Growing Java Moss (Vesicularia dubyana) in Aquariums

Java Moss is a very useful and easy to grow plant.The scientific name
is Vesicularia dubyana. It looks like green threads. If you look as
closely with a microscope or magnifying glass, you can see that is a
central stem with small leaflets covering it. It is not a true moss but
looks like one. This is a tough plant. It is too hard to eat for most
fish. I have never seen a fish that will eat it. I use this
plant often as a spawning mop for egg laying species of fish. A spawn
mop is a place for fish to lay eggs. You just pick it up and move it to
another tank for the eggs to hatch. I have used this often to raise
cories. The loose structure allows the female to move through it and
hide the eggs. It is a great place for live bearers fry to hide from
hungry parents. Also the plant provides a place for micro-organisms to
grow. The fry will feed on these organisms.Java Moss will
absorb ammonia directly from the water. All plants absorb nitrogen from
their environment to grow. The nitrogen is needed for production of
chlorophyll, amino acids, and proteins. Nitrogen is usually one of main
geponents of plant fertilizers. They have done experiments to see how
fast aquatic plants can absorb ammonia. Java Moss was one of the
better plants. I have grown this plant for over fifteen years.
I started with a handful. It will survive neglect but grows rapidly in
good condition. It will grow in any type of water and will accept
low to high light level. The higher the light level the faster it will
grow. It will grow fine in flourescent light. It grows better under 24
hour light. It will cost you more on the electric bill. In ideal
conditions, I would say that it will double in mass every month. Ideal
conditions are full sunlight for six or more hours a day with a large
number of fish to produce the ammonia and other fertilizers. It will
live in dim light but needs the bright light for the energy to grow.
You can see if it is growing rapidly. The "threads" will branch in
higher numbers in ideal condition. It looks more like a christmas tree
branch with shoots forming on the sides.The growth habit is of
a floating plant. When it is bright light it produces fast enough that
bubbles of oxygen will form. The bubbles will cause the plant to float
at the surface of the water. If you prefer your plant to stay at the
bottom of the tank can hold it down with rocks. Java Moss can attached
itself to any object. It can be trained to attach to wood, rocks or
plastic. It can even attach to the glass of the tank. If you have an
object that you with which you want it to attach. It can be tied in
place with rubber bands or fishing line. Only the new growth will
attach. It can be attracted cover wood or rocks. The growing tip
sometimes will attached themselves to gravel. You will then have a
built-in anchor. This is the easiest plant in the world to
propagate. You just pull off a piece. It will grow from the smallest
piece. With enough time it will fill any size tank. I have seen refill
a tank growing from small pieces left in the gravel.Java Moss
is always in high demand. You will notice that there are lots of people
selling Java Moss on okay. You should be able to sell your exess moss
in the future. I used to sell it at fish auctions in Chicago. It would
always get $3 a bags. I think today it would sell for more.