Marimo Moss Ball 4-5cm The plant looks just like a ball and from the outside anyone would believe it to be moss -but it's actually a spherical alga native to Japan and Northern Europe. Moss balls provide beautiful colour to the aquascape and will help keep nitrates down. They are a firm favourite of shrimps, who will often be found grazing on top and underneath a moss ball.Moss balls are suitable for any tank - their slow growth-rate of 0.5cm per year makes them ideal for small nano and shrimp tanks. Given the right time and conditions, the maximum they will grow to in an aquarium is around the size of a tennis ball. These moss balls are supplied at a small to medium size, around 2-3" diameter. We vacuum pack our moss balls, so they will arrive small and condensed with most of the water squeezed out. They will expand when introduced into the aquarium to the listed size when fully hydrated. Please be aware of this before you buy or leave feedback. Caring for your plant Moss balls require a moderate light source. Ensure moss balls are not kept in direct sunlight or excessive light, otherwise the plant may turn brown and die. Rotate the ball occasionally to ensure even amounts of light. Best kept at temperatures of 22-25 degrees celsius. Freshwater only. Not for use in salt or brackish water. Cleaning your moss balls The best way to keep the moss ball clean is to remove from the tank and gently squeeze into a bucket of aquarium water. Squeezing it pushes the murky water out and releasing it draws the cleaner aquarium water back in. If it floats after being put back in the tank it is because it hasn't absorbed water fully yet - it will sink again once it does. Zebra Mussels in Moss Balls - IMPORTANT PLEASE READ To address the recent concerns in the media, Zebra Mussels, along with snail eggs, planaria worms and other pests have always found a way to hitchhike onto certain plants– including moss balls – so its always imperative to ensure responsible steps are taken to eradicate them. This isn't something new.The recently highlighted issues concern only LIVE zebra mussels, which have been classified as invasive in the USA only – there hasn’t yet been a live one reported in the UK, nor any issues of invasiveness, and it’s only live ones that are cause for concern. In the extremely unlikely event that you do ever find a live one, report it to OATA or DEFRA in the UK. Certainly don’t be alarmed if you ever find a dead one, its completely harmless. Moss balls are not banned in the UK.We use a highly reputable supplier in Holland, who grows all moss balls in a captive environment to minimise the risk. To further reassure our customers, when the moss balls arrive here we freeze them for two hours prior to release, as advised by OATA. This isn’t harmful to the plant, but kills any hitchhiker, including zebra mussels, which may have found its way onto the plant. You can repeat this if desired. As a rule we do not use copper treatments, but if you are concerned, dip your plants using a copper-based treatment product like ESHA Gastropex which is designed to eradicate pest molluscs, prior to adding to your tank. Please exercise caution using this method if you have any copper-sensitive species in your aquarium, such as shrimp. If you have any related questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us.
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