Marimo Moss Balls

[ccskitten]

Hello

I am fairly new and am just starting to seriously plant my tank. There are plants in there but it is still pretty bare.

I have just come across Marimo Moss Balls on Ebay. They look interesting. I'd be interested to know what you experienced guys think of them.

Kind regards

Cindy

 

[SuperColey1]

They're fashionable at the moment but will pass.

Personally I don't like them.

They aren't a plant. they aren't a moss.

They are in fact rolled up balls of algae!!!!

AC

 

[Nick16]

they are super for a newbie, the tank some of the nutrients away from the annoying types of algae, i have 2 of them in each of my tanks, almost impossible to kill and will grow very slowly. they are £1.50 at my lfs.

 

[ccskitten]

Thank you for your replies

Will they also take nutrients away from the other plants in my tank too??

 

[TylerFerretLord]

They aren't a plant. they aren't a moss.

They are in fact rolled up balls of algae!!!!

So?

 

[pippoodle]

i love the marimo moss balls they are great you can either leave them as balls or split them to create a ground covering or even tie them to wood or ornaments

who cares if they are algae they eat extra nutrients and can look great in tanks they dont take nutrients away from your plants but help to curb algae growth

thanks sarah x

 

[grasshopper_green]

these things are cool. i love explaining to my guests that they are in fact a species of algae that grows in the form of a ball. people tend to assume that they're rocks covered in moss or something similar..
it really comes down to aesthetics, and for me they fit perfectly with my tank which i like to think of as "alien landscape". in any case they're a nice green color and a lot of people think they're cool. At times, they remind me of meatwad (from aqua teen hunger force)
they grow really, really slowly, so they likely don't take up nutrients very quickly. did i mention that they grow extremely slowly?

 

[Phage]

I admit they look odd with a bunch of stem plants and such but I think they are neat. I'm pulling mine apart and making them as a tiny carpet or just to cover rocks.

These are some pictures I found of someone pulling them apart.

 

[ccskitten]

How pretty. I love it!!

Just one more question, Do you find that the fish eat it? My fish are a nightmare for eating plants and they do love to strip any hair algea. Maybe I don't feed them enough!

 

[SuperColey1]

There aren't many fish that will eat that particular type of algae (which doesn't grow in ball form. It is rolled into ball form)

Amano shrimp may it some though.

AC

 

[grasshopper_green]

in nature, the balls are rolled into ball form by wave action in the water. so in that sense, they are rolled, but it's completely natural without human intervention.

I keep moss balls with amano shrimp, otos, an SAE and nerite snails -- none of these algae eaters pays much attention to the moss balls and there is no noticeable damage to the moss balls from any of the algae eaters.

 

[malakye]

I have the moss balls in both my tanks, I like them, my frogs play with them, the shrimp climb all over them and they just add some different colour and shape into the tank. I have amano and cherry shrimp and neither seem to do any damage to them.

 

[ccskitten]

Well I have just ordered some. I am really looking forward to the delivery. Thanks guys for the enthusiasm. It certainly rubs off

 

[SuperColey1]

I would doubt that any of the sold ones ever naturally formed and were rolled by hand so if you want the real thing you are going to have to ask if they came from Japan, Iceland or Estonia where the only known 'colonies' of marimo balls are.

If these balls are your thing though then thumbs up and enjoy.

AC

 

[gasmask]

Marimo are fantastic!

I had some in my tank before, I fished them from my local lake myself!
Only problem was they were in with my black mollies, and were jut getting destroyed by them!