Java Moss

[lee8040]

can this be grown on a rock in a bucket while the tank is being setup?

i have just got a tank and will be setting it up slowly within the next week or so i want to grow java moss and want it establish before fish are in and destroy it. will this stuff grow well in a bucket of cold water until the tank is up and running?

 

[aaronnorth]

can this be grown on a rock in a bucket while the tank is being setup?

i have just got a tank and will be setting it up slowly within the next week or so i want to grow java moss and want it establish before fish are in and destroy it. will this stuff grow well in a bucket of cold water until the tank is up and running?

Yes but i doubt your fish will destroy it and even so it grows extremely quick in almost any conditions so i wouldn't worry. You say you are setting up a tank, is this going to be cycled with fish or is another tank's water and fish being transferred or are you cycling a tank from scratch as this will take 4 - 8 wks, if so then your moss will have grown anyway.

It can be left free floating in the bucket

 

[lee8040]

can this be grown on a rock in a bucket while the tank is being setup?

i have just got a tank and will be setting it up slowly within the next week or so i want to grow java moss and want it establish before fish are in and destroy it. will this stuff grow well in a bucket of cold water until the tank is up and running?

Yes but i doubt your fish will destroy it and even so it grows extremely quick in almost any conditions so i wouldn't worry. You say you are setting up a tank, is this going to be cycled with fish or is another tank's water and fish being transferred or are you cycling a tank from scratch as this will take 4 - 8 wks, if so then your moss will have grown anyway.

It can be left free floating in the bucket

i am going to cycle it for 8 weeks but last time i put moss in it floated off the rock to the top and trying to put it back upset the tank. i want to attach it and let it attah before its in the tank so its all kept nice and tidy

 

[TammyLiz]

A week isn't going to make much of a difference. Attaching is a slow process, really, because only the new growth grabs on. You have to tie it down with either a rubber band or some cotton thread so that it is in contact with the rock, and as it sends off new shoots some of them may attach to the rock. Once enough of it grabs on I usually give it a haircut and wait for it to fill in so I don't have a messy looking clump tied on. How long that all takes will have everything to do with how quickly it grows.

As for how fast java moss grows, it has a lot to do with how you treat it. Without much light in a bucket of water it probably won't grow noticeably in just a week. It might even turn brown. Normal treated tap water isn't going to have a lot of the nutrients the moss is going to need to take off. The ammonia from your cycle would help it grow faster so if I were you I'd be putting it into the tank.

HTH.