Mushroom growing in aquarium

[Shauna0522]

I just found a mushroom growing in my BRB's cypress substrate this morning is this something I should be worried about?

[TRD]

Unless you have bioactive substrate (with springtails/isopods/etc living inside) it pretty much means you need to clean it.

[Shauna0522]

I have only had my snake for a week and the Cyprus that I bought said it was supposed to be resistant to mold growth. So do you still think I should clean it out or will it be ok

[Shauna0522]

Unless you have bioactive substrate (with springtails/isopods/etc living inside) it pretty much means you need to clean it.


Ok so I was just reading up on what isopods were and if I'm correct in thinking so they are roly poly or potato bugs (depending on who you talk to) so does that mean I can put those in sapphire's aquarium with her and they will help and keep it clean of all the mold or anything like that? I don't have mold I'm just asking cuz I don't think I could handle springtails. If this is the case i assume they won't hurt sapphire but what if she eats them will that hurt her?

[dannybgoode]

Putting treated wood into a vivarium is a bad idea. The substances used can be harmful to snakes.

For a BRB I'd swap to a Coco coir, orchid bark and sphagnum moss mix.

[TRD]

Ok so I was just reading up on what isopods were and if I'm correct in thinking so they are roly poly or potato bugs (depending on who you talk to) so does that mean I can put those in sapphire's aquarium with her and they will help and keep it clean of all the mold or anything like that? I don't have mold I'm just asking cuz I don't think I could handle springtails. If this is the case i assume they won't hurt sapphire but what if she eats them will that hurt her?

You are correct, but there's a lot more to setting up a bioactive vivarium than dropping in some isopods and spingtails...

You can read a lot of various articles online on the subject, simply google 'how to setup a bioactive vivarium'

[Shauna0522]

Putting treated wood into a vivarium is a bad idea. The substances used can be harmful to snakes.

For a BRB I'd swap to a Coco coir, orchid bark and sphagnum moss mix.

It doesn't say that it's treated. It is the fluker's brand twice milled Cypress mulch I got it at a pet shop for reptiles. It just says that it's resistant to mold growth. I was going to get some of the coconut fiber tomorrow and I have some sphagnum moss that I use for her humid hide should I just cut that up and mix it into the substrate? I really appreciate all the help everybody's giving me thank you so much

[Shauna0522]

You are correct, but there's a lot more to setting up a bioactive vivarium than dropping in some isopods and spingtails...

You can read a lot of various articles online on the subject, simply google 'how to setup a bioactive vivarium'

Ok great I will do that thank you

[Louis Z]

My brb likes to hide in the coir fiber and in my potted plants . I see that many use the cypress mulch but I don't . Springtails feed on mold. I don't think a isopod would be very attractive food for a brb to eat. I still clean the substate of waste even though I have springtails. I also clean out the cage every 2 months and refresh with new bedding . I add more springtails after the clean out. I mix coir with a vivarium ABG mix . Google ABG vivarium soil for explanation

[Shauna0522]

My brb likes to hide in the coir fiber and in my potted plants . I see that many use the cypress mulch but I don't . Springtails feed on mold. I don't think a isopod would be very attractive food for a brb to eat. I still clean the substate of waste even though I have springtails. I also clean out the cage every 2 months and refresh with new bedding . I add more springtails after the clean out. I mix coir with a vivarium ABG mix . Google ABG vivarium soil for explanation
Ok thank you

[akane]

Fungi are a common, temporary issue if you attempt bioactive and depending on the type often left to help get the cleanup crew started but it's a problem when you are trying to run a sterile tank that is maintained by only consistent human cleaning using natural materials instead of including the normal bug and soil microbes to destroy these things. Maintaining the conditions for a cleanup crew consistently do require researching some details and some risks of pests though. Average snake species don't bother isopods and isopods don't bother snakes. It's possible some smaller snakes known to eat various worm/bug type things might eat some but from what I can find they are fairly nutritious for insectivores anyway. I have them in lizard habitats but they need protected areas to breed then or they get hunted to extinction. It's rare for them to multiply out of hand even without predation and they like to hide under things so often need a living space, larger/lighter pieces covering the substrate for climbing under, or some species do a better job burrowing in just plain types of natural small particle substrate than others. Species do vary some in ideal conditions and growth rates you can achieve. Springtails are more consistently soil dwelling and tiny so generally survive most any setup of more natural environment substrates if it isn't too dry without being as noticeable. There are also various tropical and temperate species of springtail but with less variation than the colors and sizes of tropical isopods so you won't see different ones offered as much. They both eat mold, fungi growths, and work at breaking down snake waste. They may not be enough for a large snake depending how well you boost the population. Especially if they have a long cycle of digestion so there is little food for periods of time. You can supplement with various material from low energy plant sources like damp leaves and wood, which double for hiding, to commercial foods generally more for feeder insects but the higher energy food sources risk a soil mite outbreak. Even what should be sterile cultures of cleaners often have some soil mite contamination and those don't cap their population for as long as there is more food. They are overall harmless but can reach annoying concentrations if there is enough excess food they like. The tougher plant matter tends to starve them out while the isopods or springtails tend to still maintain and usually breed, just slower than other food sources, from only cleaning up the tough plant material kept damper so it's already partially breaking down.

[Shauna0522]

Fungi are a common, temporary issue if you attempt bioactive and depending on the type often left to help get the cleanup crew started but it's a problem when you are trying to run a sterile tank that is maintained by only consistent human cleaning using natural materials instead of including the normal bug and soil microbes to destroy these things. Maintaining the conditions for a cleanup crew consistently do require researching some details and some risks of pests though. Average snake species don't bother isopods and isopods don't bother snakes. It's possible some smaller snakes known to eat various worm/bug type things might eat some but from what I can find they are fairly nutritious for insectivores anyway. I have them in lizard habitats but they need protected areas to breed then or they get hunted to extinction. It's rare for them to multiply out of hand even without predation and they like to hide under things so often need a living space, larger/lighter pieces covering the substrate for climbing under, or some species do a better job burrowing in just plain types of natural small particle substrate than others. Species do vary some in ideal conditions and growth rates you can achieve. Springtails are more consistently soil dwelling and tiny so generally survive most any setup of more natural environment substrates if it isn't too dry without being as noticeable. There are also various tropical and temperate species of springtail but with less variation than the colors and sizes of tropical isopods so you won't see different ones offered as much. They both eat mold, fungi growths, and work at breaking down snake waste. They may not be enough for a large snake depending how well you boost the population. Especially if they have a long cycle of digestion so there is little food for periods of time. You can supplement with various material from low energy plant sources like damp leaves and wood, which double for hiding, to commercial foods generally more for feeder insects but the higher energy food sources risk a soil mite outbreak. Even what should be sterile cultures of cleaners often have some soil mite contamination and those don't cap their population for as long as there is more food. They are overall harmless but can reach annoying concentrations if there is enough excess food they like. The tougher plant matter tends to starve them out while the isopods or springtails tend to still maintain and usually breed, just slower than other food sources, from only cleaning up the tough plant material kept damper so it's already partially breaking down.
This is a lot of information, thank you