I attached a photo of my tank. You can see the new bright green moss ball at the bottom and the older brownish moss ball floating at the top. You can also see the pale little bits of the disintegrated macro algae all over the substrate.
Is my moss ball dead?
Moderator: Mustafa
Is my moss ball dead?
I have a small three-year-old tank of shrimp, macroalgae, and a moss ball, all purchased from petshrimp.com. Probably about a year ago, I moved the tank in front of a bright window and stopped using the light. I noticed recently that my moss now is looking pale and sad. I put the light back on it, but I think I was too late for the macroalgae (it has fallen to pieces at the bottom of the tank). The moss ball still has some green at the center so I was hoping it would come back now that I have it under a bright light on a 12hr timer. I purchased some new macroalgae and a new little moss ball. I am not sure if it was a coincidence, but the next day my old moss ball started floating a bit above the substrate and a day later, it is now floating at the top of the tank. It has never floated like this before. Is it dead? Should I remove it from the tank? Also, should I be worried about the little bits of dead macro algae that are still in the tank? I did my best to fish out the bigger pieces with tweezers but I don't have a net. The shrimp all seem happy (they have molted and reproduced in the tank) and the water is clear. The shrimp seem to like swimming around with the little pieces of macroalgae in their pinchers.
I attached a photo of my tank. You can see the new bright green moss ball at the bottom and the older brownish moss ball floating at the top. You can also see the pale little bits of the disintegrated macro algae all over the substrate.
I attached a photo of my tank. You can see the new bright green moss ball at the bottom and the older brownish moss ball floating at the top. You can also see the pale little bits of the disintegrated macro algae all over the substrate.
Re: Is my moss ball dead?
The mossball is not dead. You can squeeze it a little to get the air bubbles out of it and it will go back to the bottom. As for the bits of macroalgae, you can leave them there. They will either slowly decay and the shrimp will eat them or some may even grow again. Your mossball does look like there's brown algae growing on it, though. Either way, everything looks fine.
Re: Is my moss ball dead?
Thank you! It is on my desk at work and when I came in this morning it had already sunk to the bottom again. I am glad to hear I can leave the macro algae because it would have been difficult to remove. Overall I love my tank and how easy it is to care for. I cleaned algae off the glass twice the first year but now that it is established I haven’t had to clean it since. The water stays crystal clear and the algae has remained under control. My shrimp have reproduced multiple times and seem very happy and vibrant. I love my little desk buddies. Im so glad I found petshrimp.com to learn about opae ula and source them ethically. There is so much bad information out there on youtube and other sites but it is clear you know what you are doing.