[justme]

I was looking to set up a couple of temporary tubs (temporary for 4ish months and in the 5gal size range) and was considering using some of the excess xmas moss I have laying around as the fry cover in them.

But these tubs won't have a heater or a filter and only light/heat will be direct/indirect sunlight, depending upon the time of day, and ambient air temperature. what are the odds the xmas moss will grow? Will it just die? What's the min. levels I'd need for light/heat/filter for it to not die? Or should I ditch the idea of using the xmas moss and use some other plant (if so, what plant?) or is the only option to buy a new breeder tank with all the equpment... this is my least favorite option as I don't think I have enough brownie points built up with the wife after most recent tank to sneak yet another one into the house)

 

[Clone]

The moss will be fine IMO. I do not think you will see noticeable growth but I doubt it will die in conditions you describe. With no water circulation or temperature control I would be more concerned about the survival of the fry. What species of fish are you breeding?

 

[Burks]

Is there any way your could run an airstone for the fry? Shouldn't be too difficult.

The moss shouldn't do too bad. Don't expect massive growth. It will survive more than thrive. Temperature doesn't really make a big difference either. Seems the colder the water the faster it grows.

 

[justme]

I was going to raise some of my endler fry out there till I was ready to set up another tank for them. Mostly just to reduce the future volume on their current home. I was told that they wouldn't need any kind of agitation for them as long as there were excessive numbers of them, anyone else have any experience with this? (techincally, this is a fish question, isn't it? :hihi: sorry)
I do have electricity out there, so I'm able to run an airstone to them if needed.

As long as the moss survives, I'm content with that, thanks. How many hours of direct sunlight do you think is the min. amount for it, or perhaps can it just survive in just indirect sunlight?

 

[PineyMike]

I think your biggest problem might be algae. Especially with the sunlight.

 

[macclellan]

I have christmas moss, peacock moss, taiwan moss, and java moss growing gangbusters in tupperware containers on a west facing windowsill. no hardware. All I do is top-off the water once a week and change it when it looks nasty. no algae, just lush growth. i toss a few grains of dry ferts in randomly.

 

[guitardude9187]

xmas moss will do really good, i have some in a betta 3 gal tank with basically no light, other then the indirect fluorescent that's for the terrestrial plants in the basement. There's no growth but it's definitely alive, same can't be said about Taiwan moss

 

[justme]

perfect. glad to hear that.
thanks for the info. I feel better trying this out knowing I'm not sending my moss off to instant doom.