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Aquarium guides/Growing aquarium moss

Growing aquarium moss: java, Christmas and flame moss

Aquarium mosses grow in low to moderate light without CO₂, as long as they stay clean and thin. Tie a thin layer to wood, rock or mesh, trim it every few weeks so the lower layer gets light, and keep debris off it with gentle flow and regular water changes.

Growing aquarium moss: java, Christmas and flame moss
Photo: Storm from Canada, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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Which moss

Java moss is the toughest and grows in loose strands. Christmas moss grows in neat, layered triangles, like tiny fir branches. Flame moss grows straight up in twisted, flame-like tufts. All suit shrimp tanks: baby shrimp graze the biofilm on them.

Moss walls and carpets

For a wall or a carpet, sandwich a thin layer of moss between two pieces of plastic mesh, or tie it to a flat stone, and place it where you want it. The moss grows through the mesh in a few weeks. Tying a pea-sized piece every inch or two covers a surface faster than one thick mat.

Trim and clean it

Cut the moss back with curved scissors every few weeks and net out every loose strand: stray bits root all over the tank and clog filter intakes. Siphon or shake out trapped debris during water changes. Brown strands at the base mean that layer gets no light; trim harder. Thread algae in moss is hard to remove, so lower the light at the first sign. Identify algae.

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