Fissidens crispulus gained popularity in around 2004 under its synonym F. zippelianus as aquarium moss. It has its origins in the Asian tropics as well as in Africa, where it grows in spring sources as well as on various wet locations.

As its shoot patterns remind the imaginative onlooker of a zipper, and in accordance with the scientific name F. zippelianus (named after the plant collector Zippelius), Loh Kwek Leong (Singapore) proposed the vernacular name "zipper moss".

F. crispulus is a delicate Fissidens moss with relatively small leaves (around 2 mm long) on relatively long stems (up to 3.5 cm).