Hi! I’m your new Marimo (Japanese) Cladophora Ball, or Moss Ball (English). I am a rare algae growth that only forms in a few lakes in Iceland, Scotland, Japan and Estonia. Many cultures consider me good luck. I’m very easy to care for. Just place me in a container with tap water and change it every one or two weeks. Please rinse anything you add to my container to keep my home clean. You don’t need to feed me. I don’t require anything but low light and clean water to live. Please don’t put me in direct sunlight. We don’t get much of that on the lake floor, so I don’t like it. I am most comfortable in normal to low household lighting. The gentle lake currents give me my beautiful round shape.
If you gently swirl my water every once in a while that would be great! As a special treat you could even take me out and gently roll me across your palm. I sink or float depending on my mood (oxygen produced by the photosynthesis moves me up and down.) If I turn brown you can help me by replacing my water, squeezing me under running water to wash out any dirt, and adding about 5% table salt to my water. I will recover quickly. Also, a night in the fridge is like a week at the spa for me as I prefer cold water. I can live up to 200 years and grow about .5cm per year. Thanks for being so kind to me. Now I’m going to get to work being awesome!