General Care Discussion :: Moss Balls

[SINI5T3R]

You know those underwater Moss Balls you buy from petsmart? how do you breed those or produce them?

[penelope]

All I know is they are a type of Japanese Algae - people call them Marimo Balls. They supposedly grow on their own. If you cut a larger one in half, they will both grow until they become round again and then you will have two. No clue how long it takes though.

[SINI5T3R]

really? ill have to try that. I would really like to have loads of them. they are supposed to be really good for water.

[wietgr]

My Turtles destroyed the one I bought within a day

[SquidSox]

My turtles started eating my less healthy moss ball and it is now 3 bright green small moss balls so yeah just cut them up and put them in a tank with either a filter or some sort of airration device and you will soon have more

[penelope]

Question: what is their purpose? Not a a smart alec question, just curious.
I am a strong opponent of algae of any kind for my own personal reasons. I do not disregard those who feel/ don't worry about algae of the 'healthy' or 'inert' sort. My reasons are my own and is a definite minority.
Again, I am simply curious.

[SquidSox]

The help keep your water cleaner the actualy produce some sort of enzyme I think it is into the water to help keep it clear I kept one in an unfiltered beta tank for 6 months and never had to change the water I simply put a moss ball and an airrator in the water the help circulate it it. My turtles like to eat them to. I guess it's a good think they do cause its the first non protein item I've put it the tank that they ate. Its not like the gross algae that builds up from poor filtration tho

[SINI5T3R]

They also produce ozygen for the water. They help against the water getting dirty and they get pretty large. They just look cool too tho lol. They are alot different from that gross algae u get from the sun

[Linus]

They also grow sooooo slow. So have fun growing them.

[ubungleebin]

So I am starting to get some algae growth in my tank, and I was told that moss balls would help with this. First question is, if I want the moss ball to take care of the algae that is currently growing in my tank, can I just let the moss ball be in the tank and eventually it will wipe out the algae that is currently growing? Or do I need to clean up the algae and then the moss ball will work to prevent algae from growing?

Also, after I went and purchased a moss ball and put it in the tank it would bounce around the bottom of the tank due to the filter moving it around. It always seems to eventually drift into the same place, underneath a fake half circle log. Is the moss ball doing any good if it is in a sheltered place like that where I don't believe the water flow is as good as it is anywhere else in the tank? Or do I need to try and figure a way to make my moss ball quit trying to take shelter ?

Thanks!

[sweety10189110]

I had one for a few weeks and it did help with the water quality however after a couple weeks I noticed a big hole through the middle of it. My turt was munching on it. After that I pulled it out since it was making more of a mess then helping anything.

[Mom2RES]

Question: what is their purpose? Not a a smart alec question, just curious.
I am a strong opponent of algae of any kind for my own personal reasons. I do not disregard those who feel/ don't worry about algae of the 'healthy' or 'inert' sort. My reasons are my own and is a definite minority.
Again, I am simply curious.

My understanding is it take the nutrients other types of algae need to grow, so instead of having algae all over your talk it is contained in the one little ball. I have one. When I first got it, I think Angelina took a bite. She must not have liked it, because she has left it alone since.

I can't say if it works or not, because not long after I got it I took my tank completely apart and cleaned everything, got new sand, the works. That has been a little over a month ago, and I have no signs of algae so far.

[devilduck]

They are more of a novelty then have any real benefits to your tank.

I have 2 softball sized ones. Unless you carpet your tank with them I don't think they will do much of the claimed extra nutrient removal in a turtle tank. Your better off getting fast growing aquatic plants, terrarium plants, or something like a pathos ivy which can survive with it's roots in the water.

They are so slow growing that splitting them will take years to get them to grow back to the same size and it is very hard to make them perfectly round again. I leave mine in a fancy fish bowl by the window as decoration. The diffused sunlight does make it bubble with oxygen, sometimes enough to float the marimo ball. If your not careful other types of algae will grow on the marimo ball and eventually kill it.

If you raise shrimp they are great because the shrimps like to eat the micro organisms the grow on the algae surface. You can have it in a beta bowl and it makes a nice conversation piece.

You can get them in bulk from online dealers, they are pretty pricey from petco/petsmart.