# Moss Ball



## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

Hey there!

I was thinking of getting a moss ball for my 10g tank. There really isn't a whole lot of floor space left in the tank, but it could be good for my shrimp.

The lady at the store said it will get HUGE and I can't pick parts of it off to prune it or it will die..... But I've read that other people pull pieces off of them all the time to keep them small..... 

So....... even if there's not a whole lot of ground space, can I still get one? (I figure, if it takes up floor space, the critters will crawl over and on it right?) you can see in my signature what I have. And, can I pick it apart when it gets too big, to keep it as a small ball? (I know I have to turn it every week or so to keep it round and healthy).

I'm assuming my African Dwarf frogs will just go around it, or maybe even over it.... I don't think they need a ton of open space. They tend to hide a lot and only really come out at night, popping up to the top to breathe and back down again.

Thanks for any advice!!


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## Scalare (May 5, 2011)

Hi Holly, apparently the moss balls can be trimmed with scissors to keep them
tidy, keep moving them around the tank to prevent them rooting into the substrate and taking over.

Pete


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

A good rule of thumb....don't always believe the person in th store.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Scalare said:


> keep moving them around the tank to prevent them rooting into the substrate and taking over.


Sry Pete, you might be referring to something else. Moss balls are actually a type of algae and won't root in the substrate and take over the tank.

They are actually slow growers but yes, can get sizable. You propagate them by cutting them in half or in pieces. I'm not sure if you have to roll them up afterwards or if they form the ball on their own though.

Up until now, I have had no experience with them. I actually just bought (5) a few days ago. When they came in, I dumped them in my CRS tank and it was like ants on a pizza. They obviously picked all the goodies out of them as now there are only a few shrimpies that are on them at a time.

I'll be putting a couple in other tanks to share the wealth.


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## Scalare (May 5, 2011)

Hi James, thanks for putting me right on that, was just repeating what I was told,
I bow to your superior knowledge lol!!.

Pete


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

They won't root, but you do turn them so they equally grow and develop.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Scalare said:


> I bow to your superior knowledge lol!!.


Now I definately know you're confused!


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## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

Thanks every one for the advice!! 



James0816 said:


> Up until now, I have had no experience with them. I actually just bought (5) a few days ago. When they came in, I dumped them in my CRS tank and it was like ants on a pizza. They obviously picked all the goodies out of them as now there are only a few shrimpies that are on them at a time.


Indeed!! About 1/2hr after putting it in the tank, my husband peeked in and was like, "holy shrimps!" There were about 14 crammed onto the little 2-3 inch ball, lol. We decided it was a hit and went out to get a second one for them.


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