Aquatic Arts 2 Giant Marimo Moss Balls (1.5-2.5 inches, 8-15 Years Old!) - Over 5X AS Large AS Nano MARIMO! - Great for Fish, Shrimp, and Snails! by Aquatic Arts

For starters, they were packaged in only a plastic bag inside an envelope. They could improve on that as I imagine they could get crushed easily. When first taken out they were really small and squished up, but they absorbed water and grew at least 3x the size they came. So in the end they are about 2 inches across. Really healthy and green, not much sand in them, no signs of parasites. Sturdy and dense. Really pleased with these and reasonable price too. Update: 3 years later and they are still healthy and green.

For those of you unsure of what this item is: marimo, luffy or moss balls are a rare growth form of Aegagropila linnaei (a species of filamentous green algae, so, not a moss despite their appearance) in which the algae grow into soft balls with a velvety texture. The plant was named marimo by the Japanese botanist Takiya Kawakami in 1898. Mari is a bouncy play ball. Mo is a generic term for plants that grow in water. The balls are green all the way round which guarantees that they can photosynthesize no matter which side is turned upwards. Occasionally move your marimo to keep its round shape and stop it going brown underneath. There’s no central stone or kernel inside the ball - it’s solid algae, radiating from the centre, growing radially outward at the snail’s pace of just 5mm per year. Ideal for those who don’t want to keep trimming plants. They are very easy to look after - Keep your Marimo where they will receive low to medium indirect light. Protect your marimo from the direct rays of the sun, as Marimos can easily turn brown if they are getting too much direct light! Remember - they are native to cool lakes, and should be kept cool. Marimo are well adapted to low light spaces and can photosynthesize in normal household light. If your space has no window, keep marimo close to a fluorescent or full-spectrum bulb. Some people have bowls of marimo balls as “pets”. Despite being a plant several people seem to take pleasure in growing them and taking care of them as they demand little attention. I ordered these marimo balls for an eco-jar to act as a filter and oxygenator. I didn’t want anything too big so these were ideal according to the description. The balls which arrived are about the size of golf balls, which is what I wanted. They looked fairly green and looked relatively healthy despite being a bit dry. They arrived in a sandwich bag within a box and regained their shape within a few hours of being introduced back to water. I have since noticed something tiny which appears to be living in the balls - smaller than a daphnia even, so no idea what that is or even if it arrived via the marimos, but it's not causing any problems to my tank so I'm not too concerned. Marimo are a welcome addition to my freshwater aquarium jars as they naturally absorb toxic nitrates in water and act like miniature filters, cleaning the water, so for tanks or jars which have no inhabitants likely to eat or destroy the Marimos these are ideal additions, helping with a symbiotic relationship where they absorb any nasties in the water and feed off waste and any foods and in return, they provide filtering abilities and oxygen. They can be taken out and rinsed off as part of a water change to keep them fresh. Very happy with this purchase, would recommend and will gladly buy again.

Lucky to give 1 star the quality is totally awful virtually brown not vibrant green and not as described very small I grew a small one for 4 years it was triple the size I received and beautiful these sent wouldn't even sink into my tank and 1 is in bits after retrieving it from the top of the water won't be buying from this seller again very disappointed indeed.

These are great moss balls, arrived very healthy and are great in my tanks. The only down side is they arrived quite small... 1.2inches and I ordered quite a few. I will order again tho in good faith that I’ll get larger ones next time as the sizing says 1.5-2.5 😊

They came in great healthy condition and doubled in size once added to water, one floated for a while but soon sank once the air dissipated from it. They are a good size at least 5cm(2inches) I did quarantine them in a bowl for a couple of days and gave them a squeeze to make sure there wasn’t any hitchhiker pesties and all was fine. Excellent value for money, would definitely buy again!

Mine was smaller than Marble’s definatly not giant.

Arrived today on time. Size was about an inch and a 1/4 so pretty good. Green and healthy. Wanted to put straight into my tank but going to have to quarantine for a bit I think as noticed tiny snail and some snail eggs (which I definitely don’t want in my tank)

Healthy and a good size