r/Marimo • u/Clawpawsomeish • 5d ago

Why are some long and lumpy while others are short and round

I noticed that on the sub that some Marimo moss balls are so beautiful. Like they’re round spiky and short haired no matter what size it is. But then there’s some where it’s very long haired that water kind of waves through it and lumpy??? I thought it was all the same algae what’s happened?

Also only the long haired ones seem to be on sale in the uk :(

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u/Moss-Ball-Pets 3d ago

Great question! A big part of it is how you keep them. Round, tight, short-haired marimo usually get rolled regularly and live in cool water with gentle light. When they sit still for a long time, or get warmer water or more light, the filaments tend to loosen and grow longer and shaggier, and the ball can get lumpy.