a good squeeze underwater and it should rid it of airbubbles...should sink immediately. then, as mentioned above, just turn them form time to time and give them a good squeeze in old tank water to get rid of the debris that will get trapped in there from time to time( ie-keeps it clean).
cheers

 

[finalfantay85]

you can cut the fishing line and take the plate off..then give the ball a good squeeze underwater and it should rid it of airbubbles...should sink immediately. then, as mentioned above, just turn them form time to time and give them a good squeeze in old tank water to get rid of the debris that will get trapped in there from time to time( ie-keeps it clean).
cheers

Thanks for the advice, will have a fiddle with it tomorrow and get it right

 

[Saracirce]

I want one of these. They sound so cool

 

[Ryefish]

I want one too
I saw somebody with one a few weeks ago and they are cute.

Do they grow large or do they stay fairly small and manageable?

 

[finalfantay85]

It was fairly cheap at my LFS. If you're in the UK it was a Maidenhead Aquatics. It looks so cool in my tank i'm so glad i impulse bought lol

 

[loraxchick]

moss balls (which are actually a type of algae) grow pretty slowly, especially if you have low lighting in the tank. in a higher light tank they will grow faster. when they do grow, it is sometimes difficult to keep the round (where they come from the wave action in the lake rolls them about, which is why they are round). over time they will start to split apart, but then you get 2 moss "balls"(at this point they probably wont be round anymore).
just about the easiest greenery you could put i na tank. they are great!
cheers

 

[finalfantay85]

just about the easiest greenery you could put i na tank. they are great!
cheers

You have just made my day!! I am not exactly green fingured so i'm glad you say they are easy to keep

 

[loraxchick]

just about the easiest greenery you could put i na tank. they are great!
cheers

You have just made my day!! I am not exactly green fingured so i'm glad you say they are easy to keep

if you can kill it, let me know how you did it
in the 3 tanks i have them in all doing just fine. 2 of the tanks are very low light (really just ambient light from window for the one tank, get about 2 hours direct sunlight a day), and the other tank gets ambient light from my turtle tank)...the third tank is very high lighting and the moss ball has split three times in the months ive had it. no longer round but more of a blob at this stage.
as long as you squeeze them out in old tankwater during a waterchange from time to time to get some of the gunk out of them (they collect a lot of detritus) they will live on seemingly forever
id highly suggest getting one. once you see you can keep them, hopefully youd be open to getting more real plants (easy to care for to start).
cheers

 

[finalfantay85]

I have real plants anyway they just never seem to flourish, whether they be in an aquarium or in a pot. I can kill a cactus in record time!!!

If this lot of plants don't work out i'm thinking i'll order from plantsalive cos i got their catalogue. I like tall broad leaf plants, however they don't seem to like me

 

[loraxchick]

I have real plants anyway they just never seem to flourish, whether they be in an aquarium or in a pot. I can kill a cactus in record time!!!

If this lot of plants don't work out i'm thinking i'll order from plantsalive cos i got their catalogue. I like tall broad leaf plants, however they don't seem to like me

do you know which types youve got? some broader/tall plants like high lighting. maybe you dont have enough light? but with high light you may need to run co@ depending. java fern is a good tall/broad plant that is easy. just dont plant it. tie it to wood or a rock with some thread. crypts also easy and very nice. take a look at crypts and see.
just some thoughts.
cheers