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Local temperate Moss ok for a viv ?
#1
Hello,
I live in the Northwest/Oregon and I was wondering if the local moss would do well in a Viv?
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#2
I have moss in my tank from my area and it seems to do fine. Give it a try.
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#3
will do!

Thanks!
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#4
I live in central California myself and in a few damp, poorly sunlit areas I occassoinally see what looks like some sort of moss growing in extremely small amounts, and I thought this would make an interesting ground cover in the vivariums that I am about to assemble, but I have a few concerns...

1:How can I know if it is toxic to frogs or other critters that may live in these enclosures? (The stuff is fairly common in small areas where the ground is almost always damp or wet, mostly on clay soils and frequently grows on concrete or brick structures that are constantly wet, as well as on the basses and branches of some trees in the neighborhod in small amounts, if this helps narrow down what it actually is.)

2:Are there some mosses that require acidic soil and others that require alkalinity? The clay soil locally I assume is alkaline, while the viv soil will be somewhat acidic I assume? Or does that matter with mosses?

3:How can I ensure that I am not puting hitch-hiking problems (micro-organisms, parasites, etc...) in to the tanks without killing the moss in the effort? (Is ther some solution can rinse the stuff in that will "sterilize" it for lack of a better term, without harming the plant itself?)
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#5
FYI
I have used wild moss before and it did not cause any problems except for that even after I washed it very well and took off all of the dirt that was on it so I just had the roots. I found new insects and other things that I didnt really want in my tank. I wasnt sure if they would hurt my frogs but I didnt want to take a chance and totally cleaned out my tank and re-did it to get rid of everything. I have viv's that dont have frogs in them and have used wild moss many times and the extra bugs just got eaten by the lizards and they didnt die. The area I got the moss from was in the woods far away from any posibility of having toxins on it. But some frogs are just too expensive to take the chance.
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#6
Ok, so ruling out home depo or OSH, what sources of moss are the best for the price? By "best" I mean amount of it they ship per dollar spent, variety of types, etc.... ? I don't want to spent $6 for a starter clump and wait for over a year to have it spread to the point that it looks half way decent in my tank, you know? I know of Black Jingle, but are theree any other online sites that have better prices or anything?
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#7
A friend of mine told me of a method she uses when "planting" moss in her garden. She collects some samples of the desired moss, a few hand fulls should do. She rinses it off well under hot tap water and gets rid of any soil, bugs or unwanted material. She then rinses it in cold water.

Now the part that sounds weird but is key to getting your moss to spread quickly. She takes the clean moss and puts it in the blender adds a few splashes of butermilk and liquifies it. She will then splash/spread it over the desired area and waits about a week or two depending on the variety of moss. Viola the culture in the buttermilk feeds the moss and it takes hold wherever spread. I will be using this method in my new vivarium and will post information with results soon.
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#8
Wow! That's the wierdest thing I've heard yet on this site! I'll try it! Big Grin
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#9
i've used that method before it works very well, you can also use water and, i know it sounds strange but beer also, for a dart tank id use the water. But i also sell moss from my woods to local pet shops, i usually rinse it out under water to remove most of the inhabitance, i've used it in all my tanks, and i've had no problem. The large bags of moss are 10$, and its a little under a sq foot of live moss, usually several types but i can get bags of one type if you wish, some people prefer them over the 3 or 4 species bags.


Rih
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#10
When I collect moss I put it in a paper bag and let it dry out. I find that most if not all the inhabitants (that I can see anyway).. vacate when the moss is dry.

I then soak the moss in dechlorinated water...squeeze out the extra and put it in my tank....drying it out doesn't seem to harm it in the least.
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#11
So did the buttermilk and moss work for you?
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