Anyone growing moss in their discus tank?

[Whiskey]

Hello all!

I picked up some Xmas moss for my discus tank and it wasn't doing too well, after a little research I'm finding that it does best in lower temperatures. I was wondering if there was a moss that deals better with temps around 82 deg?

Thank you!
Whiskey

[ericatdallas]

I grow java moss in 80F in my shrimp tank.

[wolfel]

I grow java moss in 80F in my shrimp tank.

Second this. Java moss is fine in my tank as well.

[astrochick00]

One more vote for java moss. I have subwassertang (round pelia) in my planted discus tanks (86F) as well.

[JoseRivera]

i have xmas moss in my tank at 84-86 and its fine

[ericatdallas]

I've also grown xmas moss in the past. I used to do subwassertang as well but it grew slowly for me...

[Whiskey]

i have xmas moss in my tank at 84-86 and its fine

Very interesting!
I will grow mine out a little bit and give it another try. It is a very small amount right now and possible it wasn't strong enough to make the transition.

Or maybe the Siamese algae eaters are going after it.

Thanks for the suggestions all! Next time I see java moss I'll pick some up.
Whiskey

[ericatdallas]

Maybe it's not the moss? :)

Moss grows really easy for me, but I've read that some people still manage to kill theirs. A guy I got some xmas and java moss from said he used to have to clean it out once a week. He would literally grab bags full of it for me and give it away. Mine never grew as fast as his did. He had a bunch of MTS, grew shrimp in the tanks, and used a regular flourescent light in a few 20G.

Maybe you should consider your lighting though? Java moss is pretty hardy but I have noticed that under my 40W LED it's growing very quickly and nicely. I have two 6500K 10W whites and one 3200K 10W white as well as four 660nm 3W reds.

I didn't really research the best lighting, I just had some LEDs laying around and set it up based on my LED driver.

[flutterbug]

My moss was doing much better in my old tank when the temp was between 80 and 82. Now that I have it at 85 it seems much less green, but it isn't dying. I had Flame Moss and Christmas Moss and I think I am mostly left with Christmas Moss.

[ericatdallas]

Okay... so I have some experience in this area. When I first started with java moss, I noticed that they too started to die and then quickly came back to life after a few weeks. I then noticed it again when I started two new shrimp tanks.

I moved it from my 40G w/ two T5's to a 20G with a 13W CFL and another 20G with a T8 bulb. One tank had regulated temperature and the other two started with no heater (it was the summer at the time so I wasn't too worried).

So I did some digging to see what I was doing wrong. Other people in other forums claimed that they've seen that happening too and I found an article somewhere that mosses adapt to their environment (lighting) and develop different 'coping' mechanisms. This is one of the reasons they're so hardy. So certain times they'll be thinner and in other environments thicker. Also, if there is too much light they may get brownish to protect themselves.

So the other question is are you sure the temp is the only thing that changed? Is the intensity or type of light different?

[flutterbug]

Okay... so I have some experience in this area. When I first started with java moss, I noticed that they too started to die and then quickly came back to life after a few weeks. I then noticed it again when I started two new shrimp tanks.

I moved it from my 40G w/ two T5's to a 20G with a 13W CFL and another 20G with a T8 bulb. One tank had regulated temperature and the other two started with no heater (it was the summer at the time so I wasn't too worried).

So I did some digging to see what I was doing wrong. Other people in other forums claimed that they've seen that happening too and I found an article somewhere that mosses adapt to their environment (lighting) and develop different 'coping' mechanisms. This is one of the reasons they're so hardy. So certain times they'll be thinner and in other environments thicker. Also, if there is too much light they may get brownish to protect themselves.

So the other question is are you sure the temp is the only thing that changed? Is the intensity or type of light different?

Different tank conditions can definitely cause plants to not do well until they acclimate. Sometimes I think they got shocked so bad they practically die out. I've had lots of different scenarios. When my moss was kept in the same tank and the temp was just raised was the first time I noticed it turn from extremely thick and green and fast growing to dieing and brown looking. At that time my whole tank was on a downward spiral and the lights were due to be changed. So it probably was a combination of problems. However most places do recommend moss at cooler temps. for optimum performance. Since my mss has been moved around a lot and it isn't dead but it isn't healty either, I'm hoping it will bounce back now that I plan on keeping it where it is and consistent tank parameters. Fingers crossed! :)