# moss balls



## mousey

these look pretty cute and are being sold at PEtsmart near me.
Unfortunatley they keep them in the fish tanks and not the plant tank.
I am afraid to bring one and put it into my tanks lest it be carrying some type of disease. Any ideas on how I can avoid getting something in my tank while getting the moss ball:?:


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## hXcChic22

Might just be a risk you have to take? I wouldn't want to set up a quarantine tank just for it because it will probably die. We tried to avoid big water changes in our plant tanks, even the 29 (with the moss ball) and the ball would get a little nasty looking after a water change.


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## TheOldSalt

Mossballs aren't all that fragile, and should survive quarantine if given good conditions. However, they are notorious disease-spreaders on account of how perfect they are for harboring nasty hitchhikers.


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## mousey

thanks.
Guess I won't be introducing one of them any time soon.


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## Corwin

you can just quarentine it for a while first


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## jrmasterbreeder

I have one and I have had no problems with it.
I squeezed it out in my sink and ran cold water over it.
Put it in my tank and voila.
It's thriving and doing great. 
No problems at all.


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## Plecostomus

I got the exact same kind of moss ball from Petsmart and it is great-although I share your concerns about Petsmart's diseased fish. You don't really even need a tank to quarantine it, you could just use a bottle or a bucket or something since it is an algea.


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## jrmasterbreeder

Plecostomus said:


> I got the exact same kind of moss ball from Petsmart and it is great-although I share your concerns about Petsmart's diseased fish. You don't really even need a tank to quarantine it, you could just use a bottle or a bucket or something since it is an algea.




I got mine from the same place, and it wasnt with the fish.
My Petsmart is very clean and actually knowledgable.
It's strange... VERY... strange.


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## Corwin

the one I go to varies... when it first opened it was REALLY good and had a lot of very knowledgeable employees, however lately I havent seen those employees and the quality of the tanks and their inhabitants seems to be going downhill, very sad. 

I wanted a moss ball for a while (ive heard ghost shrimp LOVE them for some reason) however around the time I decided I want one is about the same time all the stores I go to seem to have decided they didnt want to cary them anymore -_-.


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## adpierin11

I bought one from petsmart while my tank was still cycling and its doing awesome. When I frequent petsmart now the mossballs don't look very good compared to mine.


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## jrmasterbreeder

Mine is also very nice.
It have a nice round shape to it, and the snails LOVE it. haha.
it tends to roll over on them though. 
Thats pretty funny to watch.
They almost get to the top and it rolls over! lol.


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## TheOldSalt

A properly kept mossball will float up by day, and sink at night. If it doesn't do this, then it's not getting enough light and will slowly rot.


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## Corwin

do they require high light? or are they a mid light plant.


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## dpajr24

I bought two at PetSmart. They ended up being loaded with baby snails. I wish I had gotten them from http://www.aquariumplants.com. I've been VERY satisfied with their plants. You might enjoy the write up on the moss balls at http://www.aquariumplants.com. I gives a good history on them.


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## TheOldSalt

They need high light or else their cores go bad. They float from filling up with the bubbles the exude from photosythesis.

As for plants from aquariumplants.com, I am generally pleased with them myself, EXCEPT in the winter. In the winter they get all their plants from florida, and their farm down there is not as hygenic, to put it mildly. The winter plants will come in absolutely covered in Hydra and other nifty critters, which is fine if don't mind that sort of thing. I get a kick out of them sometimes myself, but not when I'm trying to get a show tank up and running in a hurry.


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## sbetsy

I have quarantined them in a pitcher of water for a week or two on the windowsill and then put them in the tank and they were fine - no diseases after that. I would not put them directly into the tank from the store. Not a super great plan! Old Salt - I've had mine since, gosh, late winter, early spring and they don't really float. They are growing and look good though. We have a tall tank but we replaced the stock lights with stronger ones and I hope our moss balls are okay!


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