# Show your Moss BALLs, community tips and techniques



## acorn412 (May 4, 2010)

JAPANESE MARIMO AQUARIUM MOSS BALLS

hey guys, 
everybody loves these little moss balls and everyone has their own ways to keep them. i posted this thread in hopes that people will share their success in keeping moss balls. 

how big are your (post some pic's)


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## Tn23 (Apr 21, 2010)

Mine are 10CM big and I just let them sit at the bottom of the tank....


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## Scholz (Apr 21, 2010)

I was thinking the title of this thread should be; I'll show you mine if you show me yours......


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## alym (Apr 21, 2010)

Scholz said:


> I was thinking the title of this thread should be; I'll show you mine if you show me yours......


LOL I concur.
Or simply, how big are your... hmmm never mind.


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## lednail (Apr 22, 2010)

I have cut mine into strips and stapelled then to wood.


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## Srenaeb (Apr 24, 2010)

part of mine was sort of falling apart, so I tore the chunk off. 
Now the "baby" one is getting very slowly bigger. 

I find that I need to roll 'em around every now and then, otherwise they start to get "flat bottoms".


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## Trouble (Apr 27, 2010)

*I had a thread for these. It was called I made my balls float. Cause I made my moss balls float.*


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## acorn412 (May 4, 2010)

I have some that are still floating around (even with a little squeeze) and others seem to sink just fine... they all look great (only 3-4cm maybe 5).

I just picked up some split ones today from John (Jtang)  and I have some driftwood (thank's everyone) that my husband split into smaller pieces. We will be tying pieces of the moss balls and some java ferns on to the driftwood in hopes that with time we will have some really cool  moss ball driftwood... 

anjie


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## Trouble (Apr 27, 2010)

*I guess I should have said that I made it float half way in my tank. Not at the top of the tank if that is what it sounded like.*


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## Scholz (Apr 21, 2010)

Is it just me, or has noone actually showed their balls yet?


Lots of talk....


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## effox (Apr 21, 2010)

Srenaeb said:


> part of mine was sort of falling apart, so I tore the chunk off.
> Now the "baby" one is getting very slowly bigger.
> 
> I find that I need to roll 'em around every now and then, otherwise they start to get "flat bottoms".


They will also brown, as they are algae, they all need light. If you dissect them, they're brown on the inside.


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## effox (Apr 21, 2010)

I've got a bunch of small ones propogating in pickle jars on my window sill.

Here's one of my 4" in my shrimp tank:


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## Atom (Apr 21, 2010)

Alright...here are my balls.

The bigger ones are 2.5".


















Does anyone know how to prevent them from falling apart or developing holes? A large one has a hole right through it and some of the smaller ones fell apart. I role them by hand weekly.


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## effox (Apr 21, 2010)

You've got hollow balls dude.

When they are hollow, they are in the process of propogating, they do this by splitting in half, or into smaller pieces. If you get a dense one, it's not going to do this.

I've got dense ones, and hollow ones. I usually sell mine after they propagate and then retain their shape. There's always some that can't hold their weight and lay somewhat flat out of the water, or get flat bottoms, or will float easier.

When you're purchasing them next time, these are ones that you should ask about if you don't want to deal with these issues. I've got about 100 of them, so I know what I'm talking about.


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## Atom (Apr 21, 2010)

effox said:


> When you're purchasing them next time, these are ones that you should ask about if you don't want to deal with these issues. I've got about 100 of them, so I know what I'm talking about.


Since you have experience with balls. Do you know if Excel will harm them since they are a form of algae?


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## effox (Apr 21, 2010)

I wouldn't recommend overdosing with excel. I did, and they turn brown.

A little excel won't harm them. Just keep an eye out, if you notice they discolour stop it immediately. They'll go from dark green to lighter, to an ugly yellowish green to brown.

I don't think they'd recover if they went brown, but it'd be worth a shot to salvage them if that were the case.


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## DR1V3N (Apr 22, 2010)

scholz said:


> is it just me, or has noone actually showed their balls yet?
> 
> Lots of talk....


hah...........


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## Guest (May 29, 2010)

i'll show my ball ... that's right, i only have one


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## AWW (Apr 22, 2010)

lednail said:


> I have cut mine into strips and stapelled then to wood.


sounds painful, on any painkillers?


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## effox (Apr 21, 2010)

Not to thread jack, but let me know if you guys need any, I can get them for you for cheap, and they're big balls.

Any one who has shrimp should have these.... With that said I don't see any with shrimp on them!!!

Come on guys...gals....... post your balls!


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## effox (Apr 21, 2010)

AWW said:


> sounds painful, on any painkillers?


I heard Lynae did the same thingg, cut them and put laid them flat for her cray fish... Pretty interesting way to do it, a carpet.

Wow!


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## Atom (Apr 21, 2010)

effox said:


> Not to thread jack, but let me know if you guys need any, I can get them for you for cheap, and they're big balls.
> 
> Any one who has shrimp should have these.... With that said I don't see any with shrimp on them!!!
> 
> Come on guys...gals....... post your balls!


I might be interested soon! Some of my smaller balls are falling apart.

Are you doing another big order?


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## acorn412 (May 4, 2010)

i had a whole bunch of loose moss ball strands left over, so we just put them in a cup with some small drift wood pieces under flourescent lights. hopefully it will latch on to the wood (or some thing). it's still green, so we'll have to wait and see!


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## VinnyD (Apr 21, 2010)

just measured the moss ball i have in the tank...5.5 cm(measured with the ball in the water from the outside of the glass)...and yah...my shrimps and snails love the moss ball...occasionally even my fish nibble on it.


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