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Thread: The Study of Moss

  1. #1
    bshmerlie
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    Default The Study of Moss

    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.
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  3. #2
    clownonfire
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    Default Re: The Study of Moss

    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

  4. #3
    bshmerlie
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    Default Re: The Study of Moss

    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.

  5. #4
    clownonfire
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    Default Re: The Study of Moss

    Sold.

  6. #5
    lnaminneci
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    Default Re: The Study of Moss

    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

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  8. #6
    100+ Post Member Ebony's Avatar
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    Default Re: The Study of Moss

    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.

  9. #7
    bshmerlie
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    Default Re: The Study of Moss

    Quote Originally Posted by lnaminneci View Post
    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.

  10. #8
    frozensponge
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    Default Re: The Study of Moss

    wow the tank is neat with all the moss around. how much area can 1 gallon of moss cover? was thinking of using moss as well. And what moss do you use for the back ground?

  11. #9
    bshmerlie
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    Default Re: The Study of Moss

    JOSH is really generous with the moss. If you look closely you can seen the difference in color and texture. About half the tank is the green tree moss (shag) which you will see as the browner left side. The right side except for the right side wall is the Sheet moss. You would need two bags to cover this size tank. I would probably stretch in out and let it fill in which it looks like it will do. The right side wall and a little strip on the right bottom is the Live Mood moss which according to JOSH's website is slow growing so I don't expect it to spread to quickly. You can see the gaps on the wall. I may press in some soil to get rid of the gray coloring in the gaps. Maybe someday it will fill in. The Live Mood moss is very thick and it would take several bags to fill a tank completely like I have done here. Although, Josh's prices are real cheap so it wouldn't cost that much to do. Look closely at the picture and you'll be able to see where the different mosses start and stop. By the way this whole setup was just one bag of cat litter for the clay background and three bags of moss. Plus the LECA and soil on the ground. Basically very inexpensive to setup. And with all the moss around I wouldn't have a problem with humidity.

  12. #10
    frozensponge
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    Default Re: The Study of Moss

    so basically you just stick the moss to the clay or do you stick another substrate to the clay before sticking the moss? what happens if we use silicone instead of clay? can I still use moss instead of other substrate?

  13. #11
    Moderator DonLisk's Avatar
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    Default Re: The Study of Moss

    Great info Cheri. I definitely want to use moss in the next viv for my darts.

    I purchased some sheet moss from a local flower shop last year for my Red Eyes viv and so far it is doing well but has never taken to grow anywhere else but on the original put in sheet.

    A local pet store recommended the local moss we have here in New England but I think our moss needs a winter over to actually do well. Something that would never happen in a frog viv.

    I'll be watching your thread since Josh has always done me well and I would love to have some moss take ina new dart viv.
    1.0.0 Red Eyed Leaf/ Frog - Agalychnis callidryas
    1.1.1 Bumblebee Dart Frog - Dendrobates leucomelas
    1.1.0 Dendrobates truncatus - Yellow Striped
    1.1.1 Dendrobates tinctorius – Bakhuis Mountain
    1.1.0 - Dendrobates tinctorius - Powder Blue
    1.1.0 - Ranitomeya vanzolinii

  14. #12
    bshmerlie
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    Default Re: The Study of Moss

    You just push it directly into the clay. I suppose you could silicone it to the glass but I don't know how long it would survive like that. If you use coco fiber on top of the silicone then you would just need to find a way to secure it to the back wall to keep it up. Some kind of push pins or I think Eric was talking about sewing it in or something. I'm not a huge fan of clay but in this case it definately has the advatage of ease. I guess it all depends on your setup. If you want a simple back wall like what I did then go with the clay its cheap, easy and quick. And you can put the frogs in right away. No waiting for the fumes to disipate.

  15. #13
    clownonfire
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    Default Re: The Study of Moss

    Quote Originally Posted by bshmerlie View Post
    You just push it directly into the clay. I suppose you could silicone it to the glass but I don't know how long it would survive like that. If you use coco fiber on top of the silicone then you would just need to find a way to secure it to the back wall to keep it up. Some kind of push pins or I think Eric was talking about sewing it in or something. I'm not a huge fan of clay but in this case it definately has the advatage of ease. I guess it all depends on your setup. If you want a simple back wall like what I did then go with the clay its cheap, easy and quick. And you can put the frogs in right away. No waiting for the fumes to disipate.
    I have cotton green thread that you can get at nurseries and or greenhouses. I think it's even available at Home Depot. Some also use fishing line.

  16. #14
    Moderator DonLisk's Avatar
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    Default Re: The Study of Moss

    Quote Originally Posted by clownonfire View Post
    I have cotton green thread that you can get at nurseries and or greenhouses. I think it's even available at Home Depot. Some also use fishing line.
    I like the idea of thread since it will deteriorate and just disappear into the moss and substrate. A curved needle makes it easy to sew into the background.
    1.0.0 Red Eyed Leaf/ Frog - Agalychnis callidryas
    1.1.1 Bumblebee Dart Frog - Dendrobates leucomelas
    1.1.0 Dendrobates truncatus - Yellow Striped
    1.1.1 Dendrobates tinctorius – Bakhuis Mountain
    1.1.0 - Dendrobates tinctorius - Powder Blue
    1.1.0 - Ranitomeya vanzolinii

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