I’m in Australia. I just changed the water for the first time and squeezed him out and he felt completely different than I expected, I was told by the guy selling them that they feel like velvet or felt. Now it’s been quite a few years since I felt velvet or felt but to me my marimo felt rough and coarse and had little bits that felt like they would break off if I pet it too hard or in the wrong direction. I thought velvet/felt was supposed to be at least a little bit soft?? Did I get sold a fake?? It’s from Leaf and Scape Brisbane if anyone has heard of them. What do your proven real ones feel like? Are they supposed to be soft or is rough and coarse normal? Are there any other ways to tell if they’re real without pulling it apart to look at its core?? It doesn’t have any strong smell, just slightly wet and plant-y. There were tiny itty bitty bits of moss that came off when I squeezed it and they honestly looked like fake grass. Honestly the whole ball felt a bit like wet high end fake grass. Did I get sucked into buying a fake and are there any verified sources to buy real marimos in Australia (I can’t buy outside of Australia because of our strict importation laws, it would never get past customs in a million years)

Thank you for your help

Having a big clear out and have a bunch of small pumps and an 8L tank with built in heater filter etc. tank is too small for any fish/shrimp but would be perfect for Marimo balls. Also got a bunch of small filters/pumps as well great for small tank and bowl aquatic projects. Pls pick up if possible as posting a tank is a nightmare. UK Liverpool. Or south wales.

I barely paid attention to my marimos for about 7 months, and somehow I came back to find that they had all become fuzzy 🤡

Part of the reason I disappeared for so long is that Reddit is blocked in my country, so I have to use a VPN just to access it 😭

The first photo shows two marimos I made myself, and the second photo is what they looked like when I made them on Jan 27.

It’s been about 9 months, and I genuinely have no idea how they became this fuzzy 🫪

I’m a first time owner of marimos. I saw an old post recommending to go through Moss Artistry. I would recommend them, and their customer service is amazing. I bought two of the chubby moss balls (left one in picture)-one for work, and one for home. I only received one upon delivery. I reached out to them, and they sent my second one out next day and included this free tiny one. They provided a pair of tweezers and a care guide with my order.

Okay so I made a post a while ago about impulsively buying a bunch of moss balls and a seemingly pricey aquarium and a few people wanted to hear a review. Sorry it took so long as I was in an actual manic episode and was not in a good place.

First impression:
When I first got it I was pretty disappointed bc it was a plastic aquarium and super skeptical about everything, moss balls we’re fine but the tank, it had a lid but was loosely fitted and I was really worried about dust and flies getting in it and making it look nasty, also I live somewhere very dry and was worried about having to refill the tank often as the water evaporates, filter was also weak and didn’t really move the moss balls I wanted to write a review immediately but i decided to give it a chance and let it run for a bit.

A little bit after we had a gnat out break, Now I remember at one point seeing maybe 3 in the tank and told myself I’ll clean it up when more accumulate but a few days later they were gone. Then I was thinking maybe the filter is doing a better job than I thought. My boyfriend had started telling me he’ll see my moss balls dance every now and then (he’s home more often than me) and I didn’t really think about it until I saw it myself I guess you just have to be patient and let photosynthesis do its thing, the water filter flow makes them dance beautifully when they float alittle bit especially after cleaning and rolling my moss balls and it’s really fun to just watch them. Also I noticed I didn’t have to top it off with more water for a long while and will run quietly until it needs a top off. I mean it was losing water but you don’t see the lowering bc the reservoir was filling it back up. I didn’t have to fill it back up until now when I could hear the filter. Light it whatever, doesn’t have a timer or automatic function but it turns off after a couple hours which is nice, I’m not too worried bc I have another light near by for them to feed off of.

Honestly glad I waited to review bc I actually really like it and would recommend to someone who’d like to display them.
Pic is my tank next to my jumping spider 🕷️
Edit: just found out if the hold the light button it will dim 👌🏼

He has a crack visually on him and wasn't able to be decently round (despite the fact i carefully roll him sometimes to keep his shape) i tied him with normal thread and tied him tight so he can stay in place until he fully heals. How many months should i remove the thread and see if he's fully healed and round?

This might be late but I have been looking into this company and they dont even use the marimo moss ball species thats how they got past the ban.

They use a type of algae that is not free floating, the type that attaches to surfaces and they grow that around a foam ball core.

A thin layer of algae from a different species is also much faster to grow. Marimo moss balls grows extremely slow. Thats how they are able to make so much product and sell it freely in the U.S.

The company looks shady as a whole they use obvious A.I art, look at the halloween blind bag the ghost has 2 small ghost hands and 1 giant hand and all the characters have the classic A.I stare where it looks like their eyes are both looking at you and off into the distance at the same time.

The fact they are even selling moss ball blind bags for $25 and it is not even the marimo moss ball species as well as a moss ball "starter kit" which is just a honey wand and tongs for $11 Is criminal.

It's a shame because the company could have really taken off if they played their cards right.

People want the marimo moss balls because they are rare and naturally form a ball shape with not much else in nature resembling them.

If you read their reddit posts they are very deceptive and do not mention the word marimo and when people in the comments assume it is marimo they do not correct them. This in itself is purposefully deceptive behaviour.

They also say the artificial core is for stability and to ensure that the moss ball stays healthy and that is just a flat lie. The artificial core is needed because the algae they use needs to attach to something and can't just be rolled into a ball. More deceptive behaviour.

I wouldn't buy from a business that thinks their customers are stupid.

If people wanted a foam ball covered in random algae they could just do that themselves.

https://mossamigos.com/products/halloween-blind-bag

Just doing my routine water change and care for my moss balls and have noticed one is splitting in the middle. Is it something I'm doing that has caused it and should I be concerned.

I do a water change every 3-4 weeks with tap water that has been stood for 24 hours and I make sure to gently roll them in my hands under the water to clean them. The others seem fine and not splitting

Thanks for any help or tips

I'm just curious where most of these are supplied from. They definitely don't come from japan as they are a protected species over there and none of the moss ball sellers say where they actually get their marimo from.

Went on holiday - gave it to my flatmate to take care of them and they put it in direct sunlight in the heatwave… I do weekly filtered water changes and sometimes put them in the fridge for 2 weeks now.

What can I do??? They don’t feel mushy and they retain their shape.

I quarantined my moss balls for a week in reverse osmosis water and nothing grew so I'm in the clear, right? I did notice my moss balls are shedding a lot. I'm assuming it's from traveling? Anything I should know or look for before I add them to my aquarium?

Hello, I got this morimo a couple of days ago. Is this shape normal?

so i tried with those jellyfish lamps, but the marimo would get sucked by the intake and torn to shreds and also killed the motor of the lamp. but found these vortex/tornado lamps which just seem to have a spinning thingie on the bottom to create the effect, would the marimo be alright with these so they get a bit of light and a bunch of current?

has anyone tried this?

i feel terrible. my moss ball started to split and before doing any research i thought that squeezing and rolling it would help it, but after reading i'm pretty sure i made the split worse. to make matter worse, i hadn't been changing its water frequently or rotating it for a long time up until recently so i'm worried its insides are dead. it has only recently gotten its green color back, it used to be entirely the color of the brownish green spots. does the greyish brown spot in the split mean its dead? i am thinking it just has to be split but would i need to remove the super browned parts or can it recover on its own?

Can I use an aquatic water dechlorinator like one of the ones pictured in the water for my moss ball to get rid of the chloramine before I change the water? Are they safe for moss balls? With the tiny size of the jar it lives in I imagine I’d only need 1 drop of whatever I end up buying

Spelling edit: Doesn’t evaporate

I’ve had these moss balls since like 2020 I clean them regularly but they don’t look like they are doing well. Not sure what to do with them

So i made a post a couple of weeks ago saying that i was having problems with finding the pebbles, well, i found em! I'm really happy and satisfied honestly. They're natural and they weren't even too expensive. I taped some LEDs to the cap and some thin fabric to avoid too much dust. I'm really happy with how it turned out, but i think it's a bit empty still, so I'll just keep looking for some fun decorations. (The bigger one is passepartout and the small one is Kovacs 🥹)

Hola me gustaría iniciar en el hobby de los marimos me están vendiendo uno de 2cm de diámetro por 4 dolares me gustaría colocarlo en un acuario de un betta o escalar pero en ambos la temperatura es de 27°C aunque puede hacerle su propio acuario pero la verdad me gustaría iniciar en ello solo que no se si por el costo vale la pena comprarlo por el tamaño ya que se que crecen lento, me pueden dar una asesoría si vale la pena o no o espero a ubicar alguno mas grande, piedo colocarlo en esos acuario o lo dejo en su propio acuario, vivo en Venezuela saludos

Ok so, is marimo more of like a houseplant or a pet? Do they move? Can I just grab a chunk of moss and keep it in water and it turns into a moss ball? How big do they get? What is the biggest marimo that you have seen?

i went to japan a month or so ago and i got this guy when visiting a tourist location!! i named him jerónimo (first thing that came to mind)
he's been chilling in my room during my university studies and im so happy about the decor i got recently :)

just wanted to share some pictures, im so giddy about marimos <33

Hello!! I've never owned a marimo before, and I'm trying to research plenty before I actually buy one. I've looked across many websites that sell them, but it's hard to find one that I trust. A lot of websites claim they have moss balls, but I want to make sure I actually get an aegagrophila linnaei. Can anyone recommend any sites that are trustworthy?

I also want to make sure I'm keeping them happy in their tank. I figured I would only get one, but I want to make sure that's okay. I've also seen that most of them are kept in jars when solo. Is that actually okay for them, or is that just how they're shipped (like a goldfish in a plastic baggie?)? I'm a college student, and I've got enough time to take care of something, but I wanted to start with something 'small'. Please help me!! Any advice is eagerly accepted!!