Brownish Java Moss and Green Java Moss

[John Hutch]

Hi All,

I am stuck on this so I figured I would ask the forum 2 questions and see what I learn.

I have 5 tanks now with Java Moss in all of them. My 20 Long tank though which has a new 18 watt Coralife Bulb which is supposed to be for plants and has a full spectrum is where my Java Moss is thinner than the Java Moss in my other 4 tanks and is a very dullish green.

I leave the lights on 6 to 8 hours a day in this tank. My Java Fern and my Red Rueben are doing great in this 20 gallon Long which has my wondering what is up with this. I do have green spot algae growing but just here and there and the fish are fine in the tank.

What could be causing this Java Moss to look so different than the others?

Also number 2 question is does anyone know of a great website to learn how to care for Java Moss and other plants?

Thanks in advance
John

[bandit]

well as you noted, different light sources have different affects and this can cause difference in looks, but also in growth rates.
http://www.barrreport.com/forum.php is a forum i used while gaining knowledge about planted tanks, but it revolves around fertilization regimes and CO2 additions.
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/el-natural/ is another forum revolving around the planted tank.

[MADMIKE]

Even tho lots of people do not add plant fertilizer,but I do even on tanks with just java moss.

[methemom]

moss is just like any other plant, depending on the light and other nutrients
the growth can differ. When you transplant moss from one tank to another, sometimes it needs time to adjust to the new conditions before it takes off.
My moss looks different in different tanks depending on the nutrients and light in each tank. Keeping good light on them seems to make the most difference, and the tanks with flourescent light seem to be better than those with the incandescent ones. Combining a flourescent light with an incandescent is supposed to give full spectrum light needed for best growth.

you can hardly kill it, so just keep after it and eventually it will work out.
Good luck!

[Oldfishlady]

IMO/E....you need to leave the lights on longer, 12 is the recommended length of time for most aquatic plants. You can get away with 10 hours but 12 hours is better.
With short or irregular photo periods the plants can be tricked into thinking the season has changed and go dormant or die off, using a timer can help with that.