A BIG APPLAUSE AND WELCOME for clicking into this lovely thread.

It's a pretty much a hit out there and there's not a single topic about marimo in Malaysia thus I would like to start a Marimo thread here for all the marimo lovers out there to share and discuss about their love towards marimo. I saw this tiny little cute algae way before my recent purchase and I never regreted my impulse purchase as this algae/moss ball is really cute and just perfect as a desktop companion.


Picture credit : http://aquascaperz.com

Here's a rough brief about Marimo.
" Marimo, also known as Cladophora ball, Lake ball, or Moss Balls in English, is a species of filamentous green algae (Chlorophyta) found in a number of lakes in the northern hemisphere. A marimo is a rare growth form of the species where the algae grow into large green balls with a velvety appearance. Colonies of such balls are only known to form in Iceland, Scotland, Japan and Estonia. "

Place of Origin: Lake Akan in Japan
Natural Habitats: Native to Akan Lake in Japan; it is considered as national treasure declared as a natural monument. In its natural habitat; their ability to move around by using the undercurrents also rise to the surface in the morning and sink at night due to receive plenty of light to carry out photosynthesis is an interesting character of Moss Ball. Although these balls have been observed to grow to some degree growing in freshwater lakes and ponds in European countries and some other lakes in Japan; only in this particular lake they grow to be a noticeable size in perfect spherical shape.

How to care your marimo?
Domestic marimo grow in tap water at room temperature as long as the water is changed every one or two weeks (more frequently in summer and less often in winter). The marimo can be placed in the refrigerator in hot weather (above 25°C), but does not survive freezing. Photosynthesis occurs in normal household lighting, otherwise, indirect sunlight since the marimo is adapted for low light conditions only. If the marimo green color turns brownish it may recover without intervention, otherwise a very minimal amount of salt can be added as a suggested remedy.



So why marimo balls you ask.
" Excellent gift for your friend or loved ones to signify everlasting love....

The Japanese believe that Marimo will bring good luck. Hence, they grow it in a glass bottle with just some water & ceiling light. Water change is only required once every 2 weeks.

Marimo is a very popular plant in Japan. Currently protected by the authorities to prevent extinction. The growth rate of Marimo is about 5 mm per year. Hence a giant marimo is about 7 years old!

This plant does NOT cause algae problem. Live Plants is a natural biological filter to remove ammonia in aquarium.
Propagate by dividing into smaller pieces, which become spherical over time.
Negligible maintenance required.
No carbon dioxide injection required for healthy growth. "


References:
1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marimo
2) http://aquariumhomecare.com/modules/kshop/...s.php?id=100085
3) http://petcity2008.blogspot.com/2008/08/ma...-moss-ball.html

This post has been edited by Andy0625: May 18 2011, 04:03 PM

General Marimo FAQ




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Lovely Owner List ♥
1♥ Andy0625 - currently 2 giant marimo
2♥ leeyung - (seller) tons of 'em
3♥ DecemberRose - 6 giant - 3 nano marimo
4♥ kongleong_3 - 5 marimo
5♥ Mevoxede - 2 giant - 4 nano marimo
6♥ Yeelin04 - 2 giant - 1 nano marimo
7♥ zeonczk -
8♥ a_sim - 5 giant 4 nano
9♥ rickyfan8888 - 5 giant marimo
10♥ CreepyCrawly - 2 giant 3 nano
11♥ Salt&Pepper
12♥ TokiToki
13♥ yanouchi - 2 giant marimo
14♥ genie - 5 nano marimos
15♥ ba5tard - 5 marimo
16♥ r3apers - 6 giant 4 nano
17♥ rmage - marimo
18♥
19♥

This post has been edited by Andy0625: Dec 20 2011, 11:49 AM

Lemme start sharing the picture of my marimo.

Awesome! Btw, if there's anymore special instruction to take care, do post and share it out. I'll contact u soon again as my friend saw the picture and interested in getting it.

Welcome! Dont forget to share your picture here yea. I still waiting my marimo to give out oxygen bubbles.

Thread is new but the marimo is not.

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Added on May 21, 2011, 3:52 pmJust get a nice bottle and some gravel then you're good to go.

This post has been edited by Andy0625: May 21 2011, 03:52 PM

Taking care of marimo is easy. Just change the water once every 2 weeks or month and you're good to go. Basically the main thing is that we shouldn't let direct sunlight hitting on the marimo and that is.

Another picture of my marimo.

All added to the list. I never see my giant marimo breathing, izzit because of not enough lights or the temperature is too cold? My aircon is on 24/7 @ 24c.

I shall have discount for my next purchase right? If any of you guys would like to have your name on the list, do post here and I'll try my best to get it done asap and if you need quicker response, just pm me.

by the way, how come my giant never float nor have lots of bubble?

mine one too. never see them float before.

Great to see this thread going rapidly. For those who wanna make it into the list, please PM me as I unable to monitor everyday.

Enjoy your stay here.

But their size is really giant, I just went there few days ago and my jaw is dropping. Love their bonsai there aswell but you know the price la.

Just to share, I haven't changed the water for my marimo for more than 3 months, no smelly water, no brownish and it's just as healthy.

This post has been edited by Andy0625: Mar 4 2012, 08:26 PM

not within the 3 months. just to share btw, no worries if you really no time to change the water.

room temperature around 20'c to 26'c, no direct sunlight.

It's really great to see that this thread attracted tons of lovely marimo owners. Two thumbs up.