Fungus, mold and mushrooms.

[ranmasatome]

Hey guys,
Just wondering if any of you have this problem with your spider tanks. My tank just started taking a form of its own and there was mold starting to grow over the wood i put in there....then a few weeks later some werid looking fungus/mushroom started to grow. i don't know if this can be bad for the spider since out in the wild they don't live in that pristine a condition either....

Any thoughts guys? should i do something about it? its not like its growing rampant and out of control...just visible.

Thanks.
JT

[OttawaChris]

Thats usually a result of one or more of 4 things...

1) the enclosure is too wet

2) the enclosure doesnt have enough ventilation (fresh air)

3) the substrate was a bad choice (walnut shells and cocanut husk are notorious for going mouldy when damp for an extended time) Another common mistake is using soil with fertilizer in it.

4) Something you added to the enclosure was not properly sterilized and brought the fungus in (you said you are using wood... was it stuff you collected yourself and forgot to sterilize perhaps?)

If its limited to just mushrooms I probably wouldnt be too concerned (it just doesnt look pretty)... but if its a mould or a fungus you arent sure about then I would for sure get the spider into a fresh enclosure. These fungi and moulds can get on the spider, or even worse, into its book lungs which usually leads to death.

[Pixie]

I have had some mould problems resulting from 3 things:

- Type of substrate: I found that potting soil is the worst for me in mould development. I didn't do anything to sterilize it first, so that could have been the problem. But I have had better experience with coconut husk, peat moss and a bit of vermiculite.

- Type of food items: I sometimes will feed some mealworms to smaller T's and if I should not remove any remains A.S.A.P. after the T is done eating, it will almost always mold up very quickly.

- Humidity and ventilation: I realized that higher humidity setups need good ventilation along with it, the combo of high humidity and low ventilation is a sprouting ground for mold.

Pixie

[asphyxia]

Fungus, mold and mushrooms.
I have tryed them all, and shrooms and defently the best.


haha, umm, lol, giggle, um ya
Brian

Edited to say Ohh, I get it now...nevermind.

[manville]

clean the tank out...you do not want it to spread