Java Moss is a very useful and easy to grow plant.The scientific name is Vesicularia dubyana. It looks like green threads. If you look as closely with a microscope or magnifying glass, you can see that is a central stem with small leaflets covering it. It is not a true moss but looks like one. This is a tough plant. It is too hard to eat for most fish. I have never seen a fish that will eat it.

I use this plant often as a spawning mop for egg laying species of fish. A spawn mop is a place for fish to lay eggs. You just pick it up and move it to another tank for the eggs to hatch. I have used this often to raise cories. The loose structure allows the female to move through it and hide the eggs. It is a great place for live bearers fry to hide from hungry parents. Also the plant provides a place for micro-organisms to grow. The fry will feed on these organisms.

Java Moss will absorb ammonia directly from the water. All plants absorb nitrogen from their environment to grow. The nitrogen is needed for production of chlorophyll, amino acids, and proteins. Nitrogen is usually one of main components of plant fertilizers. They have done experiments to see how fast aquatic plants can absorb ammonia.  Java Moss was one of the better plants.

I have grown this plant for over fifteen years. I started with a handful. It will survive neglect but grows rapidly in good condition.  It will grow in any type of water and will accept low to high light level. The higher the light level the faster it will grow. It will grow fine in flourescent light. It grows better under 24 hour light. It will cost you more on the electric bill. In ideal conditions, I would say that it will double in mass every month. Ideal conditions are full sunlight for six or more hours a day with a large number of fish to produce the ammonia and other fertilizers. It will live in dim light but needs the bright light for the energy to grow. You can see if it is growing rapidly. The "threads" will branch in higher numbers in ideal condition. It looks more like a christmas tree branch with shoots forming on the sides.

The growth habit is of a floating plant. When it is bright light it produces fast enough that bubbles of oxygen will form. The bubbles will cause the plant to float at the surface of the water. If you prefer your plant to stay at the bottom of the tank can hold it down with rocks. Java Moss can attached itself to any object. It can be trained to attach to wood, rocks or plastic. It can even attach to the glass of the tank. If you have an object that you with which you want it to attach. It can be tied in place with rubber bands or fishing line. Only the new growth will attach. It can be attracted cover wood or rocks. The growing tip sometimes will attached themselves to gravel. You will then have a built-in anchor.

This is the easiest plant in the world to propagate. You just pull off a piece. It will grow from the smallest piece. With enough time it will fill any size tank. I have seen refill a tank growing from small pieces left in the gravel.

Java Moss is always in high demand. You will notice that there are lots of people selling Java Moss on ebay. You should be able to sell your exess moss in the future. I used to sell it at fish auctions in Chicago. It would always get $3 a bags. I think today it would sell for more.