This is what I did. I had staghorn algae and my moss was toast; ripped it out and the little bits that were stuck to the wood are growing back very nicely.Java moss is pretty stoic. If it's rooted on something, tear it up, leaving the rooted portions. It will grow back nicer than it was before. I strip my wood down to the rooted portions of my moss every couple months and it always comes back with a vengeance. You can also pick out the nicer portions of what you rip up and plant it elsewhere in your tank.