Dying moss ?

[flyer1988]

I have some moss attached to a piece of mopani wood inside a 37 gallon tank.

My question is if anyone has an idea why my moss is dying or leaving alot of dead strands of moss?:confused:

My water parameters are as follow;

Ph; 7.5
Ammonia: 0.5
Nitrite: 0.25
Nitrate: 5
water temp: 84 degrees farenheit.

I do daily 50-70% water changes, ocassionally missing once a week a change. I dose at time excel and within 2 days they seem to grow new strands of moss, but due to the high water changes it is quickly removed from the tank.

I have no clue if it is Java moss, christmas moss or what kind of moss it is, and what conditions it needs. Would be great if anyone can give me some good info on how to maintain it. Do i need like some shrimp to munch out on the decaying matter?

http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq250/flyer1988/DSC02230.jpg
http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq250/flyer1988/DSC02231.jpg
http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq250/flyer1988/DSC02232.jpg
http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq250/flyer1988/DSC02233.jpg
http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq250/flyer1988/DSC02235.jpg

heres some pics see if anyone can id this moss. thx in advance and godbless all..:)

[leeishom]

Wait 3 months before using liquid ferts, after planting.

The PH is kind of high, but not sure if that's the cause. What kind of string do you use?
What spectrum of lighting are you using? You may need to use a broader range of lighting to help stimulate growth.

[Raul-7]

Give it time, it could be acclimating to the higher temperatures, lighting conditions, etc. As long as it has new stands growing it will be fine.

[flyer1988]

As for lighting im using a T5 HO - 6700 light and a Colormax by coralife. total wattage is 62 watts. As for light spectrum I have no knowledge on that.

What line am i using? im using fishing line.

It has already been about 2-3 months, and to be honest it hasnt grown much. I only see growth when I dose excel.

[leeishom]

Try decreasing light exposure. 3 or 4 hours of light.

[mathao]

thats a lot of water changes for the moss, moss usually don't do to well with discus because of the water changes.

[jimg]

Put the moss near a power head,filter outflow or other high current area and you should see a change. re-check the water tests,not good to have nitrites!

[Larry Bugg]

Moss is a cooler water plant and does not do as well in higher temp tanks.

[Second Hand Pat]

This tank also looks to still be cycling or at least a mini-cycle.

[flyer1988]

If moss dont do well on high temps what kind of moss will if any?

I will go ahead and place some moss near a high water current.

[jimg]

my temp was always 84-85. I had the java moss it did the same as yours until I put it just under the filter outlet where there was strong current. took off big time!

[leeishom]

Push comes to shove, tie down new patch of moss from another source.

[waj8]

Looks like Java moss to me. I think that your temp. is a bit of a problem as it is on the high end for that plant. Adding a carbon source like Excel helps the plant to grow outside it's optimum temperature range. Putting it in a high flow area also helps the plant collect CO2. You could go broke using Excel in a Discus tank and you don't really have enough plants to warrant the addition of CO2 so I agree with jimg that you should increase water flow around the plant. It is not the light spectrum. It is not the amount of light. Could be a lack of some nutrient.

[Flutter]

We have java and/or taiwan moss in our discus tank. Some must have gotten in by accident and it's formed massive clumps. It's attached itself to driftwood and plants as well and is going crazy. Tap water pH is around 8.5 and temperature is at about 85F. It's also growing in low current areas.

Is taiwan moss better suited? Ours is going crazy, maybe it's all taiwan moss?