The Study of Moss

[bshmerlie]

I've been talking about doing a study on some different types of moss so here it is. I have it in a 20 gallon tank. I have a clay background on the sides and soil on the bottom. I am using to Exo Terra 2.0 repti glow bulbs. Right now the lighting is on for 12 hours a day. I have three different types of mosses going right now. These three mosses were supplied by Joshs Frogs. Please check his website for pricing and availability. I am going to say up front I am not an expert on Moss or its care so I would appreciate any advice or instructions from those who have successfully kept it. All to often I hear about people killing their moss or it turns brown and they replace it. I have the tank with just the moss right now so it will have full access to light. At somepoint if it all still looks good I am going to create shaded areas and see how that is going to affect the moss under it. I am also going to be giving my opinions of how it feels and moisture retention. These will just be my opinions and you can take them as you will. I will also take some of each moss and secure it to some wood so see if it grows. So here we go:

The Moss on the left is GREEN TREE MOSS (shag moss)- As you can tell Josh gives you a lot of it. I doesn't stick as well to the clay as the other moss because it is more stringy and doesn have a backing. It is also browner than the other moss. To me it would be a better ground cover although crickets can get lost in it. It retains moisture very well.

The Moss on the right side and back right is SHEET MOSS- Is has a thin backing of dirt and is very green. Josh also gives you a lot of it. It sticks very well to the clay and also looks great on the soil. This is so far my prefered moss out of the three. It is easier to lay out than the other one and has a lot of different textures to it. It is more secured so the frogs would have less risk of swollowing it when going for food. The crickets also don't seem to get lost in it as well. Even the fruit flies seem to come back up to the top for the frogs to get to. I LIKE it. I have it on the bottom floor on the right and on the back wall on the right. It's been in the tank a little over a week and it already has some different stuff growning out of it. Again it sticks great to the clay.

The last on the right wall and a little on the right side bottom edge is the LIVE MOOD moss. It comes in rounded clumps circles with this layer of soil on the bottom of it. It is a LOT thicker than that other two. Becuase of that you don't get as much square footage to cover the tank. But it is real plush and looks very uniform. It is the cleanest looking of the moss and if it were all butted up next to each other would be a perfect choice if you were afraid of crickets getting lost in it. The tree frogs would also NOT be at risk of ingesting it.

As I said I going to grow these for awhile and I will post some pictures every couple of weeks so you can see how it holds up. Right now I am misting it twice a day to keep it moist. At some point I am going to increase the water and see at what point that affects it. I think I have watered my moss in the past too much and it browns. So I am going to go easy this time around. I am taking a picture of it every two days so I will have a gauge of it. If anyone has any helpful hints on care please speak up. The first picture is of the whole tank and the following three are the moss from left to right.

Again I want to thank JOSHS FROGS for his help with this project. If anyone wants to add to this thread with a study of a different moss feel free to add. Post some pictures and tell us what type you are working with it and its success under different condtions.

[clownonfire]

Thank you Cheri for this. Yesterday, I almost came to the decision of removing the whole clay wall as it is literally melting down. And as my terribs will arrive any day now, I did not want to give them that as a new enclosure.

I was thinking about adding moss on the clay, and I think that is what i will do, based on your thread. I have string and I can make sure it holds until it takes...

Keep us posted. This is a great thread! How do you place it and what do you use to hold it on the clay?

Eric

[bshmerlie]

I had the same problem with the clay when I put it on too thick. It would slide down. I thinned it out to under a half inch and it is holding up well. I wasn't a big fan of the clay until I simply pushed in the moss and it stuck. You don't have to secure it. It just sticks I LOVE IT. The sheet moss is the easiest of the three especially on the wall. Just press it into the clay. I setup the entire tank with all the moss in 10 minutes.

[clownonfire]

Sold.

[lnaminneci]

Cheri,

This will be a great thread to watch and see what happens with your Study of Moss!

I definately do not have a green thumb when it comes to my moss, as I have heard from so many others as well. It would be nice to get it to grow healthy and not have to replace it every few months or even weeks! Or give up on moss completely, which I'm about to do.

Can't wait to see the progress and more pics!

~Lesley

[Ebony]

I absolutely LOVE moss and I have been using it for many years.
The person I get it from has many varieties. He just keeps his carpet moss outside on plastic mats but not in a bright area and under a canopy. He has mosses under there for years, Just kept moist.
In my enclosures it does not last as long due to the light/heat but lasts about a year until I have to change it. I sit the carpet moss on sphagnum moss which is on top of large rocks half out of water. I spray the Moss every day. I dont have soil in my indoor enclosures apart from the potted plants but they are all topped with Sphagnum Moss. I also have mosses in my outdoor froggery which are still lovely and green that have been in there for over 2 years and I think they will be fine for many years to come.

I'm interested to see what you find Cheri. Great idea.

[bshmerlie]

I definately do not have a green thumb when it comes to my moss, as I have heard from so many others as well. It would be nice to get it to grow healthy and not have to replace it every few months or even weeks! Or give up on moss completely, which I'm about to do.

I know what you mean. I bought moss before from local pet shops in little prefabed packages and its always dried out and looks old. JOSHS moss comes fresh in a 1 gallon zip lock bag. Its bright green and already damp. It looks fresh, feels fresh and smells fresh. It doesn't look freeze dried like some I've bought in the past. I hoping the fact that is starts out alive will give me a better chance.