Singapore moss

Care at a glance

Overview

Treat it like any easy hardscape moss: tie or glue it to wood or rock and let it attach. It is very forgiving of light, temperature, and hardness, but it grows more slowly and ramifies more densely than the Taxiphyllum sold as Java moss, giving a finer, more compact look. At least moderate light and some CO2 improve branching. It is a solid choice for nano tanks, shrimp tanks, and as a spawning substrate.

In the wild

Singapore moss is a true moss widely distributed across the Asian tropics, growing on rocks, roots, and wood in and beside slow freshwater, and it even tolerates brackish margins. It attaches by rhizoids and forms irregular, densely branched cushions. In nature it handles a wide range of light and water conditions, which is why it is so hardy in tanks.

Good to know

Vesicularia dubyana is the true, accepted binomial for the moss aquarists call Singapore moss. It is famously mixed up with 'Java moss': in 1982 moss expert Zennosuke Iwatsuki showed that the fast-growing plant sold as Java moss is actually Taxiphyllum barbieri, while true Vesicularia dubyana is a distinct, slower species. Unlike Taxiphyllum, V. dubyana is monoecious and will readily form spore capsules (sporophytes) even while growing fully submerged.

Did you know

The plant most hobbyists call 'Java moss' is not actually Vesicularia dubyana at all, the real V. dubyana is the slower, denser 'Singapore moss', and the mix-up has persisted in the trade for over forty years.

Related plants

• 

  Christmas moss

  Vesicularia montagnei

  Low lightEpiphyte2 in (5 cm)

• 

  Weeping moss

  Vesicularia ferriei

  Low lightEpiphyte2 in (5 cm)
• Erect moss

  Vesicularia reticulata

  Medium lightEpiphyte2 in (5 cm)
• Peacock moss

  Taxiphyllum sp. 'Peacock'

  Low lightEpiphyte2 in (5 cm)
• Spiky moss

  Taxiphyllum sp. 'Spiky'

  Low lightEpiphyte2 in (5 cm)
• Flame moss

  Taxiphyllum sp. 'Flame'

  Low lightEpiphyte3.1 in (8 cm)