Brackish moss balls

[Stalker]

Are you sure about that?

[Mustafa]

Yes, at least that's what science says so far (it can't even dry out and come back to life like many other algae):

http://www.researchgate.net/publication ... stribution

(Biogeography of Aegagropila linnaei (Cladophorophyceae, Chlorophyta): a widespread freshwater alga with low effective dispersal potential shows a glacial imprint in its distribution Christian Boedeker1*, Anja Eggert2, Anne Immers3 and Isamu Wakana4)

[Carolina]

Hi Mustafa... I noticed that like the Marimo balls, the little one is attracting a lot of detritus, I am afraid of cleaning it since she is so delicate... Any tips? I don't want to kill it by squishing it...
Should I just leave it alone?
Thanks!

[Stalker]

Mustafa (or ans other personnel with... hum...balls), can you do a very close up photo or even à microscopic view of your alga? Aegagropilla is clearly dinstinct from Cladophora in close up.

[Mustafa]

I'll try to do that in the next couple of days. Of course it would help to finally get a microscope so I can take an even better look.

[shrimpy4]

So I've been away from my 1-gallon bowl for about two months. Co-workers fed them occasionally while I was gone. But I just noticed that my brackish moss ball is gone!

I assume it didn't survive and must've melted away. When I first put it in there, it got a bit more "spikey" as shrimp picked at but it seemed to be doing fine for months. It only just occurred to me last night that I didn't remember seeing it after I got back from my trip, so double-checked today and little guy is nowhere to be found.

On the other hand, my chaetomorpha has been growing like crazy the past couple of months. Probably covers half the bowl, from what had been just a few strands months ago. I'm guessing my co-workers fed too much so there's an excess of nutrients, not sure if that would've affected the moss ball though.

[Mustafa]

Hmmm...that seems strange. In my tanks these balls have been indestructible. I have never observed one disappear. The shrimp don't eat it, and the "spikiness" you observed was probably just new growth. You sure someone didn't find a liking to it and "borrowed" it?

[mcdaney]

Hmmm...that seems strange. In my tanks these balls have been indestructible. I have never observed one disappear. The shrimp don't eat it, and the "spikiness" you observed was probably just new growth. You sure someone didn't find a liking to it and "borrowed" it?

Yup they're indestructible alright..! They can't simply melt away like corals/sponges do. It's time you interrogate your co-workers

[shrimpy4]

Would something have eaten it? The hermit crab maybe? There's a possibility it also got moved under my barnacle or is stuffed into one of the shells, I'm definitely not seeing it anywhere in the open and there aren't a whole lot of places it could be secreted away.

[Corucia]

I had the same occurrence as my recently introduced moss ball initially looked stable / intact for about two weeks and then rather suddenly git smaller (and less symmetrical) and eventually disappeared in about three or four days. I chalked this up to the small hermit crabs that I have in my tank. While I didn't see them in the act of dismembering the ball, it was the most likely cause / explanation.

[Carolina]

Mine is still as healthy as the day it came... The shape has changed a little, there is a "spike" on one side... But aside from that, it's fluffy and healthy.

[jonesinfershrimp]

if i were you id get a crd table, a paper cup full of water, 2 chairs and a light that hangs eerily and sways slightly.

[Aquarimax]

Mine is looking just as happy as the day I got it a few months ago. I don't have any hermit crabs...just opae'ula, trumpet snails, and an olive nerite that rotates between 3 of my opae'ula tanks.

[Mustafa]

Like I said...I never saw one disintegrate in all these years. So, it looks like the most likely culprit is the hermit crab. Lesson learned I guess.

[Carolina]

I have a hermit crab, and mine looks as well as the first day it arrived....