r/Marimo • • Sep 01 '23

r/marimo Newcomers guide!

192 Upvotes

Hello, and welcome to r/marimo!

This subreddit is dedicated to spreading knowledge about these endangered plants, promoting conservation efforts, and encouraging healthy hobby cultivation of Marimo.

“Marimo” ( 毬藻 まりも ) translates literally to “Ball Water Plant” in Japanese. While a decent description of them, these slow-growing fuzzy friends are actually balls of an endangered algae (Aegagropila linnaei) that form at the bottom of cold-water lakes (originally discovered in Austria, and then in Lake Akan, Japan, where they were named.) They are a protected species in both Japan and Iceland.

They were designated a Japanese National Treasure in 1921, and a festival has been held since 1950 in the Lake Akan community to raise awareness and try and preserve the unique algae species.

While harvesting from the lake is specifically prohibited, you can snag some of these fuzzy friends for yourself! They're very easy to take care of, but do require specific conditions to grow (low to medium light conditions, and cold water.) While not a 100% forget-and-enjoy plant, they are normally very low maintenance.

A Wiki will soon be developed with reliable sources for Marimo, as well as the best way to care for them- Information to be added to this thread soon!

Again, welcome to r/Marimo!

Livestream/Video resource:

u/Prepperpup offers a livestream of the marimo balls they're cultivating with some Lo-Fi music. They are open to any suggestions or messages. (They run a gaming channel in addition to the Marimo livestream.)

https://www.youtube.com/@MarimoBallLive


r/Marimo • • 22h ago

This one lives at our shop. 13cm across.

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742 Upvotes

Took years to get this big. It sits in a cool spot and gets rolled every few days.


r/Marimo • • 1d ago

Advice on set up

15 Upvotes

3 gal bowl, no filter, 2 pumps, 70 Fahrenheit

I’m attempting to revive what’s left of my neglected marimos with this setup. Should I make any other adjustments?


r/Marimo • • 16h ago

What is Marimo?

2 Upvotes

I stumbled across this subreddit, was suggested it. Intrigued by the what appeared to be a mossball but is actually a marimo. What is a marimo? I saw in the community rules it is an algae, but what else about it? How can I acquire one or more of them?


r/Marimo • • 1d ago

Real or fake??

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5 Upvotes

I got gifted these two small marimos, they came with pebbles, some plastic seashells (glow in the dark as well I think) and these marimos with small figures.

The marimos were in plastic bag a little damp but I’d say dehydrated, so I put in water for 20 mins, after squished them, and there’s no hard middle part as some here tell about. One even showed a hole from side as if it was gonna break in half, but I rolled it in my palm.

Also when I was first squishing them - I might’ve been too soon and these bits came out of it. But this is all that came out of the marimo, no dirt.

First photo is 20mins after introducing to water, the rest 12. I really wanna know if these are real?


r/Marimo • • 2d ago

Advise

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19 Upvotes

I just bought a moss what do I do with it


r/Marimo • • 2d ago

New into marimos, what do you think about this page?

1 Upvotes

I want to buy a marimo because I got really in love with them. I live in Spain and want to buy one.

I'd been searching for a week places where I can buy them online (especially EU or Spain shipping), and I found this webpage called "Slow Botanics" (https://slowbotanics.es/) that they sell marimos.

On the webpage they say they include with each one the "European phytosanitary passport and certificate of authenticity", but I'm very skeptical.

Can some of you confirm to me if these are real marimos by the pictures?


r/Marimo • • 3d ago

Was I sold a lie?

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67 Upvotes

A store sold me these, saying they were a few years old and are real. I got them home and they feel hard, like something hard is in the middle. One of them floats! I called and asked if they're supposed to be like this, and was told that they are supposed to have a hard core, and the floating one could be poked to make it sink. Are these things even real? They were $21.50 EACH. Feeling ripped off..

UPDATE: You guys were totally right! These were the fake filter balls! The manager insisted they were real, but ultimately allowed me to return them! He was not pleased. THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR YOUR INSIGHT!


r/Marimo • • 8d ago

My new friend, and its siblings.

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206 Upvotes

I bought 3, used the best for the marble setup then split the others into 5 separate pieces. Thinking a shrimp or snail tank for the 5? Didn't know these things even existed until seeing this sub. Thank yall for the inspiration.


r/Marimo • • 7d ago

Is everything ok? Can I improve it?

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10 Upvotes

This marimo is almost 2 years old, got it from s friend as a Christmas gift. This year has been exceptionally hot - heat waves from May to August brought exceptionally hot temperatures (even above 30°C) so the marimo suffered even if it has never been exposed to direct sunlight. I think it's still alive since it's still green, but it's paler and a bit slimey in some parts of its exterior. Three months passed but it doesn't seem it's recovering a lot. Is there any way I can help it?

Also, do mosquito larvae damage the marimo? They colonized the jar one year ago and while I saw them eat debris on the jar and some parts of the marimo I thought they could help clean it, but maybe I'm wrong. I clean the jar more often in any case due to the debris they leave.


r/Marimo • • 11d ago

can the white bits on my marimo turn back green ?

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12 Upvotes

Hi, I had my moss ball for a while but lately i left it next to a sunny window, and the outside turned grey/white. I looked at the interior, which was still very green and rolled it back up. Do i need to remove any white parts or will it be fine ?


r/Marimo • • 11d ago

can the white bits on my marimo turn back green ?

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5 Upvotes

Hi, I had my moss ball for a while but lately i left it next to a sunny window, and the outside turned grey/white. I looked at the interior, which was still very green and rolled it back up. Do i need to remove any white parts or will it be fine ?


r/Marimo • • 12d ago

Great ideas- not working. Does anybody know how I can increase their buoyancy?

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28 Upvotes

r/Marimo • • 12d ago

New to marimo, may have bought more than needed

2 Upvotes

like 10 how do i care for then 8 of them are small 2 are big
any tips?
Edit: i forgot to mention that i have a tank but its pretty small


r/Marimo • • 13d ago

My very first marimo, currently in rehab, turns 2 today!

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66 Upvotes

His name is Midori.

Wrapped him up in thread cuz he's falling apart a bit.


r/Marimo • • 13d ago

Happy late halloween!!!☺️🎃🎃🧟‍♂️🧟🧟‍♀️🧟‍♂️🧌👍💯🍬🍫🍭🍬🍫🍭

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30 Upvotes

What did all of yall do yesterday on saturday while caring for y'alls marimos?🤔🟢🫙


r/Marimo • • 15d ago

How long must I keep the thread wrapped around these breaking marimos?

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41 Upvotes

r/Marimo • • 16d ago

Marimo Tumblin' help

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31 Upvotes

Hello! So these little bits came off of my main (very large and round and healthy) marimos, and as you can see, they're not "moss balls", they're "moss clumps". I have kept them in a glass container with cool fresh water, I rinse them and squeeze them and tumble them around manually. I keep them in a semi dark environment, with a little bit of light. But they will not become BALL

So in lieu of this, I bit the bullet and purchased this little cheap "jellyfish light" that tumbles these little silicone rubber jellyfish around. I pulled the jellyfish out and cleaned it and put established fresh water into it with my moss clumps. They tumble for a minute but then just kind of get stuck somehow and sink, and I think the water flow isn't strong enough.

Does anyone have experience with a similar sort of device and know of a way I might go about turning up the water flow/pressure? Something like instructions on what to change when the pump is opened up manually and maybe a way I can adjust it that way? The button on the front only has two modes: slow and slower. I had been hoping that this would tumble them and make em ball shaped again!

Anything helps, thanks!

Note: light on for a better pic

Note 2: here is the exact thing I bought here


r/Marimo • • 16d ago

How the hell is this algae making them babies

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21 Upvotes

r/Marimo • • 17d ago

There Is a hole in my marimo

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92 Upvotes

Hi.

I have this marimo from nine years, and now I'm trying to take care of It a Little more.

I took a larger glass jar last week, i changed his water today and when i put It back i noticed a hole.

There Is something i can do?

PS: english Is not my native language, sorry


r/Marimo • • 17d ago

Does he need a new jar?

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32 Upvotes

So I’ve had this Marimo for a few years now, do you guys think he would benefit from a bigger jar?


r/Marimo • • 18d ago

How best to give away marimo balls?

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31 Upvotes

So I have three moss balls I’ve kept for years, I got them from petsmart and they’ve been doing pretty good but I’m not the best at caring for them. I want to give them away but know nothing about shipping so I’ll probably have to give them to someone in person. I live in Kentucky so if anyone wants more details feel free to ask.


r/Marimo • • 19d ago

1 week passed after my last post

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15 Upvotes

This how it looks after 1 week. I think it grown up a little bit.


r/Marimo • • 20d ago

After seeing these pop up on my Redit feed, I had to get a few for my classroom betta

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11 Upvotes