Plant typeepiphyte
epiphyte on stone and wood nano tank foreground
A large, stiff moss whose shoots look like little fern or palm fronds — the leaves sit in two rows in one plane. Slow, striking, and often confused with its smaller relative.
- Light
- low–high
- Difficulty
- difficult
- Temperature
- 18 – 26 °C
Parameters
Growth ratevery slow
Tolerates lightlow – high
Carbonate hardness0 – 10 °dKH
Placementon stone and wood +2
Propagationdivision, daughter plants
Grows emersedyes
Appearance
Unbranched shoots about 2–6 cm long and up to a centimetre wide, with lance-shaped leaves in two flat rows. The shoots are firm and hold their shape out of the water; the smaller moss sold under the same name is soft and collapses when lifted.
Keeping
Difficult and very slow. Light can be dim or bright, but the growth is so slow that algae in an unsettled tank will overtake it, so this is a moss for an established aquarium with clean water. It attaches to wood and stone and should be tied down until it grips.
Placement
Tied to wood and stone in the front or middle of the tank, where its unusual shoots can be seen close up. Suits a nano layout.
Propagation
By division: separate a piece and tie it down elsewhere.
Fish and this plant
Water conditions match
The water suits 974 of 1249 species in the catalogue — these are the ones people look up most often.
Swordtail GuppiesCobra GuppyBlood Red MollyButterflyfishRed Zebra CichlidJulii CorydorasFeatherfin SynodontisRed-finned ParotocinclusGastromyzon monticolaEgg-shaped GoldfishFlame TetraGardner's KillifishAfrican TetraKenyi CichlidCuckoo CatfishGolden SwordtailHypsolebias picturatusCommon ZaccoLabeo BicolorGambusiaFlying barbGastromyzon scitulusAlbino Zebra DanioZebra Mbuna
Will eat this plant
These species damage plants, especially when their diet is short of vegetable food.
Bengal LoachZebra LoachBurmese Border LoachEmperor BotiaMarbled HeadstanderPellegrin's LeporinusLeporinus striatusFalse Black TetraCommon MetynnisMylossoma duriventreRed Whiptail CatfishMolly sphenopsBalloon MollyLyretail MollyMarble MollyHi-Fin PlatyHawaii PlatyBlue PlatyPintail PlatyBlack PlatyChocolate Molly
Cultivars
The same plant with a different look: light, water and care are shared with the species.
Other varieties: Fissidens nobilis in Vitro