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Growing Mosses

 
Found a nice one, it seems to be a very easy moss to grow emersed on wood.. Found it in the garden in company with Lichen moss on old rotting wood froom a little birdfeeder and insecthouse that hangs in my cherry tree..
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I yet do not know what it is, it looks little bit like a kind of starmoss.. But it is completely dry but still green, if you rub it it falls off easily and if rubbed between the fingers it powders completely up..

Her it grows on the edge of a piece of old wood.
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I took a few pieces of and placed on a wet piece of wood and on top of some older moss that didn't do so good above the tank.. :) I i noticed it comming to live and opening up withing half an hour.

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Till now this is the easiest moss i found, never seen a moss comming to live that fast..

It is very small, starmoss usualy frows bigger and not typicaly on wood.. But it's a very nice looking promessing moss..
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Wow very interesting subject. I have also an piece of wood sticking out of my nano cube, where I also want to grow some plants or mosses emers. So if I'm understanding the subject well, I can take some moss out of my garden en put it on the wood in my tank a over the waterline.

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Wow very interesting subject. I have also an piece of wood sticking out of my nano cube, where I also want to grow some plants or mosses emers. So if I'm understanding the subject well, I can take some moss out of my garden en put it on the wood in my tank a over the waterline.

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Yes you could, depending on the moss sp. but in my experience all of them are sensitive to sudden substrate changes.. It first will look like dying, but if addapted it'll come back. And some don't. If you look in the garden you see mosses all over the place, growing on rock or wood, in the garden that rock is commonly a kind of concrete, these mosses like calcium substrate and might not like to grow on wood and visa versa. Or like to grow on both but is not used to the sudden change and might die or take a long time to addapt. Trail and error. :thumbup:

Also something to think about, moss likes to grow on old wood or on bark.. This is something we like to avoid in and above aquariums, we like to use barkless fresh hard wood. So getting moss to grow on fresh hard wood can be a challange to find one that likes it, if it does it need a lot of care and attention. :) I've not yet tried myself. But i have the hunch it just must work and definitively will do in my next project.. Find some large enough pieces of bark in the forrest or park.. Soak it for a number of days so it gets softer and you can bend it. Wrap it aruound tie it with some thread and put the moss on the bark. That would be a better substrate to grow on than a piece of fresh hardwood.

Opuwa wood, grows moss very good. This bellow still looks a bit the same after 2 years..
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That rododendron, spider wood is a bugger, not yet found a moss that realy likes to grow to it.. That's how i came up with the bark idea.
If you look very good, you might find ppieces of bark in the forest already growing mosses. But than watch out for bugs in it. :)
 
Thanks a lot for the answer to my question. Now I know what I see in the picture in your previous post it's a piece of bark where the moss is growing on. When I'm back from vacation I will visit my forest near the village I live en go hunting for bark.

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Geen probleem! Graag gedaan, welcome.. :) Succes.. Don't forget to show us pictures..
 
Are Opuwa and Mopani the same kind of wood?

No they are definitively from a different tree, but both are found in the African Savanna's, there for they oftenly go in the trade under the common name Savanna Wood.

The difference is easy to see, Mopani is multi colored light and drak brown and very recognisable structure, the bark side is smooth and light color, the core side is a rough texture in dark color. Mopane is a tree that grows in the African Savanna's.. Thus it still can be offered as African Savanna wood

Opuwa is more dark Redish brown equal in color and a tad harder.. Tho Opuwa afaik isn't a tree but a region in Africa.. I have no idea what tree it is from never found any reference about it.I realy can't say if all Opuwa out there is from the very same kind of tree. And also can be offered as African Savanna wood.
 
Since Opuwo or Opuwa is a region in Namibia / Kunene it has desert, Savanna and Riparian biotope.. :) The wood that is exported for the Vivarium hobby goes in different names. In th eTerrarium hobby it goes as Opuwa Dessert Root/wood, ideal for dessert biotope terrariums. It is described as naturaly sand blasted by the desert sands. Probably laying around in the bone dry desert soil for ages.. That is likely where it is collected by locals, maybe dug up as by product, mining for other stuff at previous wet land and now dry ancient riverbed shores etc.

It could be from any hard wood shrub or tree growing in the region... I guess if you know the area and the trees etc. it could be identified but nobody seems to bother.

http://epupafallslodge.com/kaokoland-flora/

Maybe its from an Acacia tree, the only tree not mentioned in above link but a sp. growing in the Savanna's.. :)
 
moss likes to grow on old wood or on bark
Have you tried Cork Oak Bark, it is sold in florist shops & wholesalers of florists sundries. Very buoyant, I try and wedge it between substrate and the bracing of the tank. Strong bark texture. It is split from the tree branches and come as a tube, very useful for hiding aquarium stuff. Jarva moss will grow on it, never tried a terrestrial moss. When the bark has whetted through and softened it develops a neutral buoyancy. Plants such as Anubias will root through it.
 
Have you tried Cork Oak Bark, it is sold in florist shops & wholesalers of florists sundries. Very buoyant,
Yes i've seen it, but actualy never tried.. Fortunately i have no reason to buy it.. I live 200 yards from an rather old and rather damp forest, trees are falling over there every stormy night. Bark in abundancy already covered with moss if i want. The forest contains large Black Puplar trees, they are prone to blow over at old age and taking other neighbouring trees down with them. The bark is very nice and thick, also have found some old Birch that had thick slabs of rough cracked textured bark. It also grows very old Willows, also this bark is thick and rough textured can be good to use. :) I guess its the age of the trees, old ones have the best bark.
 
This thread is amazing! I think it’s my favourite UKAPS wormhole yet 🙂 Looking forward to moss bothering in the woods when the weather is better.
 
Hi Johnny, you have several options, but I would cultivate all the mosses emersed on lava stones - without any water in a little mini-greenhouse. Of course, the mosses need to be kept moist. That is easy, saves time and you don't have to change the water. You can try it also on soil, Fluval stratum works fine - also for Fissidens. It is very important to note that all mosses ae shade-loving. At a north window in the room is enough light (same place for Bucephalandra:)).
 
Hi all,
It is a common moss in the UK, anywhere you have acid soil. You should be able to find some if you have a heath or common near you. If you <"can't find any"> I have a lot of it growing in a trough outside and I can send you some.

cheers Darrel
It's from a local woodland... growing on a mound of soil. Looked perfect for the wabi so I grabbed a handful. Thanks for the offer @dw1305
 
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