Mold growing and springtails in water bowel

[Emperor Scorpion]

Why do a lot of the springtails just try living in the water bowel 24/7 and not eat the mols growing in her tank? Why is there mold growing? What should I do to fix this?

I mist like once a week and have a heat pad on top of one side of the lid most of the time. And have duct tape on lot of the ventilation since its heavily ventilated but removed some in case it was too humid.

 

[Ashlynn Rose]

I've had mold start growing on some kinds of wood in my millipede tank. I've just taken it out rather than deal with it. I think that some kinds of wood just don't take well to moist environments.

My springtails like to sit in the water bowl, too. It's perfectly normal.

 

[Emperor Scorpion]

I've had mold start growing on some kinds of wood in my millipede tank. I've just taken it out rather than deal with it. I think that some kinds of wood just don't take well to moist environments.

My springtails like to sit in the water bowl, too. It's perfectly normal.

Thank you for the reply was worried. I also see some white spots in the bottom of her substrate is that mold and should it be dealt with or it wont be an issue?

 

[Emperor Scorpion]

Also, is the cort bark fine or should it be removed soon for mold not to spread or anything bad or will the springtails eat that white stuff?

 

[The Snark]

Bake the wood above 160 F long enough for the heat to fully penetrate. Should kill both mold bodys and spores.
Replace the substrate. That white dots/blotches mold is bad for lungs, human and animal.

 

[Emperor Scorpion]

Bake the wood above 160 F long enough for the heat to fully penetrate. Should kill both mold bodys and spores.
Replace the substrate. That white dots/blotches mold is bad for lungs, human and animal.

So the springtails wont eat the mold? And i took out the woodchip only other signs of mold are deep in the substrate. Like at the bottom is it still a concern?

 

[The Snark]

The mold you see is only the spores which some animals eat. The 'plant' is invisible. The fungi needs a growth medium of cellulose but the spores can remain viable for weeks or months and can harbor anywhere. Vigilance is the key to controlling the fungi. I just spent a weird couple of hours going over all the doors in the house with a propane torch. The spores told me where to cook the wood. They die instantly but the trick is to heat the wood to above 160 without scorching it. Don't heat it thoroughly it grows right back.

 

[viper69]

If you have mold growing on cork bark, while not impossible, that suggests your tank is very, very humid. Cork bark is one of the most, if not the most, most resistant wood product in the hobby.

 

[Emperor Scorpion]

If you have mold growing on cork bark, while not impossible, that suggests your tank is very, very humid. Cork bark is one of the most, if not the most, most resistant wood product in the hobby.

So i should give it more ventilation? And may have it to covered up?

 

[The Snark]

Yes, that mold loves stuffy poorly ventilated areas. You would not believe the mold explosions we have in shoe keepers with closable doors. But unfortunately it is quite capable of thriving in very well ventilated areas as well.

 

[Emperor Scorpion]

Yes, that mold loves stuffy poorly ventilated areas. You would not believe the mold explosions we have in shoe keepers with closable doors. But unfortunately it is quite capable of thriving in very well ventilated areas as well.

Im baking the cork bark at 200 degrees how long should i leave it in there while keeping an eye on it and should i flip it over? Like have mold side up or down? Is 200 degrees hot enough?

 

[The Snark]

Im baking the cork bark at 200 degrees

From various bio white papers, "Once the organism temperature exceeds 72 C, 160 F, the organism dies within 30 seconds."
So it is a question of heat penetration. Keep in mind, cork is an insulator, and the temperature must penetrate the full depth of the entire cellular structure.
Let's see... To give a basis of comparison, flash sterilization requires exposure to saturated steam, 131 C, 272 F under 31 PSI for 30 seconds. To achieve the same sterilization properties in air at atmospheric pressure, 1472 F, 800 C is required for X. X depends upon the density and permeability of the material.
Another comparison would be Ethylene Oxide at atmospheric pressure which requires 24 to 72 hours to fully penetrate depending on the permeability of the material for 100% kill.

So telling thermodynamics to take a flying leap and returning to earth, 100% kill of all organisms, and fungi is way up there on the survival scale, and hour or more in the oven might do the trick. Placed in a closed container but not under pressure with a pan of water and the woody material no more than 1/2 inch thick, 20-30 minutes should render 99% kill.

Another way to calculate would be to bake a test piece in an oven as hot as it will get and see if/when the lignin breaks down. Reduce time duration by about 10% and call that the do-not-exceed threshold.

Clear as thick mud, oui? Dats wot you gets for aksing a bio-med tech who headed up infekshun kontrol at a hopsital.

 

[viper69]

So i should give it more ventilation? And may have it to covered up?

Wise idea

 

[Emperor Scorpion]

Hey so you know how you said the white blotches at the bottom are bad for us does. Well if i am to replace to substrate do you think the top layers are safe since all the mold is at the bottom layers? And if i do keep some of the top layer after replacing it should i just put way more springtails in to eat any left over mold?

Bake the wood above 160 F long enough for the heat to fully penetrate. Should kill both mold bodys and spores.
Replace the substrate. That white dots/blotches mold is bad for lungs, human and animal.

 

[The Snark]

Hey so you know how you said the white blotches at the bottom are bad for us does. Well if i am to replace to substrate do you think the top layers are safe since all the mold is at the bottom layers?

The white blotches are the fruit of the organism. How large is the organism itself? Fungi rewrote the books. Define life on their own terms. I think back to when they first started genetic association and discovered the Amillaria, honey fungus found out near Riverside Calif. and the fungi killing the Engleman Oak at Santa Anita botanical gardens was the same organism. Not the same type but a fungi over 20 miles across.

 

[Emperor Scorpion]

The white blotches are the fruit of the organism. How large is the organism itself? Fungi rewrote the books. Define life on their own terms. I think back to when they first started genetic association and discovered the Amillaria, honey fungus found out near Riverside Calif. and the fungi killing the Engleman Oak at Santa Anita botanical gardens was the same organism. Not the same type but a fungi over 20 miles across.

So you're saying that the organism could be grown throughout the soil, do springtails eat the organism? So theoretically if i get rid of the fruit snd most of the bottom infected soil the top soil should be fine cuz springtails will control it? Or there is no simple answer.

 

[The Snark]

Or there is no simple answer.

That sums it up. Trial and error. Maybe it's gone. Maybe end up with the most porked out springtales in history. The only thing you can really go by is moist and cool is fungi territory. If it's going to come back, that is giving it a leg up.

 

[Emperor Scorpion]

That sums it up. Trial and error. Maybe it's gone. Maybe end up with the most porked out springtales in history. The only thing you can really go by is moist and cool is fungi territory. If it's going to come back, that is giving it a leg up.

Dude sprintails grew a ton in ate all the mold and are always partying in her water bowl now. But redid her enclosure so hopefully springtails can repopulate again before any new mold grows and put some sphagnu moss at the bottom as a kind of drainage layer

 

[Sandland]

Temperate springtails may not move to warmer parts of the cage, some cages I have to use temperate and tropical ones like in our pyxie frog tank.