Reptile & Amphibian Forums

just to let others know

i bought both scotch moss and irish moss from home depot about a week ago to put into my tank for my new crested geckos.

its a 40 gal tall oceanic cham. tank. i have 1x55 watt 10k compact flour. lamp and the mosses are doign great!
even spreading out already!

the medium i am using in bead a beast wixed with cyrpus multch

i bought both kinds expecting 1 to die off or possibly both but both are doing good as are0the rest of the plants and the orchid

Glad to hear that its growing fine.

My question is....How good does Scottish Moss work for darts??? Is it possible to use this type of moss??? Is there any disadvantages to this moss??? I personally preffer the look of this moss but I heard that pillow moss was much better to use. What do you guys think???

cresty

the irish moss is more 'pillowy' in looks if that is what you are after.

i dont think there is any real advantage to the frogs...other than live plants help with teh humidity and help cycle frog waste.

i was just happy to see it growing and doing so well becasue a 1/4 flat of it was somethign like $2 for each of them...about 8"x8" square is what it came to. alot cheaper than the frog moss or others out there.

just posting my results so others could find a cheap alternative

-slappy

I'll have to try it out. Thanks for the advice!!!

cresty

Be aware of common names, because several different plants, none of them true mosses, are called Irish moss. Some species of Selaginella go by this name, and while not true mosses, these "club" mosses grow somewhat like small ferns and are appropriate for a terrarium, if not for a ground cover. The other "Irish moss" that I know of is Helxine soleiroilii, also known as "baby's tears," and is totally unrelated to mosses, but is still a decent terrarium plant, with small delicate leaves and a creeping habit. "Scotch moss," is also a Selaginella--specifically S. brownii, and not a true moss, also a club moss, but equally appropriate for a terrarium, if not a ground cover like the true tropical pillow or sheet mosses would be. Who knows what other common names commercial folk give to totally unrelated plants? They tend to assign them arbitrarily and without conscience. Some perennial blooming plants are know as mosses: witness "Monterey moss," which is a blooming succulent Mesembrianthmum, about as far from a moss as you can get.

Your "mosses" are appropriate for the habitat, but may not cover the ground like you expect. For this, you need one of the tropical pillow or sheet mosses (which are more difficult to grow, actually,) or the longer Java moss, which will cover anything that is wet, but with longer, more untidy strands than the pillows or sheet mosses. This is easily controlled, however. When Java gets out of hand, because it is very enthusiastic, you just rip it up easily and it doesn't argue about it or take a lot of substrate with it. I love Java for the fact that you can always get rid of it where you don't want it, at least for a long, but ultimately temporary period, and it will grow both under water, over substrate, plain rock up water-falls, or anywhere that is damp, without being overly fussy about light. It's a great water filter and purifier for ponds and aquarium features if you incorporate these in your tanks.

Here's a picture of Selaginella krausinna brownii, also known as "Irish Moss."

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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

4 D. auratus blue
5 D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
7 D. imitator
6 D. leucomelas
4 D. pumilio Bastimentos
4 D. fantasticus
6 P. terribilis mint and organe
4 D. reticulatus
4 D. castaneoticus
2 D. azureus
4 P vittatus
2 P. lugubris

i didnt care too much about where ther eit was a true moss or not. it covered the ground, looked nice, and seems to be growing well. i have tried babies tear before..but that was before i had teh compact flour. lamp...it died horribly...but i may give it another go becasue i really like the look of it. like dence clumps of tiny tiny clovers. pretty little floers too.

both mosses form home depot are floweringnow, little hite flowers.

java moss is nice. i have always liked it but never grown it. when you grow it in teh substrate...does it have to be boggy wet or just damp from misting and reg moisture in teh tank?

If your mosses are "flowering" they aren't mosses or closely related to them, but if it works, just see what happens.

Java needs a lot of moisture, does best in rather boggy conditions, but in a humid dart tank, will climb to drier areas. I'd suggest introduing it in the wettest part of your vivarium and just see where it goes from there. If you don't like it, it is always easy to simply rip up and discard.
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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

4 D. auratus blue
5 D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
7 D. imitator
6 D. leucomelas
4 D. pumilio Bastimentos
4 D. fantasticus
6 P. terribilis mint and organe
4 D. reticulatus
4 D. castaneoticus
2 D. azureus
4 P vittatus
2 P. lugubris

the flowers.
its deffinately a ground cover but it works and it looks nice.

so ill keep it

but i saw sopme 'frog moss' at teh pet store...was thinking of giving that a try too.