Suwat Wongkham
ATTACHING MOSS TO HARDSCAPES
USING THE YOGURT METHOD By Antonio Nikolic
A
ttaching moss to a hardscape using the yogurt method is easy to do and has many advantages. This method is especially advantageous if you only have a small amount of moss and need to cover a large area of your hardscape. For example, with one 2" × 2" moss pad (moss grown on mesh), you can cover more
Antonio Nikolic Antonio is a professional aquascaper who lives in Croatia and has been in the hobby since 2005. He is the administrator of a Croatian aquascaping forum, hraquascape.org, and has his own blog at www.bolbiaquarium.blogspot.com. 14 • Aquarium Hobbyist Magazine
than 1 square foot of surface area. This can be done with most moss species, but mosses with poorly developed rhizoids (filamentous root hairs), such as Weeping Moss (Vesicularia ferriei), should be avoided. The reason is that poorly developed rhizoids do not naturally attach to the surface of wood or stone, and when used with this method, the moss will float away after you fill your tank with water. I found Fissidens species ideal for this method. The only Fissidens species that did not work for me was Fissidens nobilis. I think the reason is that it might have needed a longer Dry Start Method period (the process of growing plants in soil for some time before filling the aquarium with water). Liverworts such as Riccardia spp. can also be attached to hardscapes using this method. The yogurt method is suitable for attaching mosses to any type of rock or wood. The final result is a beautiful, natural-looking growth of moss.
Third Quarter 2019