Moss Balls, Yay or Nay?

Personally I don't think moss balls are worth paying for. They don't grow fast enough (or really at all) to make any impact on water quality, and they don't provide any cover to make the aquarium a more natural environment.
I prefer my java moss and elodea.

I like them, as an addition to the tank, but they aren't everything. I have 4 Marimo balls. My axie likes to sit on them and push them around. They do collect a lot of dirt so I squeeze clean them when I'm doing a water change. I have been guilty of using them as sponges when cleaning the tank. While they don't grow fast, they are also very hard to kill, and somehow stay bright green and fluffy in a room with almost no light. My axie prefers to climb on moss or leafy plants, but those are harder to keep looking nice, and occasionally need to be replaced.

i've had a few moss balls and only reason why i gave into getting more at any point was because my axies love them but i hate them and no longer have them as they fall apart and clog my filter... i won't get anymore.

I love moss balls, simply because they're easy to care for.

fireball99 said:

My axie's moss balls lasted a few days before it was in bits and only the plastic thing that holds the moss together was left. I'd bought my axie it as a toy he could shove around the place but he didn't seem impressed.

I ended up giving him a little ball which he seems to prefer. You'll see in the photos he liked to pose both standing one footed on the ball, and also leaning on it with his arm at a jaunty angle, like an old uncle about to tell you an amusing story from his youth...

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That's really cool that your axolotl likes the little ball. What kind of ball is it? Did you have to do anything to get it so sink?

I currently have them in my cold water fish tank but not in my Axie tank. But they stay not he bottom, are the they supposed to float? I used to have a plant but my Axie dug it up after swimming Into it repeatedly and destroying it, hadn't thought of moss balls

I have moss balls in every tank I have! They are also a great way to kick start the cycle on a new tank.

I've gotten several moth balls since I last posted on this thread and I wanted to point out that you should look for marimo moss balls. They're real moss balls through rather than moss wrapped in a plastic frame. I haven't had any issues with mine, got them at Petsmart for around $7.

I would have to say nay, even though I love how they look all the little black worms my newts happen to miss go into the marimo balls and infest them... They were too much of a pain to clean so I ended up having to toss them :-(.

Originally I bought 4 medium moss balls. Over time they grew and new bits formed into new balls and I even gave several away as you can have too many! My axie pushes them into her drain pipe and my AFC's are always herding them into their caves. I squeeze and roll them at every tank change, they always hold dirt. I think they are a great addition to a tank. :happy:

I like moss balls but tbh i got a bit sick of little bits floating off them all the time and getting sucked up the siphon.

To fix this i tore apart a shower pouf and cut a bit of it to the size i wanted. I then just put all the little bits inside it, tied it off and voila. I have a decent sized moss ball but its all neat and tidy in its net (until it grows out of it of course )

I believe they do help the tank a great deal. I have two in my 30 gallon tank. My axies love them! Even my apple snail is obessive! Heres photographic evidence:

Is it possible to get moss balls in Australia? My LFS in Melbourne seems to stock a huge variety of plants but says they can't source marimo moss balls.

I like them but it depends on the tank. If I'm going for a natural looking tank then absolutely not as they look completely silly, but if it's just your basic axolotl tank with your pvc tube houses and cut-in-half terracotta pot hides, then it's fine and they provide a nice splash of green.

Buyer beware. people will try and sell fake moss balls intentionally and/or some packaging are misleading. PetsMart and Petco are now selling real marimo balls. They also have fake moss balls too. The fake ones are in a package and the real ones are in cups of water. like the betta cups. Marimos only fall apart when they are unhealthy. Look up care info for marimos to insure they stay healthy.

Old thread but since someone replied recently - I'm gonna post a warning.

Some say they never have had problems with their Marimo balls - but I sure have and I know many others that have, as well...
My Axolotls loved them but I'm never letting another one in the house again... :S

The first year or so - they were great. They collected all kinds of dirt and trash from the sand - but then they started getting pretty green when washing them. Then I saw that they released algae particles. And kaboom. Algae everywhere. In several tanks. But only in the ones containing Marimo balls... Thing is - they grow. And they grow by producing and collecting algae. And when they grow - they also produce more of it if they have the slightest opportunity. Also - they can rot from the inside - which can become a quite large contaminator.

I think they're cute but uh-uh. Never again.

Bambikill said:

Old thread but since someone replied recently - I'm gonna post a warning.

Some say they never have had problems with their Marimo balls - but I sure have and I know many others that have, as well...
My Axolotls loved them but I'm never letting another one in the house again... :S

The first year or so - they were great. They collected all kinds of dirt and trash from the sand - but then they started getting pretty green when washing them. Then I saw that they released algae particles. And kaboom. Algae everywhere. In several tanks. But only in the ones containing Marimo balls... Thing is - they grow. And they grow by producing and collecting algae. And when they grow - they also produce more of it if they have the slightest opportunity. Also - they can rot from the inside - which can become a quite large contaminator.

I think they're cute but uh-uh. Never again.

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Can algae hurt the axolotls?

Ripley said:

I also have them in my large fish tank the frogs love playing with them and laying on them.

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I have a tank of African Clawed Frogs as well , I think they would love some. Side note though, I would remove that gravel from your tank immediately ! AcFs eat everything and you do not want an impacted froggie mine enjoy play sand ...its cheap and looks great!

I would like to add a bit of information to this thread as I have only had an amphibian for a short time I have been keeping marimos for years.

For starters Marimo are algae not moss. No if's and's or buts, they are a species of algae from Japan. The ball is actually thousands and thousands of individual algae growing together in one form

They are native to a few lakes in Japan where they receive only minor amounts of light.

Personally I keep them In all of my tanks because they look nice and provide lots of surface area for beneficial bacteria growth.
You should squeeze them out lightly in the water when you change your tank to loose the gunk inside but you should never unroll the Marimo and if it becomes unrolled you should roll it back up and softly squeeze it together probably putting in a tank by itself so your pets don't rip it up.
I have read several stories of black worms burrowing into marimos and killing them, I think that with cleaning the marimos often this shouldn't be a problem but if you use live blackworms to feed then marimos may not be the best choice for you.

As a note, Marimo are very cheap but they are slow growing and need very little in terms of care. Avoid direct sunlight keep light levels low or at least give them dark from time to time, if your tank gets really hot during the summer it's best to take the Marimo out and store it in your fridge.

There are 2 other types of "Moss balls" that pet stores will sell. The first kind is harmless and the same as any plastic aquarium plant.

They come in a plastic package and while ive never had one they should be harmless

The other type of Moss ball is dangerous and you should not buy them ever!


These are not marimos. This is Moss balled up and tied together with fishing line. The Moss can and often will rot in your aquarium water and if they come apart which they often do your pet can easily swallow the fishing line and choke, or cause a significant amount of internal damage.

In closing I'm all for Marimo, Jabba loves to push his around and curl around them


But I am against 'Moss balls' and fake marimo

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If it has plastic in it its NOT a real marimo moss ball . If you rip it up it should be solid green fuzzy moss. I think they keep the green hair algae from growing on glass. It could just be coincidence. But i still get green dots of algae. Like others have said almost impossible to kill.