Stringy moss

Leptodictyum riparium

Also known as Amblystegium riparium, Hypnum riparium, Streamside leptodictyum moss

FreshwaterMossCuttings

Stringy moss (Leptodictyum riparium) — HermannSchachner · CC0

Care at a glance

Light: Low light
CO2: No CO₂ needed
Growth rate: Medium
Placement: Epiphyte
Type: Moss
Temperature: 39–79°F (4–26°C)
pH: 5.0–8.0
Hardness: 2–21 dGH
Max height: 3.9 in (10 cm)
Spread: 5.9 in (15 cm)
Nutrient uptake: Water column
Growth region: Submersed or emersed
Difficulty: Beginner
Origin: Nearly worldwide; common across Europe and North America
Family: Amblystegiaceae

Overview

About as undemanding as aquarium plants get: low light is enough, CO2 is unnecessary, and it tolerates anything from coldwater setups to warm community tanks. Tie or clip it loosely onto wood or rock and it attaches by itself over time. The strands grow upward rather than hugging the hardscape, giving a wilder, reedy look, and growth is brisk for a moss, so trim regularly before it gets stringy in the bad sense and shades itself. It is a favourite for fry cover, shrimp tanks and breeding setups, and it takes emersed culture in paludariums.

In the wild

A near-worldwide moss of waterway edges, ditches and lake margins, growing submersed in shallow water or on permanently wet ground just above the waterline. It favours nutrient-rich water and shrugs off pollution, turning up in everything from streams to water troughs. It is fully winter-hardy in temperate climates, which is why it also works in unheated tanks and garden ponds.

Good to know

A true moss in the family Amblystegiaceae, still found on shop labels under its older names Amblystegium riparium and Hypnum riparium. Tropica trades it as Stringy moss for the loose, upright, slightly transparent green strands, a very different habit from the flat pads of the common carpeting mosses. Flowgrow notes that some material sold as stringy moss may actually be Drepanocladus aduncus, a lookalike from the same wet habitats.

Did you know

Its usable range of roughly 4-26 °C is among the widest of any plant in the catalog: the same moss can overwinter in an outdoor pond and then grow on in a tropical tank.