moss source?

[nat_the_brat]

I am trying to find either a local or online canada source for moss that is ideal for the high humidity terrarium housing darts. Anyone have any good suppliers or know what kinds of moss would be ideal?

[Double J]

I have tried it all.......

The only thing that consistently grows well is java moss.

This can be purchased from most fish stores. It can be trained to grow from water onto land. When kept moist on land, it will thrive.. and will form a gorgeous carpet fairly quickly if given good lighting.

[DNA Reptiles]

Hi Nat The Brat,
You live in the best place in Canada for moss!! I don't know where you are situated on the island, but the nearer the west coast you get the better and thicker moss you will find. You need spagnum moss and you will find it on the ground or growing on the truncks of old growth cedar trees and many more. Sometimes you can roll it off it is as thick as a carpet! Of course you must shake as much debris off as possible, then gently wash it in slightly salty water, then let dry naturally.
We are fortunate where we live in the lower mainland as it grows on our property.
Remember not to take too much from the same area as it takes about 2/3 years to grow back - you could say it is a "renewable resource."
Good luck....Andrea

[Kyle Barker]

ya we got lots here in bc eh. if your in southern island check out koksilah park. easily accesible and lots there. its also part of a huge ecosystem for mushrooms, plants and animals. o liek dna said, limit the amount....buying it isnt that much better, tehy are probably the worst at destroying the wild.

i personaly dotn liek "big" mosses like sphagnum and java/club. i liek hose nice short fine emerald/racing green ones. damned if i can get it to grow indoors though. nurseries have some cool, almost algea, lookign stuff in some of their pots here (check LeCouteau) so i asked them and they said they fertilize lots and thats why it grows....perhaps the reason i cant get it to grow in my cages.

[vwmom]

What's a good way to 'disifect'.. Kill naughty bugs.??

[Double J]

Originally posted by vwmom
What's a good way to 'disifect'.. Kill naughty bugs.??

You really have little to nothing to worry about in terms of parasites, that is is you are collecting moss from Canada. Simply wash the moss off in warm water, keepng an eye out for spiders and centipides.
That said, moss from around here usually dies out in a tank in a few months. It gets stringy, then gets brown. Canadian moss does go through "brown phases" as part of its life cycle... but gnerally it is moss death rather than a brwon phase that occurs in a vivarium.
The only tried, tested, and true mosses that work well in tanks for the long term are the one and only java mosses.
I've tried tropical pllow moss, and its light requirements are really hgh. Native moss lasts only a few months. That dried moss you can get in pet stores does not live.
The only way to get a nice mossy tank like in those European vivariums without breaking the bank is to have java moss with decent lighting.

[nat_the_brat]

thanks for the suggestions. I have tried local moss but it tends to go brown and dull. I will try sphagnum moss. I picked up some irish and scotch moss the other day and thought I would give it a shot (though I am not putting too much hope in it). I will look into the java moss though being in a small town I can't think of where to get that.
I am cleaning out the dart frog tank soon and putting in a new pump and such so its the perfect time to start with new mosses to see if i can get this looking good for my darts.

[Senator Gracken]

i used to work in a green house/ nursery and the moss growing under the pallets worked awesome in the tank i had set up.
it was realitivly low light moss but grew well under a single 18" verilux bulb. i couldnt kill it. i was using pea gravel as a substrate filled with water to the bottom of the moss roots with a water fall in one corner. it worked really well and the moss kept the nitrate levels down(there was a pond area with fish - the cage housed a green basilisk)

[Laurier]

i used moss that I collected before and ussually it dies after a few months. The best source I would have to say is just lay down a layer of spagnum moss and than put some java moss over top of it and than tha java should start growing like weeds. Plus with java moss it grows on anything to in a matter of months you get a well established tank that looks like a 100 year old forest in costa rica. Plus the darts trample it so it gives a little bit of a carpet look.

[pablo111]

I HIGHLY suggest Java Moss.

If you have poison darts kept properly you have over 90% relative humidity no?

That moss will love you. if you have intense lighting just put some in a little pool of water and change the water often. Better yet tie it down to a rock and keep it moist and it will carpet out. You can get it to cover your entire tank if you want to. Its very easy to work with.

Alternately, consider some Anubias, a beautiful water plant. If you can just keep the roots wet, by putting it in little puts for example, the leaves will happily grow out of water at very high humidity like you have.

A fish store plant section might be your best friend and you dont know it.

[Brock]

As people have mentioned how long it takes for moss to grow BACK, how long does it take for java moss to just grow? If I have an 80g tank and want nearly the entire ground covered with java moss, how long will it take from the pieces I put in the water?