Christmas Moss

For sale is a 3” clump of rare Christmas moss (Vesicularia montagnei) which I have successfully grown them in my tank. This is NOT the common Java moss (Taxiphyllum sp) with smaller leaf structures and will not form a Xmas-tree like fronds as pictured below (for comparison please see photos here or read this thread for identification discussion). I feel sorry to just discard them as mosses are very slow growing hence the sale to benefit aquarium hobbyists!!

The moss was grown by me in my 60L tank (see my tank setup here and more photos here) with very healthy fish and shrimps (all disease-free!!) and I do not add any medications to my tank but I do dose plant fertilisers (mostly from Seachem). It is advisable to rinse and inspect for snails before putting them into your aquarium.

This moss was originally bought under the the name Java Moss. However, the pattern of growth and the structure of its leaves seem to suggest that it is not the common Java moss (Taxiphyllum barbieri) but rather the true Vesicularia species of either Christmass moss (V. montagne, info) or Weeping moss (V. ferriei, info). From the look of the plant in my tank, it looks more like Weeping moss but the closeup of leaf and cell structures (see microscope photos here) seem to suggest that it is Christmass moss, according to an article (Warning!! 6.8MB!!) on various types of aquatic mosses written by Prof Tan from Singapore. Which ever the true ID of this moss, I have managed to grown them attached to driftwood and they tend to grow downwards as shown in the photo below.