# Mold in Tarantula tank



## Edman (Mar 10, 2018)

So I rehoused my B. smithi to a new home yesterday. A large critter keeper. I changed the usual substrate (coco fiber) to a mixture of coco fiber and organic "terrarium soil" (from a company called terraristik bedarf dragon). 

I changed the substrate because I noticed my T digging quite a bit in her older enclosure, but the pure coco fiber substrate wasn't good enough to create burrows, and I've seen that some T Youtubers use a mixture of coco fiber and soil in their enclosures. And of course, as luck has it, it started to grow mold in this new enclosure the very next day.

So my question is, is it dangerous? Some say it is while other say it's not. Do you have a better mixture of substrates for burrowing T's? Thanks in advance!


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## Ungoliant (Mar 10, 2018)

Edman said:


> So my question is, is it dangerous? Some say it is while other say it's not.


Are you sure those white spots are mold and not poop? (I am assuming it's not poop based on the fact that you rehoused her a day ago, but I want to make sure it's not the same enclosure with poop on the walls from before.)

Since _Brachypelma smithi_ is normally kept dry, you shouldn't have a mold problem.

That being said, a little mold isn't necessarily dangerous. You can scoop it out if you want. It should resolve itself with good ventilation and not keeping the substrate damp.




Edman said:


> Do you have a better mixture of substrates for burrowing T's?


My pet hole (_Ceratogyrus marshalli_) lives in plain topsoil (the cheap stuff with no added pesticides or fertilizers). It's kept dry, so mold is not an issue.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Edman (Mar 10, 2018)

Ungoliant said:


> Are you sure those white spots are mold and not poop? (I am assuming it's not poop based on the fact that you rehoused her a day ago, but I want to make sure it's not the same enclosure with poop on the walls from before.)
> 
> Since _Brachypelma smithi_ is normally kept dry, you shouldn't have a mold problem.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the quick answer! 

This is a new enclosure, so it's definitely not poop. Neither the soil or the coco fiber was moist. So if I understand you correctly the mold will die out sooner or later? Since I won't add any water to the substrate?


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## Ungoliant (Mar 10, 2018)

Edman said:


> Neither the soil or the coco fiber was moist. So if I understand you correctly the mold will die out sooner or later? Since I won't add any water to the substrate?


If it's completely dry, I would not expect the mold to last for long.

Most of the mold I see grows on the surface of damp substrate, and I just scoop it out and improve ventilation if necessary.

boina is our resident biologist and can probably tell you more than you ever want to know about mold.


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## Edman (Mar 10, 2018)

Ungoliant said:


> If it's completely dry, I would not expect the mold to last for long.
> 
> Most of the mold I see grows on the surface of damp substrate, and I just scoop it out and improve ventilation if necessary.
> 
> boina is our resident biologist and can probably tell you more than you ever want to know about mold.


Update! I feel extremely silly, (and very relieved), right now. The white stuff disappeared! So my guess here is that the coco fiber was not 100% dry and the white stuff was actually moisture that has evaporated and not mold. Crazy how similar it looks. I provided some images. Don't mind my reflection.

Reactions: Like 2 | Funny 2


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## The Grym Reaper (Mar 10, 2018)

It looks like mycelium, it won't hurt, I have it in my C. huahini enclosure, I get mushrooms pop up in my A. geniculata enclosure every now and again.


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## The Grym Reaper (Mar 10, 2018)




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## The Grym Reaper (Mar 10, 2018)

Should've read all the posts before posting a reply


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## Edman (Mar 10, 2018)

The Grym Reaper said:


> Should've read all the posts before posting a reply


Haha, it's all cool dude! How do you think I feel making this thread! Anyway, thanks for the answer

Reactions: Like 1


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## viper69 (Mar 10, 2018)

Ungoliant said:


> If it's completely dry, I would not expect the mold to last for long.
> 
> Most of the mold I see grows on the surface of damp substrate, and I just scoop it out and improve ventilation if necessary.
> 
> boina is our resident biologist and can probably tell you more than you ever want to know about mold.


I've observed a fair amount of mold below the sub surface in pure coco fiber.


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## cold blood (Mar 10, 2018)

Edman said:


> pure coco fiber substrate wasn't good enough to create burrows,


Coco fiber *needs* to be tamped down firmly...do this and it hold up quite well to burrowing.

Mold is almost never an issue...just pick it out....if it keeps re-occurring, increase ventilation.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 4


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## darkness975 (Mar 10, 2018)

Edman said:


> Update! I feel extremely silly, (and very relieved), right now. The white stuff disappeared! So my guess here is that the coco fiber was not 100% dry and the white stuff was actually moisture that has evaporated and not mold. Crazy how similar it looks. I provided some images. Don't mind my reflection.


I was going to say it looked like condensation.

Reactions: Agree 7


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## Rob1985 (Mar 10, 2018)

darkness975 said:


> I was going to say it looked like condensation.


Yeah, definitely condensation. Temp difference between the water and substrate. I get this all the time.

Reactions: Agree 2


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## Whitelightning777 (Mar 11, 2018)

The substrate can be heated in an oven to kill off any spores for a few hours. For generic topsoil, that's practically mandatory.

None of my inverts have problems digging in eco earth. Just tamp it down and apply a very fine misting, just enough to stop dust.

Reactions: Like 1 | Disagree 3


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## Venom1080 (Mar 11, 2018)

Whitelightning777 said:


> The substrate can be heated in an oven to kill off any spores for a few hours. For generic topsoil, that's practically mandatory.
> 
> None of my inverts have problems digging in eco earth. Just tamp it down and apply a very fine misting, just enough to stop dust.


And then the first thing that touches it completely takes it over. Brilliant.

Reactions: Agree 3


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## Whitelightning777 (Mar 11, 2018)

The technique is used by others. Once indoors where it's relatively clean, it should be ok.

Other substrates such as peat are far more mold resistant.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Dave Jay (Mar 11, 2018)

Venom1080 said:


> And then the first thing that touches it completely takes it over. Brilliant.


Advice saying to bake substrate to kill mould and fungus is very prevalent, many experts recommend it in books and online and swear it reduces the occurrence of the substrate growing mould. I hadn't thought about it the way you do Venom, food for thought. I personally don't bake substrate because I use coco peat and sand and I can't see it having a lot of spores, plus I guess spores are in the air anyway. It's certainly a common practice though.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Andrea82 (Mar 11, 2018)

Dave Jay said:


> Advice saying to bake substrate to kill mould and fungus is very prevalent, many experts recommend it in books and online and swear it reduces the occurrence of the substrate growing mould. I hadn't thought about it the way you do Venom, food for thought. I personally don't bake substrate because I use coco peat and sand and I can't see it having a lot of spores, plus I guess spores are in the air anyway. It's certainly a common practice though.


That's a bit of a myth really. Belongs on the shelf with 'avics need high humidity' and ' Theraphosa species need to be housed in swamps'. 
The only reason to bake substrate/cocopeat is when it's too wet and you need it to dry out faster.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 2


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## Whitelightning777 (Mar 11, 2018)

I'm thinking about adding some springtails to my more moist species if the substrate gets to creepy. 

Perhaps my H spinifer will be the first one I use them with to see how effective they are before any of the tarantulas.

Reactions: Like 1


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## The Grym Reaper (Mar 11, 2018)

Whitelightning777 said:


> Perhaps my H spinifer will be the first one I use them with to see how effective they are before any of the tarantulas.


IIRC, my H. laoticus enclosure was the first one that I had springtails randomly appear in, found a bunch clustered in the water dish so scooped them out with a vial and started a culture.

Reactions: Like 1 | Funny 1


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## crystalfreakkk (Mar 11, 2018)

I just got an A. Avic and since my other two tarantulas have a lower humidity setup I decided to add in activated charcoal to the bottom of the tank below the coco fiber. Ideally it should reduce mold in the enclosure by pulling toxins and bacteria from the soil and deodorizing the tank.. I use it in terrariums for this purpose so I figured it work similarly in a tarantula enclosure.

Reactions: Like 1


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## cold blood (Mar 11, 2018)

crystalfreakkk said:


> I just got an A. Avic and since my other two tarantulas have a lower humidity setup


A. avic should be kept dry...they have no humidity requirements, in fact, higher humidity levels are detrimental.


crystalfreakkk said:


> . Ideally it should reduce mold in the enclosure by pulling toxins and bacteria from the soil and deodorizing the tank.. I use it in terrariums for this purpose so I figured it work similarly in a tarantula enclosure.


You are over-thinking things.

----

As for the sterilization of substrates, its not only unnecessary, its counter-productive as sterilized sub is actually more likely to suffer mold problems.

Here's a quip from *actual* arachnologist, Samuel Marshall (you may know him from such species as, Ceratogryus marshalli):

"You have little reason to sterilize soil because the second the soil is exposed to the air, it begins to get colonized by all the things that you were trying to kill, such as mold spores and mites.  Gardeners want their potting soil sterilized to kill weed seeds, this is not a worry for tarantula keepers.  However fungi and mites _can_ be a problem.  Surprisingly, I have found that I have had fewer problems with pests by using natural soil.  This may seem counterintuitive.  However, by having a natural array of soil organisms in the tank, they may keep each other in check.  If you have freshly sterilized soil, the first things to colonize will take over as they have it all to themselves.

For instance, the worst fungal growth I have ever had has been in cages I lined with sterilized peat moss and [substrate].   In these cages, I had white, wooly looking mats of fungus growing all over the substrate.   Other cages that had the same, but unsterilized substrate, had _no_ such fungal growth."

Reactions: Agree 4 | Informative 4 | Useful 1


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## crystalfreakkk (Mar 11, 2018)

cold blood said:


> A. avic should be kept dry...they have no humidity requirements, in fact, higher humidity levels are detrimental.


From researching their natural habitat I've found that the average humidity is at least 70% or above. Should it be less than that in captivity? I've read a lot of differing opinions when it comes to their humidity.


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## Venom1080 (Mar 11, 2018)

crystalfreakkk said:


> From researching their natural habitat I've found that the average humidity is at least 70% or above. Should it be less than that in captivity? I've read a lot of differing opinions when it comes to their humidity.


Myth. There's loads of misinformation online. They can handle humidity, but as long as your ventilation is really good too. Ventilation is the key, stuffy conditions kill them very quickly. Myself and others have had success raising even 1/2" slings on bone dry substrate with a small water dish.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## crystalfreakkk (Mar 11, 2018)

Venom1080 said:


> Myself and others have had success raising even 1/2" slings on bone dry substrate with a small water dish.


Yeah, I've heard of people doing this, I have decent ventilation. I put a water dish in with it, from what I understand the water dish and good ventilation is most important. From threads on here I've seen people say it doesnt really matter whether there's high humidity or not.

Reactions: Agree 2


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## Ungoliant (Mar 11, 2018)

crystalfreakkk said:


> From researching their natural habitat I've found that the average humidity is at least 70% or above. Should it be less than that in captivity? I've read a lot of differing opinions when it comes to their humidity.


I keep my Avic's substrate dry, and I don't measure humidity.

Reactions: Agree 2


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## crystalfreakkk (Mar 11, 2018)

Ungoliant said:


> I keep my Avic's substrate dry, and I don't measure humidity.


I hadn’t put in a hydrometer in the enclosure because people were so vague about the humidity requirements for this T. I appreciate your feedback

Reactions: Like 2


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## Dave Jay (Mar 11, 2018)

Whitelightning777 said:


> I'm thinking about adding some springtails to my more moist species if the substrate gets to creepy.
> 
> Perhaps my H spinifer will be the first one I use them with to see how effective they are before any of the tarantulas.


When I've added a single isopod (slater) to an adult scorpions enclosure it worked very well, all traces of white mould disappeared and didn't come back, but where I added several to tanks of small communal scorpions I had population explosions and they overran the tanks, I had hoped the young and freshly moulted slaters would be a food source but obviously not.


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## Socfroggy (Jun 28, 2018)

The Grym Reaper said:


> It looks like mycelium, it won't hurt, I have it in my C. huahini enclosure, I get mushrooms pop up in my A. geniculata enclosure every now and again.


Correct me if I'm wrong: The only outbreak I have to worry about is the kind that turns the substrate yellow.


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## The Grym Reaper (Jun 28, 2018)

Socfroggy said:


> Correct me if I'm wrong: The only outbreak I have to worry about is the kind that turns the substrate yellow.


I'd only be worried if the sub ends up absolutely caked in mould although, to be honest, if you're letting it get to that point then you should probably rethink your husbandry/maintenance practices.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Socfroggy (Jun 28, 2018)

The Grym Reaper said:


> I'd only be worried if the sub ends up absolutely caked in mould although, to be honest, if you're letting it get to that point then you should probably rethink your husbandry/maintenance practices.


The reason I ask is because I saw a post on Reddit about someone worrying about a small spot of mold in an enclosure. I assured that so long as it's a small amount of white mold. I was met will various downvotes and people saying that any amount of mold or fungal spores are dangerous to the T because they can get stuck in the book lungs. I was sure what I was saying was correct but I wanted to cross reference AB.


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## cold blood (Jun 28, 2018)

Socfroggy said:


> The reason I ask is because I saw a post on Reddit about someone worrying about a small spot of mold in an enclosure. I assured that so long as it's a small amount of white mold. I was met will various downvotes and people saying that any amount of mold or fungal spores are dangerous to the T because they can get stuck in the book lungs. I was sure what I was saying was correct but I wanted to cross reference AB.


do not go to reddit for info.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 2 | Winner 1


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## boina (Jun 28, 2018)

Socfroggy said:


> any amount of mold or fungal spores are dangerous to the T because they can get stuck in the book lungs.




How do those people think any tarantula ever survives in wild with all those fungi everywhere???

Reactions: Like 3 | Agree 3 | Award 1 | Winner 1


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## Greasylake (Jun 28, 2018)

boina said:


> How do those people think any tarantula ever survives in wild with all those fungi everywhere???


There go those fungi again, terrorizing the tarantulas. I'm gonna go get my ladder and give em a piece of my mind.

Reactions: Funny 2


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## Socfroggy (Jun 28, 2018)

cold blood said:


> do not go to reddit for info.


I do not. In fact I go on there to help all the noobies get up-to-date info. I'll be going back soon and report that what I researched supports my statement. Thanks for the input!

Reactions: Helpful 1


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## Whitelightning777 (Jun 28, 2018)

Socfroggy said:


> Correct me if I'm wrong: The only outbreak I have to worry about is the kind that turns the substrate yellow.



There are literally millions of types of fungi, most of which may be harmless.

I'd use peat which is more resistant to fungi.  Why take the chance? It's worth 30 to 60 minutes of your time to remove the tarantula & clean out the enclosure.

Why take the chance?  95% of the time may be a waste of time, but maybe not.

Err on the side of caution is my opinion.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Socfroggy (Jun 28, 2018)

Whitelightning777 said:


> There are literally millions of types of fungi, most of which may be harmless.
> 
> I'd use peat which is more resistant to fungi.  Why take the chance? It's worth 30 to 60 minutes of your time to remove the tarantula & clean out the enclosure.
> 
> ...


Thanks for your input!

Reactions: Funny 1


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## TheBroCave Tarantulas YT (Jan 18, 2020)

Ungoliant said:


> If it's completely dry, I would not expect the mold to last for long.
> 
> Most of the mold I see grows on the surface of damp substrate, and I just scoop it out and improve ventilation if necessary.
> 
> boina is our resident biologist and can probably tell you more than you ever want to know about mold.


Lol muffet


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## Vanisher (Jan 18, 2020)

boina said:


> How do those people think any tarantula ever survives in wild with all those fungi everywhere???



This! 
Funghus spores are everywhere in nature. From my own experience from keeping tarantulas i know that mould and funghus is totally harmless. I often have mould and funghus in the enclosures and never bothered changing substrates and never had a tarantula dying from funghus. This said it is always good to have a enclisure with diffrent microorganisms because if not, the funghus and mite problems would be much worse, and lots of funghus doesnt look good



crystalfreakkk said:


> From researching their natural habitat I've found that the average humidity is at least 70% or above. Should it be less than that in captivity? I've read a lot of differing opinions when it comes to their humidity.


They may live in enviroments whete the humidety periodicly is 70% or higher, but for juvenile or adult Avics, humidety is not important. Ventilation IS btw. They are aboreals and there are winds and breezes in the trees. So ventilation is very important. They do very bad in a humid stagnant cage
The only time humidety is important is when they lays eggs and for tiny slings. The breedingseason starts when periods with high humidety i assume and this may be the reason that they luve in humid areas, even though humidety is not important for adult spiders


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## boina (Jan 18, 2020)

Vanisher said:


> This!
> Funghus spores are everywhere in nature. From my own experience from keeping tarantulas i know that mould and funghus is totally harmless. I often have mould and funghus in the enclosures and never bothered changing substrates and never had a tarantula dying from funghus. This said it is always good to have a enclisure with diffrent microorganisms because if not, the funghus and mite problems would be much worse, and lots of funghus doesnt look good
> 
> 
> ...


You forgot to look at the date - 2018


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## Vanisher (Jan 18, 2020)

boina said:


> You forgot to look at the date - 2018


Aha, ok


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## Ungoliant (Jan 18, 2020)

boina said:


> You forgot to look at the date - 2018


Like spores of mold, these threads can lie dormant for a long time, just waiting for someone to come along and revive them.  But alas, there isn't enough material left in the original thread to sustain its revival for long.

Reactions: Funny 2 | Creative 1 | Cake 1


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## James Mullally (Mar 22, 2021)

Whitelightning777 said:


> The substrate can be heated in an oven to kill off any spores for a few hours. For generic topsoil, that's practically mandatory.
> 
> None of my inverts have problems digging in eco earth. Just tamp it down and apply a very fine misting, just enough to stop dust.


I had an enclosure made and I left it on a shelf to dry out before my new t came and one day a week later I went to check it and the substrate was half covered in mold and a stalk with two leaves at the top was growing I dumped the substrate and decor in the rubbish bin and cleaned the enclosure using boiling water and let it sit In boiling water for about a half hour would that destroy the mold spores and prevent it from happening again?


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## T Freak (Jul 20, 2022)

My g pulchripes decided to excavate the entire enclosure and dig out some new tunnels and when it exposed the bottom moist dirt layer it grew some mold n I plan to rehouse soon as I get everything I need for the bioactive that I plan to try out but have decided to just keep watch n leave as is for now he seems fine and he is healthy as can be so I’m not worried. Hope I’m not wrong.



Ungoliant said:


> Like spores of mold, these threads can lie dormant for a long time, just waiting for someone to come along and revive them.  But alas, there isn't enough material left in the original thread to sustain its revival for long.


What does it matter if the thread is older? Still makes sense to post in this thread instead of starting a new one for no real reason.


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