Spiky moss, one of the easiest aquatic plants to maintain is suitable for almost any aquarium.
With its bright green spike-shaped leaves swaying in the gentle flow of the aquarium, it not only creates a visually pleasing scenery but also a safe and natural home for your fish!
Table of Contents
- Are Spiky Moss good for freshwater aquariums?
- Can Spiky Moss live in tap water?
- Can Spiky Moss live in cold water?
- Can Spiky Moss live in saltwater?
- Can you grow Spiky Moss out of water?
- How much water is needed for Spiky Moss? (Water Level)
- What are the best water parameters for Spiky Moss?
- How to change the water in a Spiky Moss aquarium tank?
- Conclusion
Are Spiky Moss good for freshwater aquariums?
Spiky moss is ideal for freshwater aquariums. As Spiky moss is found in nature close to moist and shady environments such as riverbanks, including freshwater in your aquarium tank will create an ideal environment for your Spiky moss plants.
Can Spiky Moss live in tap water?
Tap water in almost all countries is conditioned with different chemicals to be made pure for human use. This includes having chemicals such as chlorine, which are harmful to aquarium plants, especially moss varieties.
Adding pure tap water into your aquarium without further conditioning to make it suitable for both the fish and plants can bring about a quick death for your Spiky moss plants.
Can Spiky Moss live in cold water?
A rapid decrease in the water temperature of the aquarium can shock your Spiky moss plants, eventually killing them if not tended to!
Spiky moss thrives healthy in aquariums with temperatures between 77 to 81 Fahrenheit (25 to 27 degrees Celsius). This makes controlling the temperature a vital part of the maintenance of the Spiky moss plant, especially during the cold winter seasons.
Can Spiky Moss live in saltwater?
No! Spiky moss, just as all other varieties of moss cannot live in saltwater. Including salt in the aquarium tank will shock the moss, making it wilt and die speedily.
Can you grow Spiky Moss out of water?
Yes, you can. Spiky moss is an excellent moss to be grown both within the aquarium tank and outdoors in the soil.
Being frequently found in nature in shady and moist surroundings, such as forests and river banks makes Spiky moss very versatile for being used by aquarists.
It can be used within the tank to add a picturesque environment and to create a safe hideout for fish fry and shrimp. It can also be used to create visual borders for tanks housing turtles or tortoises.
How much water is needed for Spiky Moss? (Water Level)
When grown on land, Spiky moss requires moist soil conditions. This is because the moisture levels affect the healthy germination of the spores and allows the nutrients to be absorbed more easily into the cuttings.
When grown in an aquarium, Spiky moss tends to float upwards if not attached to a weight. For this reason, attaching the cuttings to a heavy-weighted object like a rock or piece of wood (driftwood) will help keep the plant submerged in the aquarium.
What are the best water parameters for Spiky Moss?
Growing well in acidic waters, your Spiky moss will grow lusciously between pH levels of 5 and 5.5.
This although does not go to say that Spiky moss will not grow in alkaline water conditions. It will survive well in alkaline conditions but will grow better in slightly more acidic water parameters.
How to change the water in a Spiky Moss aquarium tank?
Changing the water in your Spiky moss aquarium is a simple process but is one that should be done with care!
- Remove a portion of the water in the tank.
- Refill the tank with new water to the top.
- Condition the water with liquid CO2 (carbon dioxide), liquid fertilizers, and a water conditioner which will balance out the strong chemicals such as chlorine (if using tap water)
Sourcing the water from the same source is highly important. This should be followed by maintaining the same parameters within the tank as before the water change, which includes the salinity of the water, pH levels, temperature of the water, and conditioning levels.
A change in the water temperature can easily shock your Spiky moss, making it turn yellow, wilt, and then die. A similar reaction can be seen with a change in the pH levels of the water, although it may not be as extreme as instantly yellowing and dying, it certainly will wilt.
If using tap water to refill, do make sure you treat the water the same way it was treated during the previous water change to prevent the moss from dying because of strong chemicals such as chlorine.
Conclusion
Spiky moss does survive in an aquarium under a range of conditions out of which the quality of water can be termed as the most important.
Although your moss will pull through almost any freshwater aquatic condition, maintaining a healthy environment for your Spiky moss plants is as vital as caring for your aquarium fish.
So do take the necessary simple precautions and steps to create the ideal aquatic environment for your Spiky moss today!
