Marimo moss ball care
Aegagropila linnaei
Marimo balls are a slow-growing green alga, not a moss, that grows a few millimeters a year.
- Light
- Low
- CO₂
- Not needed
- Where it goes
- Foreground
- Growth
- Slow
- Care level
- Easy
- Height
- 1 to 4 in
- Temperature
- 60 to 77 °F
- How to plant
- Rest it on the substrate; roll it now and then so all sides get light
- Propagation
- Cut it in half and reshape each half
In a 20 gallon long
12¾ in tallHow to grow marimo moss ball
Marimo balls are a slow-growing green alga, not a moss, that grows a few millimeters a year. They like cool water and low light. In 2021 some imported marimo carried invasive zebra mussels; buy from a trusted seller and never pour tank water outdoors.
Common problems
- Brown or white patches from too much heat or light; move it to a cooler, shadier spot.
Plants that grow in the same light
Sources
Plant identity from Wikipedia: Marimo. Heights, temperatures and care are typical ranges in aquariums from common planted-tank practice, not figures from that article. Drawings are our own; photo credits follow.
Photo credits
Real photographs from Wikimedia Commons, resized and cropped to fit; each is used under the license named.
- Marimo moss ball コムケ (Japanese Wikipedia), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Java fern Pinpin, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Java moss Xedoo, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Anubias nana Michael Linnenbach, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Cryptocoryne wendtii John Robert McPherson, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Vallisneria Damitr, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Hornwort Stefan.lefnaer, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
