Java will grow on just about any substrate as long as it's fairly wet and humid. To propagate it, you can put it in a tropical fish tank or in a container of water in good light, but not full sun. I always put a hunk of it in my tadpole containers as well, where it seems to grow splendidly, giving the tads a place to hide as well as utilizing some of the wastes. It's a really good filter for growing on water falls and in water features. It does need "weeding out" or trimming back once in awhile, as it can fill a shallow pond, or build up rather high on the edges of a vivarium, especially next to the glass.

I believe there is more than one species of Java moss, but I don't know what the difference among them is.

To me, it seems a shame that so many of the beautiful carpet mosses, mostly found in temperate zones or sub-tropics, and those used with Bonsai don't seem to do well for very long in our enclosed rain-forest habitats, but whenever one finds them, it always seems worth a try. I doubt very much that Lowes or Home Depot has moss spores, but I'll look through my moss books (all both of them) and see if these list any sources and let you know.

A lot of people seem to be using Ricca now, as well, but a start is rather expensive. I paid about $9.00 for a tiny lava rock of it for my new paludarium and am trying it out in a shallow part of the aquarium section. I haven't had it very long, so it's too early to tell how it's going to do and I don't have enough to try it on wet land yet.
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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

D. auratus blue, auratus Ancon Hill, galactonotus orange, galactonotus yellow, fantasticus, reticulatus, imitator, castaneoticus, azureus, pumilio Bastimentos. P. lugubris, vittatus, terribilis mint green, terribilis orange.

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