Marimo

Do you have any experience with "marimo?" I would like to know:
how long you kept one alive;
water conditions;
temperature;
fertilizer;
lighting.
Recently I bought 3 marimo and have them in a seven-gallon tank with light and a sponge filter.

http://www.ainomarimo.com/faq.html
http://www.love-marimo.com/faq.html
http://www.marimo-web.org/faq/qa_grow1.html
http://suumo.jp/journal/2013/04/12/41417/
http://www.shopping-charm.jp/userarea/docs/marimo0318_rs.html
http://nanapi.jp/38146/

I've had a marimo which I bought back from Akanko, Hokkaido 3 years ago, and it's happily sitting on my table right now.

Firstly, the most important thing with Marimo is temperature. Mine actually got a little brown at the beginning of June the year I bought it back to Tokyo because it was too hot. I now usually leave it in the fridge whenever I don't turn the A/C on.

Secondly, don't leave it in direct sun light. It does need a bit of sun, but generally they like low-light conditions.

I was told by the staff in Akanko that regular cold tap water is fine for it, and not to use mineral, distilled, or river water. There were some "Marimo food" that were for sale there, and I've seen them in Donki, I've been using them but I don't really think they have any affect on my marimo.

I change the water every week or two... once I went on Holiday for a month and came back, and although there were some scummy build-up on the glass, Marimo-chan was okay!

Fun FACT: I was told that all "REAL" marimo, ones that are bigger and not made from rolled floating filaments, are actually not from Japan as it is illegal to take them from the lake. The staff told me that most from the are actually from Europe! :)

Thank you all for the information.
Says, Hinomizu

And always remember: those "marimo" are in 99% of all cases not from Japan and definitely not from that lake! They are protected. So what they sell is either imported from Russia or China.