# How do you grow Java moss?



## Mykuhl

Hi,

How do you make Java moss grow and flourish? I have read that it is supposed to be easy to take of and grow but I am finding it difficult.

I have had no sucess growing it or keeping it alive for long. I have tried several times on different occasions and different tanks and the moss has either turned brown and died or a little bit stays alive but does not grow. I don't have a problem with Java fern or Anubias, they grow well for me, but for some reason the darn Java moss doesn't. 

Can anyone give me a guide on how to grow this plant?

Thanks.


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## TorontoPlantMan

Anytime I've ever grown it i've just tied it to whatever I wanted it grown on and it's grown just fine. Either you don't have enough light or there isn't enough movement in the tank. Some spec's on how you've tried growing it and the tank would help us identify your cause. ex. If you have the lights on for too long that can attribute to it not growing, etc etc etc.


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## solarz

What is your light? What are your tank dimensions?


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## housebatbetta

I can tell you what I've done with mine, if that helps: I have some in my 5 gallon, no ferts or co2, under a regular 6500k 15watt cfl bulb in a desk lamp (albeit on the shadowy side of the tank). It's been growing slowly but surely the last six weeks. I just kept it in a loose floating clump and then tore the clump in half after about a month. A week ago I attached one of those clumps to a piece of driftwood and there's no discernible change yet, but it's not going brown.


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## Mykuhl

Thanks for the replies.

I have tried this plant in different set ups and different lighting conditions over the years with no sucess. I have had it in a 40 gallon breeder with a single T12 bulb with no C02. An Eheim 2215 for filtration and about 12 hours a day of light, a 7.9 gallon 12" cube with a Fluval mini internal filter set on medium low and a single 13 watt compact fluorescent bulb left on for 13-14 hours a day with pressurised C02, and the same set up with two of the same bulbs, then again without the C02 and a single bulb. I have tried it while dosing with Flourish Trace, Flourish Potassium and Flourish Phosphorus at recommended does, have tried it without any of these as well. Temperature has been between 77 and 82F. I have tried it in a 20 gallon long with two 24 watt HO t5 fixture with the same. Flourish dosing and Excel and the same temperature range and lighting period, with a sponge filter powered by a whisper 20. And my latest attempt is in another 20 gallon long with a Finnex FugeRay 7000k LED light with the same Flourish dosing and Excel everyday, with a temperature range of 24-27 C(usually stays around 26), also filtered with a sponge filter and a Fluval Q.5 air pump.


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## GAT

I have 10 gallon shrimp tank filled with tank. I don't do water change or give any light to the tank. Light comes from my room light or indirect sun light through the windows. It grows fine without any algae on it. I don't add any ferts other than occasional flakes for the shrimp.


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## solarz

Here's a crazy thought, are you using freshwater or brackish water?


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## Mykuhl

Freshwater was used in each instance


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## solarz

Mykuhl said:


> Freshwater was used in each instance


Okay, scratch that then. Usually java moss will grow if you provide it with moving water and some light. The fact that it's turning brown in your tanks means there are unusual factors at play.

Some things to consider:

1- Where are you getting your moss? Are you *sure* it's java moss?
2- How long have you waited after the moss started turning brown before giving up on it?

I ask this because java moss has two forms, submersed and emergent. If the emergent form is submersed, it will turn brown and appear to die, only to grow again after some time.

In the end, however, there's no reason you should focus on java moss. Have you tried other plants, such as vallisneria, water wisteria, hygrophila polysperma, hornwort, etc. ?


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## Mykuhl

Yes, I am sure it is Java moss, it looks exactly like the photos that identify it.

The fist time I got it was several years ago...I don't remember where I got it from so I don't know how it was grown. The other two times I got it was from fellow hobbyists on here. Once was from sme hickhiking on some established anubias nana on driftwood. I was told that this plant has been growing under water for about 2 years. The other time I got it was from Igor when I got some of his daphnia and shrimp, I believe it was grown underwater was well(I did not ask). I gave the moss some time before I threw it out, it went almost completely brown and falling apart before I threw it out. The latest couple of lttle piece of moss that I have left seems to just be sitting there not growing at all, but not dieing either. This bit of moss is from the hitchhiker portion I just mentioned.

I have tried other types of plants, a couple with no sucess and the other with moderate to high sucess. I want to grow moss because I like the way it looks, it grows without having to plant it into a substrate( I am focusing on bare bottom tanks), and since I am breeding my apistos I want it to serve as a place to harbour an intial food source as well as a hiding place for the fry.


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## GAT

something is weird is going on. I am growing java moss that is just sitting on up of some gravel. its growing fine so im not sure what you are doing wrong. It is very hard to kill because even if you leave a tin strand in the tank it will grow back.


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## Kimchi24

hey man, if java moss is not working for you, perhaps try guppy grass or naja grass. i hear it grows like mad real easily. I heard of success in the stock led from marinas betta kit! that thing is terrible lol! im trying to find some as well so i can grow rainbow and guppy fry. 

also, java moss is really easy to grow lol. It grows really fast under high light but real slow under low. ive had java on all my tanks but got rid of it due to other mosses being cooler haha


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## Mykuhl

Kimchi24 said:


> also, java moss is really easy to grow lol.


Tell that to my java moss, maybe it will listen and start growing! Lol.


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## pyrrolin

Are you well water or city water? Maybe there is some mineral or something about your well water that is not good for java moss, if it is a well.

From what I have heard, the only way to kill java moss is to try very hard to kill it.

I have Taiwan moss that is just floating around in a tank with a single t8 over it and it grows great


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## Mykuhl

I am on city water. I can't figure out why it won't grow for me. I will try it on my really low light shrimp tank next, see if that will make a difference.


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## GAT

I'm on tap water as well so im not sure why its not growing. If the next one doesn't work I can give you some to try again. It would a good control because it is growing in my tank without much light so it should be growing for you as well.


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## pyrrolin

Would be an interesting test.

I can't imagine how you can't grow java moss, very odd.


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## Mykuhl

Thank you for the offer GAT. I may end up taking you up on that.


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## Mykuhl

Ok, I just moved 2 strands from the tank it is now in to my very low light shrimp tank. I will see how it fairs in there.


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## exv152

I find java moss does not do well in warmer temps.


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## Kimchi24

exv152 said:


> I find java moss does not do well in warmer temps.


I disagree. I had java moss in my tropical tank and in my cold water axolotl tank. The java moss faired much better in the tropical tank. Though it could have been due to more flow. I did see a video of this guy growing java moss in a huge clump in a 5 gallon tank. He had tonnes of flow so the mass just spun around. I wonder if flow has anything to do with it


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## TorontoPlantMan

Kimchi24 said:


> I disagree. I had java moss in my tropical tank and in my cold water axolotl tank. The java moss faired much better in the tropical tank. Though it could have been due to more flow. I did see a video of this guy growing java moss in a huge clump in a 5 gallon tank. He had tonnes of flow so the mass just spun around. I wonder if flow has anything to do with it


I have java moss/christmas moss growing in a mason jar on my window sill, absolutely no flow and no air (I open the lid maybe once a week?) and it grow's just fine lol There's some snails and other strange insects in there that came from another member  but with no flow it's still growing fine, just very slow. Then I have a spare 10 gallon that I use to grow phoenix moss, java moss, and christmas moss but in there I have a maxi jet so everything spins around like crazy. I ended up having to put some egg crate in there to separate the mosses but under high light (2x23 watt CFL daylight bulbs) and a lot of flow those one's are growing like crazy. I definitely believe flow is a contributing factor for it to thrive, but not necessarily something that's essential for it to grow.


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## Kimchi24

TorontoPlantMan said:


> I have java moss/christmas moss growing in a mason jar on my window sill, absolutely no flow and no air (I open the lid maybe once a week?) and it grow's just fine lol There's some snails and other strange insects in there that came from another member  but with no flow it's still growing fine, just very slow. Then I have a spare 10 gallon that I use to grow phoenix moss, java moss, and christmas moss but in there I have a maxi jet so everything spins around like crazy. I ended up having to put some egg crate in there to separate the mosses but under high light (2x23 watt CFL daylight bulbs) and a lot of flow those one's are growing like crazy. I definitely believe flow is a contributing factor for it to thrive, but not necessarily something that's essential for it to grow.


I've had java moss mounted in different depths of the tank and the highest point did get the most growth. Higher light definitely does increase growth but realistically, Java moss grows super easily in all my tanks so the fact that Java moss is a hard to grow plant for someone really baffles me lol


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## TorontoPlantMan

Kimchi24 said:


> I've had java moss mounted in different depths of the tank and the highest point did get the most growth. Higher light definitely does increase growth but realistically, Java moss grows super easily in all my tanks so the fact that Java moss is a hard to grow plant for someone really baffles me lol


Lol I know what you're saying, I completely agree. I've had 3+ month old dried out stran's of java moss on wood grow back once I used it in a tank again..the stuff is almost impossible to get rid of.


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## pyrrolin

wow, surprised it can come back to life after that long, interesting.

Is there some type of fish that really likes to eat java moss that might be killing it? Still trying to figure out why someone can't grow it.


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## Kimchi24

pyrrolin said:


> wow, surprised it can come back to life after that long, interesting.
> 
> Is there some type of fish that really likes to eat java moss that might be killing it? Still trying to figure out why someone can't grow it.


Yeah, i had java moss stuck on some driftwood and i tried to strip it. I left it out of the tank for a couple of months and put it back into another tank. After about a week, i see some java moss growth spurt out of nowhere! a truely resilient plant


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## Mykuhl

Wow...I must have some special strain of java moss that is a lot more pickly then lol. Cause my sucess with java moss has been very minimal at best.

One thing that has been pretty consistent in my tanks has been low flow. This has been due to me keeping and breeding Apistos that like little water flow. My shrimp tank is pretty low flow as well but not as much as my Apisto tanks.


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## pyrrolin

I'm pretty sure you can grow java moss in a tank with just a sponge filter which is about as low of flow as you can get


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## perfectgravity

Do you use excel by chance? It turned my moss brown when i used it to combat algae.


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## pyrrolin

OMG, why didn't I think of that? Excel can melt plants if too much is used and some plants are more sensitive than others to it.


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## Lee_D

What is the room like that you are trying to grow it in? Does it get daylight or is it in the basement? I can't grow it in the basement with two t5ho bulbs because there is no natural light. It grows well upstairs because it is next to a window.

Lee


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## Mykuhl

perfectgravity said:


> Do you use excel by chance? It turned my moss brown when i used it to combat algae.


 I tried it it different tanks, one with Excel and one without, with similar results.


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## Mykuhl

No natural light with the last few times I have tried. Although when I tried a few years ago my tanks did get some indirect natural light from the window in my living room.


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## perfectgravity

Mykuhl said:


> I tried it it different tanks, one with Excel and one without, with similar results.


No idea then. Maybe try another type of Moss.

Christmas moss worked well for me and my friend who I gave some to.


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## pyrrolin

I think you have stumped and shocked the whole community


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## Kimchi24

pyrrolin said:


> I think you have stumped and shocked the whole community


Yeah, like i can take a picture tonight of some java moss that grew out of nowhere on some of my rocks and wood.


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## Mykuhl

pyrrolin said:


> I think you have stumped and shocked the whole community


lol I am glad I could make things interesting in here.

On a positive note ... I took a close look into my Apisto tank that the bit of Java moss is in and it looks like it is starting to slowly grow .


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## pyrrolin

don't look at it or it will die on you


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## ksimdjembe

*idea?*

I can't say this is the answer to the whole situation of not being able to not grow java moss... But.. perhaps there is a possibility of plant inhibition.
I understand that you've tried growing it in various forms, diff tanks, etc. Perhaps there is either other plants in the water, or something in the water that is acting as a plant inhibitor to the moss.
If I remember my ecology, evolution, and limnology correctly, certain species of plants will release chemicals that cause the 'competitor' to stop growth or die back. 
I know certain trees do it, and I believe IIRC, it is mentioned in Diana walstads book as well.

That's my vote. Competing plant inhibitor chemicals, or at least something in the water that acts like that on the moss.

For what its worth, I can't seem to grow vals in one of my tanks.,no idea why, they just slowly wither away. I gave up and just grow what does work now.


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## mkblitz

Baffling, I couldn't get rid of the stuff! I started with a clump and it grew into 5 over six months. I threw it out and I was still picking out strands 6 months later!

I find it grows really well in high light, medium flow and C02. Did you tie them into clumps on rock? They seemed to grow faster when in a bunch. Could be an illusion though.


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## Mykuhl

Hmmm...interesting idea about the plant competition. All I had in the one tank was some java fern, anubias nana and some mini water lettuce.now I have two small bits in a tank with only java fern and anubias nana.


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## solarz

ksimdjembe said:


> I can't say this is the answer to the whole situation of not being able to not grow java moss... But.. perhaps there is a possibility of plant inhibition.
> I understand that you've tried growing it in various forms, diff tanks, etc. Perhaps there is either other plants in the water, or something in the water that is acting as a plant inhibitor to the moss.
> If I remember my ecology, evolution, and limnology correctly, certain species of plants will release chemicals that cause the 'competitor' to stop growth or die back.
> I know certain trees do it, and I believe IIRC, it is mentioned in Diana walstads book as well.
> 
> That's my vote. Competing plant inhibitor chemicals, or at least something in the water that acts like that on the moss.
> 
> For what its worth, I can't seem to grow vals in one of my tanks.,no idea why, they just slowly wither away. I gave up and just grow what does work now.


There is some merit to that idea. I don't know the reason, but some easy to grow plants just would not do well under certain circumstances, but explode for no discernible reason under others.

I've observed this several times.

First, I had a water wisteria that was doing very well. Then, inexplicably, it began to shrink and eventually died off.

Then, I had some hygrophila polysperma that was doing extremely well. I sold most of them but kept a few stems to move into my new tank. It grew well at first, but after a few prunings, it inexplicably stopped growing.

Finally, I got some more wisteria from another source and added it to that same tank. It stayed small and would not grow much. However, when I moved it to yet another tank, it suddenly exploded and started growing like a weed.

All of those tanks had slightly different parameters in terms of light, substrate, and CO2, but nothing drastic. I could not figure out the reason why these easy plants would not do well in some circumstances.


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## solarz

Oh and to the OP: do you keep Siamese Algae Eaters with your java moss? Those guys are known to eat moss. If not SAE, perhaps you have some other herbivore fish? I suppose if java moss gets picked at often enough, it will die.


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