Mosses

I'm having a terrible time keeping mosses alive in my vivarium. I've tried most every available type, all types of local/north american mosses available through either the internet, and garden centers, from live to dormant. I've also done alot of research on light, water and substrate requirements for mosses. I really like the way a moss covered vivarium looks and would like to use them over bare substrates. Does anyone have any suggestions, or experience with a particular type of moss that will work well in a kiechow tank, and wont die or mold in two weeks? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Steve.

You mentioned buying it but have you tried collecting your own? Now, while it is dormant, is the best time to collect it as it gives you the greatest chance of establishing it in your tank.

One thing I like to do to get moss to start new growth is to put it in a tupperware container and then put it on a shelf and forget about it for a few weeks. The high humidity and dim light really gets the moss started.

I'm a little reluctant to collect mosses locally, There aren't many places where it grows in our area, and places where it does grow are usually agricultural runoff areas. I'm concerned that they would contain high levels of pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers. I'll have to try the tupperware method. But mainly I would like to know what you guys have found to be the hardiest species of mosses, then tune it from there.

Thanks, Steve

I realize this is an old thread but I thought I would post something anyhow. There could be several reasons for your moss not thriving in your enclosure. The three most common problems with moss is lack of proper light, too low of humidity and just trying to grow the wrong moss. almost all the mosses I grow are mosses from wet, cool mountain stream sides in tropical asia. The reason I chose this region is simply that the the moss doesn't mind the cool temperatures, likes getting wet, and most importantly, it has no dormancy period. I find mosses from North America tend to be harder to grow, but I have had some luck with mosses collected from very damp steam, pond or swampy conditions. The moss I would try out would be a variety called christmas moss (Vesicularia montagnei) Or Singapore moss (Vesicularia dubyana). You should be able to order these from any aquarium fish store and they will spread in terrestrial form over damp land with good drainage.
I hope you find this helpful (even if it is late in the game). here are some of mine.