The plant this site names most often, and nobody can tell you what it is
Six of our records cite java moss, more than any other plant, and they got there without a plan: each one names it because a care source named it while describing a fish or a shrimp. This record exists to say what it is, and the first thing it has to report is that our sources do not agree on that.
Five of the seven use Taxiphyllum barbieri. aqua-fish uses Vesicularia dubyana and concedes the argument in the same sentence, that there is some debate about its scientific classification. Wikipedia states the position without flinching: in the aquarium trade, java moss can refer to either Taxiphyllum barbieri or Vesicularia dubyana, and it can be difficult to distinguish between the species.
Modest Fish gives the history. It used to be sold in aquarium shops in Asia under the name Vesicularia dubyana, but researchers have not been able to confirm that java moss in the aquarium trade is the same species. So the scientific name row on this record carries two names, which no other record here does, and the honest reading of that row is that the moss in the bag is sold under a name nobody can verify.
That is not a technicality. It is why our two sources disagree about where the plant grows in the wild, one saying Vietnam only and the other naming India, Java and Malaysia, and it is why the plant named after Java may never have been recorded growing there. Station 07 prints both.
Why this record was written now
- The gap
- Java moss is the plant our own records name most, cited on six of them by five sources we can name, Aquarium Co-Op, Aquarium Source, PetMD, Splashy Fish and FishLab, and it had no page. It is the third most searched plant on our list after hornwort and java fern.
- What it changes
- With this record the three plants here cover every value the silo's placement field defines, front to back, and the scientific name row carries two names for the first time.
- What it does not
- Two blanks by refusal. No growth rate figure, because the two sources that rate the growth give a word, and no answer about goldfish, because not one of the seven names goldfish for this plant in either direction.
It has no roots. It has feet
Modest Fish gives the botany, and it is the sentence that makes the rest of this record make sense.
They don't have roots. They have these sticky little feet called rhizoids. They only use the rhizoids to anchor themselves in place, but not to eat. They absorb water and nutrients directly through their stems and leaves, not the rhizoids. Which means, as that source puts it, you can stick java moss almost anywhere in a tank and it can grow there.
Aquarium Co-Op describes the same behavior without the anatomy: java moss attaches itself to things, much like ivy, it tends to anchor itself in one spot and then float there peacefully, and you don't have to worry about planting it and it won't root into your gravel. Aquarium Breeder lists what it will hold on to: stones, rocks, gravel, driftwood, bogwood or any type of decoration. Wikipedia's version is three nouns, that it attaches to rocks, roots, and driftwood.
How to put java moss in an aquarium, and how long the string stays on
Two sources give a timescale, which is the part most care sheets leave out. Aquarium Breeder says to tie it to a piece of driftwood or rock with a dark colored thread or fishing line, that this will hold the plant firmly in position, and that you can remove the thread after 3 to 4 weeks. aqua-fish is less precise and says the same thing: securing it to objects like rocks, logs or driftwood requires using thread or string, and over time, usually within a few weeks to a few months, the moss will naturally attach itself.
Aquarium Plants Factory names three finishes in one sentence: attach it to hardscape with fishing line, cotton thread or aquarium-safe glue, spread it over mesh to form a carpet, or leave it floating. Java moss on driftwood is the common version of the first, and the driftwood does nothing for the plant except hold it still.
All three plant records here have a substrate row that reads none, and for three different reasons. Hornwort has no roots and no anchor at all, so it floats or gets pinned down. Java fern has both roots and a rhizome, and the rhizome rots if you bury it. Java moss has rhizoids that grip but do not feed, so burying it is pointless rather than fatal. That is why the plants silo calls substrate the field that decides whether a plant can go in the tank you already have.
Light and CO2, and a failure mode that is not the plant
On java fern the light row was the argument: two sources published PAR figures where one recommended a floor above the other's ceiling. Here there is one PAR figure and no argument at all.
| Source | Light | PAR | Hours a day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aquarium Plants Factory | Low to moderate | 10 to 30 | 8 to 10 |
| Aquarium Co-Op | It can grow with absolutely no light | not stated | not stated |
| Modest Fish | Low is fine, thrives low to bright | not stated | 8 to 10 |
| Aquarium Breeder | Low to medium | not stated | At least 8 |
| Splashy Fish | Low to moderate, moderate is ideal | not stated | not stated |
| aqua-fish | Low light to direct sunlight, low preferred | not stated | not stated |
| Wikipedia | All light qualities | not stated | not stated |
Every source in that table says low light grows this plant, and the range they will accept at the top is enormous: aqua-fish goes as far as full exposure to bright, direct sunlight, and Aquarium Co-Op goes the other way to no light at all, reporting that it is rare that someone would be unable to keep java moss alive.
What separates this record from the java fern one is the failure mode. Four of our java fern sources said too much light burns the leaf. Four of our java moss sources say too much light grows algae on the moss, which is a different problem with a different fix. aqua-fish: low light is generally preferred to prevent unwanted algae growth. Splashy Fish: excessive light can lead to algae growth, which can smother the moss. Aquarium Plants Factory: be cautious with high-intensity setups, which can promote algae on the moss. Modest Fish is the most direct, that it's very common for algae to crop up on java moss, especially true if lighting in the tank is more intense or stays on for long periods.
CO2 is not required, and one source doses it and then shrugs
Aquarium Breeder gives a figure and withdraws it in the same sentence: additional CO2 dosing of up to 15 to 30 ppm helps to hasten its growth, the effect is not very significant. Modest Fish: using CO2 with java moss is not an absolute requirement, it will grow just fine in a low tech setup, it will grow faster with pressurized CO2, but again, it already grows pretty darn fast without it. Splashy Fish: it does not require CO2 injection, but CO2 supplementation can accelerate growth. Aquarium Plants Factory: CO2 isn't required but can speed growth in high-light setups.
That is beneficial on the silo's three way scale of required, beneficial or unnecessary, and it makes three plant records in a row where the answer to the CO2 question is no. The silo calls CO2 the single field that decides whether a plant belongs in a beginner tank. Three records in, it has not excluded anything.
The full record
| Field | Recorded | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Light | Low. The failure at the top of the range is algae, not burn | Seven sources, one PAR figure, and complete agreement that low is enough. Aquarium Co-Op is the extreme case: the moss can grow with absolutely no light. Aquarium Plants Factory is the only source with a number, low to moderate intensity, 10 to 30 PAR, 8 to 10 hours per day. Modest Fish: you don't need strong lighting to grow java moss, it will do just fine under low lights, and it will thrive in low to bright light, with more light meaning it will grow faster, on a photoperiod of 8 to 10 hours a day. Aquarium Breeder asks for low to medium lighting at least 8 hours daily. Splashy Fish says it does not require intense lighting and can survive in low to moderate light, and is the only source calling moderate light the ideal condition. aqua-fish gives the widest range of all, low light conditions to full exposure to bright, direct sunlight, and then says low light is generally preferred to prevent unwanted algae growth. Wikipedia: it accepts all kinds of water, even weakly brackish, and light qualities. Four sources name the same consequence of too much light and it is not the leaf: excessive light grows algae on the moss. |
| CO2 | Not required. One source doses it and says it barely helps | Four sources state it and none asks for it. Aquarium Breeder is the interesting one because it gives a figure and then withdraws it: java moss can thrive without fertilizer application and external CO2 dosing, and additional CO2 dosing of up to 15 to 30 ppm helps to hasten its growth, the effect is not very significant by way. Modest Fish: using CO2 with java moss is not an absolute requirement, it will grow just fine in a low tech setup, it will grow faster with pressurized CO2, but again, it already grows pretty darn fast without it. Splashy Fish: it does not require CO2 injection, but CO2 supplementation can accelerate growth. Aquarium Plants Factory: CO2 isn't required but can speed growth in high-light setups. That is beneficial on the silo's three way scale, and it makes three plant records in a row where the answer is no. |
| Placement | Foreground or midground, and it carpets | Modest Fish gives foreground and midground and adds that it makes a good carpeting plant. Aquarium Breeder gives foreground and midground and describes the carpet as a use rather than a position: this plant can be grown to form a carpet in the tank, and when done successfully it provides your tank with an aesthetically pleasing floor underwater. Aquarium Plants Factory names three placements in one sentence, attached to hardscape, spread over mesh to form a carpet, or left floating. With this record the three plants here cover every value the silo's placement field defines: hornwort floats, java fern sits midground to background, java moss goes at the front. |
| Substrate | None. It anchors with rhizoids, not roots | Modest Fish gives the botany and it is the sentence that makes the rest of this record make sense: they don't have roots, they have these sticky little feet called rhizoids, they only use the rhizoids to anchor themselves in place, but not to eat, they absorb water and nutrients directly through their stems and leaves, not the rhizoids, which means you can stick java moss almost anywhere in a tank and it can grow there. Aquarium Co-Op describes the behavior rather than the anatomy: java moss attaches itself to things, much like ivy, it tends to anchor itself in one spot and then float there peacefully, and you don't have to worry about planting it and it won't root into your gravel. Aquarium Breeder: java moss does not require any preferred substrate for planting, it can be attached to stones, rocks, gravel, driftwood, bogwood or any type of decorations. Splashy Fish: java moss does not require a substrate. Wikipedia: it attaches to rocks, roots, and driftwood. Two sources give a timescale for the attachment. Aquarium Breeder says to tie it with a dark colored thread or fishing line and that you can remove the thread after 3 to 4 weeks; aqua-fish says that over time, usually within a few weeks to a few months, the moss will naturally attach itself. |
| Growth rate | Medium. No source here publishes a rate | Two sources rate it and neither puts a number on it. Modest Fish gives medium and repeats twice that it already grows pretty fast on its own, once about fertilizer and once about CO2. Aquarium Breeder gives slow to moderate. Aquarium Co-Op publishes no rate at all and gives a diagnostic instead, that a light green color on the ends of the moss indicates new growth, which is the only way any of our sources tells you whether it is growing at this moment. The consequence every source agrees on is trimming. Modest Fish: if left completely alone, java moss will grow into a giant blobby mess, and trimming it regularly helps to make it look neater and stops old growth from dying off inside a big mass. Aquarium Co-Op: trimming the plant will keep it healthy and won't damage any future growth. This is the third plant record here and the third different answer: hornwort grows 1 to 4 inches a week, java fern takes two to four weeks to make one leaf, and java moss gets a word. |
| Propagation | Division. Tear a piece off and attach it | One method, named by five sources, and it is the same method as trimming. Wikipedia: java moss can be easily propagated via division, and it adds that spore capsules are rarely formed in cultivation, which is why nobody in the hobby propagates it any other way. Aquarium Breeder: the propagative means of java moss is through division, which involves breaking off pieces from the plant bunch and attaching it on surfaces or hardscapes. Aquarium Plants Factory: propagation is simple, cut or tear off a portion and attach it to a new area. Splashy Fish: java moss naturally propagates by fragmentation, and when trimmed, the cut pieces will grow. Modest Fish describes the same thing from the other end, that trimming stops old growth dying inside the mass. Aquarium Co-Op reports the durability that makes all of this work: there are instances where a plant has been forgotten in a bucket for up to two months and when it was found it was still alive. |
| Temperature | 59 to 86 °F | Three sources publish this band identically, Splashy Fish, aqua-fish and Aquarium Plants Factory, and Aquarium Breeder is wider still at 15 to 32 C, 59 to 90 °F. It ties hornwort for the widest temperature band on this site. The preferred bands are where the sources get interesting, because all six of them are different and all six contain 70 to 75 °F: Modest Fish gives 70 to 86 as ideal, Aquarium Breeder 70 to 75 as suitable, Splashy Fish 68 to 75 as where it thrives best, aqua-fish 70 to 85 as where it grows best, Aquarium Plants Factory 68 to 77 as ideal growth, and Wikipedia 68 to 86 as where it grows best, adding that it can live in temperatures outside this range. |
| pH | 6.0 to 7.5 | Five sources and the row prints the span every one of them contains. Aquarium Plants Factory gives 6.0 to 7.5. Splashy Fish gives 6.0 to 8.0 and calls slightly acidic to neutral water best. Modest Fish gives 5 to 8. aqua-fish says it can tolerate a wide pH spectrum, from slightly acidic at 5.0 to mildly alkaline at 8.0. Aquarium Breeder is the widest and the most specific at once: java moss can tolerate extreme aquatic pH values of 5 to 9 but it does best at 6 to 8. On hardness, three sources publish a figure and for once they all use general hardness rather than carbonate: Modest Fish gives up to 20 dGH, which it converts to 333 ppm, Aquarium Breeder gives 5 dGH and above preferably, up to 20 dGH, and Aquarium Plants Factory gives 2 to 15 dGH. Those three overlap at 5 to 15 dGH, about 89 to 268 ppm. |
| Eaten by | Not shrimp or snails. One source names three fish that devour it | This is the plant our own records name more than any other, and the field breaks into three answers. Aquarium Breeder is the only source that names fish to avoid, and it is blunt: oscar, red devil and siamese algae eater, they will devour the moss. The same page lists what it is compatible with, and eight of those are animals we hold or have queued records for: guppy, green swordtail, molly, platy, neon tetra, angelfish, corydoras catfish and clown loach. On invertebrates every source that mentions them says the same thing. Aquarium Breeder: java moss is compatible with shrimp and most snails, naming ramshorn, nerite, Malaysian trumpet, Japanese trapdoor and mystery snails, all varieties of Neocaridina, and Caridina species including amano and ghost shrimp. Modest Fish: pretty much any serious shrimp keeper will tell you that java moss is a must have, shrimp love this stuff, it gives them a place to hide and they will endlessly sift through the java moss eating algae and biofilm, and freshwater shrimp like cherry or Amanos are the only animals that can get into the moss and physically clean off the algae. Wikipedia is careful about what the shrimp are actually eating: some shrimp feed on the various microorganisms and detritus that collect on the moss. Aquarium Co-Op says shrimp will happily eat the white fluff away, meaning hair algae. Aquarium Breeder also rejects the one claim against shrimp: some people say that amano shrimp can eat moss if there is no other food available in the tank, personally, I have not seen anything like this. No source we read names goldfish for this plant in either direction. |
The same nine fields for every animal on this site are in the A to Z index.
Where our sources disagree
Every record here names a disagreement. On this one it is about what the plant is, and the second disagreement follows from the first: two sources put the wild plant on two different parts of the map.
Wikipedia
It has only been recorded in the wild in Vietnam.
aqua-fish
Java Moss (Vesicularia dubyana) originates from several regions in Southeast Asia, including India, Java, and Malaysia.
What we record: we print both and carry neither, because the two sentences are not describing the same plant. Wikipedia's is about Taxiphyllum barbieri, first described as Isopterygium barbieri from Vinh, Vietnam.
aqua-fish's is about Vesicularia dubyana, and aqua-fish says in its own opening sentence that there is some debate about the classification. Wikipedia states the consequence for anybody buying it: in the aquarium trade, java moss can refer to either species and it can be difficult to distinguish between them.
So the scientific name row on this record carries two names rather than one, which no other record here does, and the practical reading is that the moss in the bag is sold under a name nobody can verify. It is also why the plant named after Java may never have been recorded growing there.
How fast does java moss grow? Nobody here publishes a number
Two of our seven sources rate the growth and neither puts a figure on it. That is the honest state of this field and it is worth saying out loud, because every care sheet has a growth row and most of them fill it.
Modest Fish gives medium, and repeats twice that it already grows pretty fast on its own, once about fertilizer and once about CO2. Aquarium Breeder gives slow to moderate. Aquarium Co-Op publishes no rate at all and offers a diagnostic instead, which is more useful than either word: a light green color on the ends of the moss indicates new growth. That is the only way any source here tells you whether your moss is growing today.
So the row reads medium, no source publishes a rate. This is the third plant record on this site and the third different answer to the same field. Hornwort grows 1 to 4 inches a week and every source on it says to trim or it takes the tank. Java fern takes two to four weeks to finish a single leaf. Java moss gets a word.
What the sources agree about instead is trimming
Modest Fish: if left completely alone, java moss will grow into a giant blobby mess, and trimming it regularly helps to make it look neater and stops old growth from dying off inside a big mass, which is the reason to trim that has nothing to do with looks. Aquarium Co-Op: trimming the plant will keep it healthy and won't damage any future growth. Aquarium Breeder says to trim a carpet or wall regularly to get rid of excess parts that are overstuffing the tank.
Aquarium Co-Op also reports the durability that makes this plant hard to kill by neglect: there are instances where a plant has been forgotten in a bucket for up to two months and when it was found it was still alive.
Algae on the moss, and the only animals that can clean it
Every source that raises algae raises it about light, and Modest Fish is the one that names treatments: you can spot treat your moss with Seachem Flourish Excel at the normal tank dosage, or spray hydrogen peroxide directly onto the algae and let it sit for several minutes before refilling the tank. Aquarium Breeder lists the causes as the availability of waste, ammonia, excess nutrients in tank water and excessive lighting.
The mechanical answer is an animal, and two sources say only one kind will do. Modest Fish: freshwater shrimp, like cherry or Amanos, are the only animals that can get into the moss and physically clean off the algae. Aquarium Co-Op: adding a few shrimp to the tank can take care of that problem, shrimp will happily eat the white fluff away. Our cherry shrimp and amano shrimp records are the two animals both sources name.
Propagation is the same action as trimming
One method, five sources
Wikipedia: java moss can be easily propagated via division. It adds the reason nobody in the hobby does anything else, that spore capsules are rarely formed in cultivation, so the sexual route is closed in a tank.
Aquarium Breeder: the propagative means of java moss is through division, which involves breaking off pieces from the plant bunch and attaching it on surfaces or hardscapes. Aquarium Plants Factory: propagation is simple, cut or tear off a portion and attach it to a new area. Splashy Fish: java moss naturally propagates by fragmentation, and when trimmed, the cut pieces will grow.
That last sentence is the whole field. The piece you cut off to keep the moss tidy is the piece you attach somewhere else, so on this record trimming and propagation are one action described twice. No other record here has that.
What it feeds, and what that has to do with our breeding page
Aquarium Breeder: java moss supports the growth of biofilm which is an ideal first food for newly hatched fry and shrimplets. Modest Fish goes further and names the organism: tiny microorganisms called infusoria grow on java moss, and this is the best possible first food for most baby fish.
That is why java moss keeps appearing on our animal records rather than on this silo. Our corydoras record carries Aquarium Co-Op describing females depositing single sticky eggs on java moss or plant roots, and the difficulty on that page is that the fry will not take anything you can see. Our ghost shrimp record names java moss only when its source turns to breeding tanks. Modest Fish describes the same practice: loose tangles of java moss are put in breeding tanks, and once the fish have spawned the java moss can be moved to a different tank so the fry can be raised.
aqua-fish adds the group of fish it serves, that its dense growth offers an ideal hiding spot for fish fry and benefits egg-scattering fish. Modest Fish names two of those groups: lots of fish, like tetras and rainbow fish, scatter their eggs on plants. Rainbowfish is in the queue on our fish silo, and the one tetra we hold is the ember tetra.
Two names, two continents
The naming disagreement in station 01 has a consequence a keeper can see: our two sources put the wild plant in different places, because they are not describing the same plant.
Wikipedia, on Taxiphyllum barbieri: it has only been recorded in the wild in Vietnam, and it was originally described as Isopterygium barbieri from Vinh, Vietnam. Three names for one moss, in one sentence.
aqua-fish, on Vesicularia dubyana: java moss originates from several regions in Southeast Asia, including India, Java and Malaysia, and commonly grows in humid, shaded areas along riverbanks, where it clings to rocks, tree trunks and other surfaces. It also gives the leaf a size nobody else does: tiny, olive to dark green leaves, each only about 4 mm, 0.16 inches, long.
The two natural habitats those sources describe are not compatible, and neither statement is carried on this record as the origin, because a record cannot report where a plant comes from while its own sources disagree about which plant it is. What the two do agree on is the habit: something growing on rocks and wood at the edge of water, in the shade, which is exactly how it behaves in a tank.
The size figures do not line up either
Modest Fish measures the stems and says they grow anywhere from 3 to 10 inches long, 7.6 to 25.4 cm. Aquarium Breeder measures the height of the mat and gives 5 to 10 cm, 2 to 4 inches, tall. Those are two different measurements of the same plant rather than a contradiction, and together they describe what a keeper actually gets: stems long enough to drape, in a mat that stays low. It is the reason the placement row says foreground.
The water, and the widest band on this site
Six sources publish a preferred temperature, all six are different, and all six contain the same five degrees.
| Source | Tolerates | Prefers | pH | Hardness |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Splashy Fish | 59 to 86 °F | 68 to 75 °F | 6.0 to 8.0 | Soft to moderately hard |
| aqua-fish | 59 to 86 °F | 70 to 85 °F | 5.0 to 8.0 | not stated |
| Aquarium Plants Factory | 59 to 86 °F | 68 to 77 °F | 6.0 to 7.5 | 2 to 15 dGH |
| Aquarium Breeder | 59 to 90 °F | 70 to 75 °F | 5 to 9, best 6 to 8 | 5 dGH and above, up to 20 |
| Modest Fish | not stated | 70 to 86 °F | 5 to 8 | Up to 20 dGH, 333 ppm |
| Wikipedia | Outside the band too | 68 to 86 °F | All kinds of water, even weakly brackish | not stated |
Temperature. Three sources publish 59 to 86 °F identically and Aquarium Breeder goes to 90, so the row prints 59 to 86. That ties hornwort for the widest temperature band on this site, and it has a consequence worth stating: every animal record we hold has a temperature band that fits inside this plant's. The goldfish at 68 to 74 and the angelfish at 78 to 84 do not overlap each other at all, and java moss covers both.
The preferred bands are where the sources separate, and the arithmetic is the interesting part. Six sources, six different bands, and 70 to 75 °F is the only span that every one of them contains. Nobody publishes that figure; it is what is left when you read all six.
Read that table as a set of water conditions rather than a set of targets, which is how all six sources write them: a plant that tolerates most of what freshwater aquariums are kept at, with a narrow band where it does best.
pH. The row prints 6.0 to 7.5, the span all five published bands contain. Four of the five put the ceiling at 8.0 and Aquarium Breeder says java moss can tolerate extreme aquatic pH values of 5 to 9 while doing best at 6 to 8. Wikipedia does not give numbers and gives the widest claim of all: it accepts all kinds of water, even weakly brackish.
Hardness, and a unit that finally matches. On the java fern record no hardness figure could be carried, because the three sources that published one gave carbonate hardness in dKH and every animal record here carries general hardness. Java moss is the opposite case: three sources publish general hardness in dGH. They overlap at 5 to 15 dGH, roughly 89 to 268 ppm. The plant schema still has no hardness row, so the figure lives in this paragraph, and the reason it is worth printing is that on this plant the unit was never the problem.
Eaten by: three fish devour it, and shrimp only clean it
One source names fish to keep away from java moss, and one of the three is an animal we hold a record for. The same publisher's java fern page puts that animal on the safe list.
Aquarium Breeder names three: oscar, red devil and siamese algae eater, and its verb is not gentle, they will devour the moss. Our oscar record now carries that, and it carries the contradiction with it: the same publisher's java fern guide names the oscar among the fish that plant withstands, because it finds the hard leaves unappetizing. One source, two plants, opposite verdicts for the same fish. We hold no record for the red devil. Our siamese algae eater record takes the third name further: Seriously Fish has that fish preferring Vesicularia, and the moss we hold is Taxiphyllum, the genus the trade confused with it for years.
The same page lists what java moss is compatible with, and eight of the names are animals we hold or have queued: guppy, green swordtail, molly, platy, neon tetra, angelfish, corydoras catfish and clown loach.
| Record | What its source says | Named by |
|---|---|---|
| Corydoras | Females deposit single sticky eggs on java moss or plant roots | Aquarium Co-Op |
| Guppy | Named twice, once for a lush environment and once for a breeding tank | Aquarium Source, PetMD |
| Kuhli loach | Anubias roots and java moss, as habitat, in a tank it will not eat plants in | Aquarium Co-Op |
| Otocinclus | One of six plants named for a heavily planted tank | Splashy Fish |
| Ember tetra | Named with hornwort and anacharis for a heavily planted environment | Aquarium Source |
| Ghost shrimp | Named only once its source turns to breeding tanks | FishLab |
On invertebrates every source says the same thing
Aquarium Breeder: java moss is compatible with shrimp and most snails, naming ramshorn, nerite, Malaysian trumpet, Japanese trapdoor and mystery snails, all varieties of Neocaridina, and Caridina species including amano and ghost shrimp. Modest Fish: pretty much any serious shrimp keeper will tell you that java moss is a must have, shrimp love this stuff, it gives them a place to hide and they will endlessly sift through the java moss eating algae and biofilm.
Wikipedia is the careful one about what the shrimp are eating, and the distinction matters for the field this row is: some shrimp feed on the various microorganisms and detritus that collect on the moss. Not the moss. Aquarium Co-Op says the same thing about hair algae, that shrimp will happily eat the white fluff away.
Aquarium Breeder also rejects the one claim anybody makes against shrimp here: some people say that amano shrimp can eat moss if there is no other food available in the tank, and, personally, I have not seen anything like this. That is one keeper's experience against an unattributed claim, and we print it as what it is rather than as a finding.
What no source says anything about is goldfish. Our goldfish record carries Wikipedia stating that because goldfish eat live plants, their presence in a planted aquarium can be problematic. Hornwort could not settle it, java fern settled it with four sources naming goldfish, and on java moss not one of our seven sources mentions the fish in either direction. That is the honest answer to the question and it is a blank rather than a guess.
A carpet, a wall, or a loose handful
Three uses, and the sources describe them as three different amounts of work with the same plant.
A carpet at the front
Aquarium Breeder: this plant can be grown to form a carpet in the tank, and when done successfully it provides your tank with an aesthetically pleasing floor underwater, and its maintenance is easy. Aquarium Plants Factory describes the method, spreading it over mesh. Modest Fish calls it a good carpeting plant and files it in the foreground.
A java moss wall
Aquarium Breeder is the only source here that gives the materials: to form a java moss wall on the tank you need a plastic mesh, 7 to 10 mm, preferably black or another neutral color, and suction cups to hold the moss against the tank walls. It also says to trim the wall regularly to get rid of the parts overstuffing the tank.
A loose handful in a breeding tank
Modest Fish: loose tangles of java moss are put in breeding tanks, and once the fish have spawned the java moss can be moved to a different tank so the fry can be raised. No mesh, no glue, no attachment at all, which is the use our breeding page keeps running into.
Aquarium Plants Factory adds the fourth option in the same breath as the first three, which is to leave it floating, and Aquarium Co-Op describes what floating java moss does on its own: it anchors itself in one spot and then floats there peacefully. Nothing on any of our seven pages says the plant needs to be attached to survive. The attachment is for you.
What this record will not answer
Whether goldfish eat it
Not one of the seven sources on this record names goldfish for java moss, in either direction. It is the question our own goldfish record would most want answered and the row stays blank, because a plant this widely written about producing no statement at all is itself the finding.
A growth rate
Two sources rate it, medium and slow to moderate, and neither publishes a figure. We are not converting a word into a number, so the row says medium and says that nobody here measured it.
Java moss vs christmas moss
None of our seven sources describes christmas moss at all, so this record cannot compare them and does not try. It would need a christmas moss record built the same way, which is not in the queue on our plants silo yet.
Can java moss grow out of water?
Our java fern record could answer this because two sources stated it. Here only aqua-fish comes close, describing the wild plant in humid, shaded areas along riverbanks where it clings to rocks and tree trunks, which is a statement about a riverbank rather than about a tank. Nobody here says what happens if you grow it emersed on purpose.
And moss balls are a different plant
A marimo moss ball is not java moss shaped into a ball. It is a different organism with its own record and its own nine fields, and nothing on this record applies to it.
Java moss questions, answered from the record
How do I grow java moss?
How to grow java moss is the shortest care instruction on this site: put it somewhere with low light and leave it. Aquarium Co-Op reports that the moss can grow with absolutely no light and that it is rare that someone would be unable to keep java moss alive. It needs no substrate, no CO2 and no fertilizer according to every source here, and the one thing it does need is trimming, or Modest Fish's giant blobby mess is what you get.
How do I attach java moss to driftwood?
Tie it on and take the string off later. Aquarium Breeder: tie it to a piece of driftwood or rock with a dark colored thread or fishing line, and you can remove the thread after 3 to 4 weeks. aqua-fish says the moss will naturally attach itself over a few weeks to a few months. Aquarium Plants Factory names aquarium-safe glue as a third option alongside fishing line and cotton thread.
Can I bury java moss in the substrate?
There is nothing to bury. Modest Fish explains that it has no roots, only sticky little feet called rhizoids that anchor it without feeding it, and that it absorbs water and nutrients directly through its stems and leaves. Aquarium Co-Op puts it as a promise rather than a rule: you don't have to worry about planting it and it won't root into your gravel.
How fast does java moss grow?
No source on this record publishes a rate. Modest Fish files the growth as medium and says twice that it already grows pretty fast on its own. Aquarium Breeder gives slow to moderate. Aquarium Co-Op gives a diagnostic instead of a rate, that a light green color on the ends of the moss indicates new growth. For comparison, our hornwort record carries 1 to 4 inches a week and our java fern record carries two to four weeks for one leaf.
Does java moss need CO2 or fertilizer?
Neither. Aquarium Breeder: java moss can thrive without fertilizer application and external CO2 dosing, and CO2 dosing of up to 15 to 30 ppm hastens growth but the effect is not very significant. Modest Fish says the same about fertilizer, that java moss really doesn't need fertilizers to grow well and will grow faster with them, and recommends liquid additives that go into the water column rather than root tabs, because of the rhizoids. Aquarium Breeder names the nutrients it appreciates as potassium, phosphorus, nitrogen and iron, and warns that excess fertilizer can harm the plant and cause algae growth.
What light does java moss need?
Low. Aquarium Plants Factory is the only source with a figure, low to moderate at 10 to 30 PAR for 8 to 10 hours a day. Every other source agrees low is enough, and aqua-fish, Splashy Fish, Aquarium Plants Factory and Modest Fish all name the same consequence of more light, which is algae growing on the moss rather than damage to the moss.
Why is my java moss turning brown?
Two sources name causes and they are not the same two. Aquarium Breeder: parts turning brown are due to the lack of essential nutrients or if the plant is not getting enough light. Splashy Fish names insufficient lighting and excessive algae buildup. Both point at too little light rather than too much, which is the reverse of what our java fern record found for brown leaves on that plant.
How do I get rid of algae in java moss?
Shrimp, or a spot treatment. Modest Fish states that freshwater shrimp like cherry or Amanos are the only animals that can get into the moss and physically clean off the algae, and Aquarium Co-Op says shrimp will happily eat the white fluff away. For treatments Modest Fish names spot treating with Seachem Flourish Excel at the normal tank dosage, or spraying hydrogen peroxide directly onto the algae and letting it sit for several minutes before refilling the tank. Aquarium Breeder points at the causes instead: waste, ammonia, excess nutrients and excessive lighting.
Will my fish eat java moss?
Three fish will, according to the one source that names any. Aquarium Breeder: oscar, red devil and siamese algae eater, they will devour the moss. The same page names guppy, green swordtail, molly, platy, neon tetra, angelfish, corydoras catfish and clown loach as compatible. Our oscar record carries the warning and the contradiction beside it, because the same publisher's java fern page puts the oscar on the safe list for that plant.
Do goldfish eat java moss?
No source on this record says. Not one of the seven names goldfish for java moss in either direction, and we are not filling that in from a plant that resembles it. Our goldfish record carries Wikipedia stating that because goldfish eat live plants, their presence in a planted aquarium can be problematic, and our java fern record is the one page here where four sources name goldfish as safe.
Is java moss safe with shrimp and snails?
Every source that raises the subject says yes. Aquarium Breeder names ramshorn, nerite, Malaysian trumpet, Japanese trapdoor and mystery snails, all Neocaridina including our cherry shrimp, and Caridina including amano and ghost shrimp. Wikipedia is precise about what the shrimp actually eat, which is the microorganisms and detritus that collect on the moss rather than the moss.
How do I make a java moss wall?
Aquarium Breeder is the only source here with the materials: a plastic mesh of 7 to 10 mm, preferably black or another neutral color, and suction cups to hold the moss against the tank wall. It also says to trim the wall regularly to remove the parts overstuffing the tank. Nobody on this record gives a timescale for a wall filling in, which is consistent with nobody publishing a growth rate.
Is java moss good for fry?
It is the reason the plant keeps appearing on our animal records. Modest Fish: java moss is great for fry tanks, it gives fry a place to hide and can also provide food, because tiny microorganisms called infusoria grow on it and that is the best possible first food for most baby fish. Aquarium Breeder: java moss supports the growth of biofilm, an ideal first food for newly hatched fry and shrimplets. Our corydoras record carries a source describing eggs laid directly on it.
What temperature does java moss need?
Java moss temperature comes in two kinds on our sources' pages, what the plant tolerates and what it prefers. The record prints the tolerance, 59 to 86 °F, published identically by three sources, with Aquarium Breeder going to 90. Six sources publish a preferred band, all six differ, and 70 to 75 °F is the only span every one of them contains. Every animal record we hold has a temperature band that fits inside 59 to 86, which no other plant on this site can say except hornwort.
Is java moss the same as a moss ball?
No. A marimo moss ball is a different organism, and nothing on this record applies to it. It has its own record here, with its own nine fields and its own sources.
What is java moss actually called?
Both names, which is why the row carries two. Five of our seven sources use Taxiphyllum barbieri, aqua-fish uses Vesicularia dubyana, and Wikipedia states that in the aquarium trade java moss can refer to either and that it can be difficult to distinguish between the species. Modest Fish records that researchers have not been able to confirm that the java moss in the aquarium trade is the same species that used to be sold under the older name.
A record here now carries a warning about a plant one genus away from this one. Seriously Fish says the fish on our siamese algae eater record browses black beard algae but shows a preference for fine-leaved, higher plants such as Vesicularia spp. This plant is Taxiphyllum barbieri, which the trade sold as Vesicularia dubyana for years and which is not in that genus, so the warning lands beside our record rather than on it. Aquarium Store Depot adds that the same fish will pounce on aquarium plants if it is underfed. The temperature bands overlap completely, since 75 to 79 °F sits inside this record’s 59 to 86, so nothing but a plant name stands between that pairing and a refusal, and our tank mates grid prints it as a caution with the reasoning attached.
What java moss needs, and it is mostly string
Three things our sources ask for, and none of them is substrate.
- Cotton thread or fishing lineoff again after 3 to 4 weeks
- Plastic mesh, 7 to 10 mm, for a walland suction cups to hold it
- Scissors, on no particular scheduleor it becomes a blobby mess
Every item our records ask for is gathered on the tank setup topic.
Nothing here is a paid link. It is the shortfall between what this record asks for and what a boxed kit contains.
How this record was compiled
- By
- Verified
- Sources
Aquarium Co-Op, java moss care guide, Aquarium Breeder, Modest Fish, Splashy Fish, Aquarium Plants Factory, aqua-fish and Wikipedia, Taxiphyllum barbieri
- Conflicts
Printed above: our sources give the plant two binomials and two different origins, and the second follows from the first
- Not recorded
Whether goldfish eat it, because no source we read names goldfish for this plant in either direction, which is the one question our own goldfish record would want answered; and a growth rate, because the two sources that rate the growth give a word and neither publishes a figure