Marimo Care and Help Blog

Just a blog for Marimo things only, feel free to send an ask with any questions or just to chat!WE WON'T ANSWER QUESTIONS REGARDING FISH HABITATS, we only know about Marimo. We've never owned fish before, if you have a question about appropriate tank sizes for fish there are many great blogs in the fishblr community that can assist you. Please consult the FAQ before sending a question, know that questions may not be answered immediately. Sending a question multiple times will decrease the likelihood that it will be answered.

[marimo-sanctuary]

Hey, my marimo lost a piece and now the hole turned white from the middle to the outside. Can I do anything about that?

You can gently remove whatever white pieces there are and use a string to hold it together so it can grow back together over time (but this will take a while). Make sure he's getting enough sunlight and air as well.

[marimo-sanctuary]

My marimo arrived today, it was a little brownish so i decided to put some salt in its jar: for how long should I keep the salt?

If it's brown you can just clean it by running it under water and gently squeezing until the water runs clear. If it still doesn't come of you can gently scrape it off with your nail. I haven't heard of putting salt in your jar with your marimo so I'm not sure what that would do to it, I'd recommend just frequent cleaning and purified tap water.

[marimo-sanctuary]

during my bad seasonal depression this winter, I forgot about my marimo, and it completely dried out! :( It's still vibrant green, though it had some grey spots on it, but I gently picked those off and then set it back in clean water. Is there a chance it will still live, even though it was totally dry? I want my baby Algernon to be okay T_T

Marimo are pretty resilient, if he's still green and soft, and looking normal aside from the grey spots he'll probably pull through. The grey spots are dead areas, so if he's mostly green he should be fine.

[marimo-sanctuary]

i’m really confused. my marimo’s bowl has clear goop around the edges and if i don’t clean it in a week then that clear goop will be on top of the water. also, how could i move my marimo in a stream-like way because i know that they need that

That's normal, I used to have marimo that would form that white goop and frequent cleaning is really all you need to keep it at bay. You can use your hand or something long to swirl the water around and get it moving everyday or so.

[marimo-sanctuary]

Hello! I'm planning on getting my very first Marimo, I have been super into them for a while but I finally decided to go with it. I want to prepare for it with as much care and love as any other pet so I want a suitable living environment for it. Most places state that Marimo can live in pretty much any tank but I want a tank that can keep water colder and a filter to help it dance and stay round and fluffy, would a BiOrb provide a suitable environment for it or what would you recommend?

You can really keep marimo in anything, from mason jars to bottles to tanks. I've never heard of the BiOrb before but it looks like a really nice tank for a marimo, just expensive. I keep mine in an old apple juice jar right now and they're happy.

[marimo-sanctuary]

My marimos have shed. I collected all of the pieces and rolled it together. However, it didn't want to stay together and it is only just held together by string. The shedding are from multiple marimos that all came from the same supplier. Is this the problem??

Yeah marimos won't mold together immediately, unfortunately. It'll take a while for them to morph together. If you want a larger marimo I'd suggest just finding a big one from a reputable supplier online instead of frankenstein-ing them together, you'll get better results.

[marimo-sanctuary]

My marimos started shedding. I rolled most or the shedding together and then tied it together. It is lumpy and wants to come apart what can I do? The string is only just holding it together. Finally, it is made of 4 different marimos that all came from the same supplier. Will this work?

Marimos grow very slowly so while the string does help it'll take a while for them to mold together and hold it's shape on its own. Esp. if it's all from different marimos the string will have to hold it together for an extended amount of time but they should all grow together eventually.

[marimo-sanctuary]

What do I do if my marimo are shedding? They haven't done this before, but now there is a lot of green fluff floating in their bowl. I've been cleaning them every week and cleaning their tank biweekly. Also, I have been turning them in the water twice each day. Is there anything you would suggest I do or change?

I'd let them rest in the water without disturbing it too much, you could probably clean them gently, biweekly, with their tank instead of every week. If the shedding gets too bad you can wrap them in a string to help them hold their shape.

[marimo-sanctuary]

Can marimos live in a closed glass jar? Its closed because of mosquito problems. Im afraid my marimo wont be able to breathe

They need some air in order to breathe/eat, poking a hole in the top of the jar or loosely covering the jar without screwing the lid fully on would be better for it.

[juejack]

froggi, a marimo, and a pea!

[spectrometrie]

[all-that-once-slithered]

when people ask what kind of fish they can keep in an unheated, unfiltered 1 gallon tank

[marimo-memes]

[whenthebirdsareheardagain]

It’s done! My Wasteland, Baby! aquarium, featuring Mercutio the marimo as Andrew Mossball-Byrne.

Inspired by this post from @turninghoziest

[zooophagous]

Zebra mussels are bad news. They're also such efficient filter feeders that they mess up lake ecosystems by allowing light to penetrate too far beneath the surface.

They also kill things by just completely covering them, including other animals like crustaceans.

[abpoli]

Are there mussels on your moss balls? Alberta officials warn of tiny invasive species

Wildlife officials are sounding the alarm following the discovery of a tiny invader that hitched a ride into Alberta last week.

Wildlife officials are sounding the alarm following the discovery of a tiny invader that hitched a ride into Alberta last week.

Moss balls, also known as marimos, are a popular item among aquarium lovers and are sold in many pet and plant stores throughout the province.

However, when provincial officials discovered a delivery of moss balls to an Alberta distributor had stowaway on board, they became concerned.

"Staff inspected the moss balls and confirmed that invasive mussels were found," Alberta Environment and Parks wrote on Facebook.

The intercepted shipment originated from the Ukraine, the same place where a number of U.S. businesses also received the contaminated moss balls.

Zebra mussels pose "a significant threat" to Alberta's waterways, the province says, especially because they are extremely difficult to eradicate.

Continue reading

[marimo-sanctuary]

Hi Marimo Sanctuary. Hate to bring stress to your otherwise very chill blog, but as you may of heard, the US Fish and Wildlife Service recently found the invasive Zebra Mussel in moss balls in pet shops in 20+ states. Zebra Mussels are an incredibly damaging invasive species, and control is essential in minimizing said damage. I highly recommend looking at the US FWS website for additional guidance you could share with your followers! You're under no obligation to post anything of course, but I thought you should know. I hope you're having a great day!

Thank you for bringing this up, I hadn’t seen this information yet. Here is the article from the US Fish & Wildlife Service wrote on the 12th of this month about the infected Marimo. If you have purchased a Marimo recently please read this article. 

This is valuable information especially for those with fish tanks or there’s even some who may just drop their marimo back into a pond somewhere if they don’t want it anymore. Most importantly if you have a marimo, especially one that’s been purchased recently DO NOT DUMP THEM! 

Here is a guide from the National Invasive Species Information Center on how to properly dispose of Zebra Mussels and infected Marimo. 

Since Zebra Mussels can multiply quickly, meaning that they will disrupt a local ecosystem if introduced. They are invasive and incredibly damaging. They will disrupt the natural food chain and water chemistry, as well as destroy local species populations. 

If you want more information on Zebra Mussles and their impact on the environment here is a link to an article from the US Fish & Wildlife Service. 

This is valuable information for anyone with an aquarium or aquatic plant to know about. If you care for these plants and animals too, you need to do so for our friends in the wild as well. It’s important to know because infections like these don’t exclusively effect Marimo, they will effect an entire population in a water system if given the opportunity.

 Thank you for bringing our attention to it!

Sources

https://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/zebra-mussels-found-aquarium-moss-balls

https://www.fws.gov/fisheries/ANS/zebra-mussel-disposal.html

https://www.fws.gov/midwest/endangered/clams/zebra.html