Help - Mushrooms growing in Tarantula Tank

[cl4hisown]

Hi all

i need serious help, i have 3 T's - the one tank with the tiger rump keeps growing this freaking mushroom all the time, i changed the peat moss,
but it keeps growing back all the time, i dont know how it will affect the T, what else can i do, the other 2 tanks are fine...

 

[Hobo]

Just pluck em out as they come up if you don't like 'em. You can also try drying it out some. Eventually they'll stop.

My H. lividum tank grows mushrooms all the time during the moist part of the year, and she's never had issues with them. A number of my tanks also have some mold in them, and all the tarantulas are fine, so I would say they don't pose any significant health hazards by themselves.

 

[kwacky]

A lot of people keep spingtails or woodlice in their tanks to help with the substrate husbandry.

I'm not a fan of seeing mold in an enclosure, it suggests poor air flow and a lack of attention to housekeeping. Fungal spores can get in some unwelcome places, including within your T. I realise they encounter this in the wild, but they can walk away from a bad area.

But that's just my view on it.

 

[Zoomer428]

Being me id take them out and try not to dampen sub as much but thats prob not the answer id listen to hobo

 

[Wlapkiewicz]

I would recommend buying new substrate and cleaning the entire enclosure really well with soap or bleach. If you remove the mushroom (the fruit part) then the mycellium (the root part) of the fungi will still grow producing more mushrooms. Even drying the substrate will not help since there might be spores in it already.

 

[Ciphor]

Leave them in, they give the enclosure character and are 100% completely harmless to your T. Very, very few types of fungi (mold too) are dangerous to arachnids. I believe to be honest, there has only been one recorded instance of a fungi having a negative impact on a spider. Isopods are good to help prevent mushrooms and molds, by eating decaying organic material, like bug remains, and feces. Springtails are good to help control what has already started decomposing, by eating the mushrooms & molds. Both play different roles in the decomposition process.

To the comment about them being able to walk away from fungi/mold in wild, the odd part is, they actually will hang out around it. If you have ever been dead log flipping you will know what I'm talking about. Next time your out in the forest and you find a dead log laying on the ground with turkey tail growing on it (Trametes versicolor) that is of a decent size, but not so big that you cannot roll it over, go ahead and roll it over. You will find a couple things. 1, the underside of that log was hiding huge white blotches of mold and fungi; 2, more importantly to the point, you will find lots of arachnids, beetles, myriapods, etc. literally living in a moldy environment.

Same with many types of fungal growths. I actually use arboreal species of fungi as a indicator on where to look for Callobius pictus at Mt. Rainier national park. They tend to hang out around the mushrooms.

Fear of mold/fungi is like the fear of spiders, based off ignorance; a lack of understanding to how mold/fungi work. Once you understand that it is literally only a handful of species that you must be cautious of, you stop worrying as much.

The only reason you should be overly cautious is if you personally, or people you live with, are sensitive to mold/fungi spores, which, if you have been dealing with these mushrooms for awhile now and have not had to go to the hospital, I'd say your likely in the clear.

Fungi & mold are a natural part of decomposition. I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that after each cleaning you are using the same batch of soil? Something in that soil batch needs decomposed, and the mushrooms are proof of that. Buy a new batch and it may go away, Or, you can always prep your soil in a large storage container by getting it hydrated and letting it sit for a few months before you use it; throw lots of isopods in to speed things up. This will decompose everything that needs broken down, and leave you with what you desire.

 

[zonbonzovi]

It's funny that mushrooms are cause for concern as coir is a popular substrate for growing them. It's ph is neutral and its considered to be relatively sterile(post pasteurization) & compaction resistant. I suspect that the spores these 'shrooms grew from are already present before packaging/sale. I thought I had an ID on the one in Hobo's pic at one time but I've since forgotten what it was.

 

[rockhopper]

I suspect that the spores these 'shrooms grew from are already present before packaging/sale.

This is what I am curious about. I don't know much about mushrooms or fungus in general, but I'd assume the spores would have to be introuduced into the enslosure somehow. I don't believe mushrooms pop up on their own, but I really don't know.

 

[Tonys spiders]

I believe there are already spores in the coco coir as i have had mushrooms pop up in my more humid enclosures. I found that i get more mushrooms when i purchase the coco choir from the LPS(ive tried a few brands) rather than the much cheaper, and much better quality imo, coco coir from either home depot or any local hydroponic or garden supply store. It isnt absent of the mushroom spores but i have coco coir from my LPS in one of my stirmi cages and i get atleast 1 mushroom every couple months, where as my two other stirmi cages rarely get mushrooms. One in which i have never seen one the other i believe only 2. They are natural though and shouldnt hurt your T.

 

[jayefbe]

I would recommend buying new substrate and cleaning the entire enclosure really well with soap or bleach. If you remove the mushroom (the fruit part) then the mycellium (the root part) of the fungi will still grow producing more mushrooms. Even drying the substrate will not help since there might be spores in it already.

Total overkill. Spores are everywhere and get everywhere. Trying to remove every last one is impossible and unnecessary.

 

[Ciphor]

It's funny that mushrooms are cause for concern as coir is a popular substrate for growing them. It's ph is neutral and its considered to be relatively sterile(post pasteurization) & compaction resistant. I suspect that the spores these 'shrooms grew from are already present before packaging/sale. I thought I had an ID on the one in Hobo's pic at one time but I've since forgotten what it was.

Order: Agaricales
Family might be Hygrophoraceae? To tell for sure we would need to know if the spores are black or white.

Might also be something in Cortinariaceae or Bolbitiaceae.

 

[khil]

use a new substrate like coco fiber and add a bit more ventilation. you don't really want fungus especially if you keep your Ts in your room (foul air)

 

[Ciphor]

This is what I am curious about. I don't know much about mushrooms or fungus in general, but I'd assume the spores would have to be introuduced into the enslosure somehow. I don't believe mushrooms pop up on their own, but I really don't know.

Correct, they reproduce just like most organisms.

Hyphae (the body of fungi) is everywhere. Some bodies stretch under ground for over half a mile and are completely unseen and hidden, popping up mushrooms in whatever spots have the right conditions. So really the spores could be in the substrate/soil already, or it could be in the air around his home and he just created a favorable condition for them to quickly fruit. The hyphae breaks down and eats dead organic material (composting), that they store till the conditions are right (humidity) for them to fruit and reproduce. If the substrate lacks the nutrients for the hyphae to fruit, it wont. If the substrate lacks the humidity, it also wont. Mushrooms unlike the hyphae are just a fruit, so it does not grow by way of cell division, but rather cell expansion with water, which is why they need humidity so badly to grow.

Isopods are very effective as they compete for the same nutrients.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Hyphae.JPG

 

[Hobo]

Order: Agaricales
Family might be Hygrophoraceae? To tell for sure we would need to know if the spores are black or white.

Might also be something in Cortinariaceae or Bolbitiaceae.

The spores were white, IIRC. I'll find out soon enough, it's about that time of year.

 

[Ciphor]

use a new substrate like coco fiber and add a bit more ventilation. you don't really want fungus especially if you keep your Ts in your room (foul air)

Very few fungi produce a noticeable odor. Mold on the other hand can produce a strong odor, but not in this condition. The types of mold that produce strong unpleasant odors typically grow on freshly decaying organic material, large pieces of food for example. The cases when fungi will smell is when it is consuming from a living organism, dermal attacking species of fungi for example can produce an odor.

To the contrary, most fungi will actually help with odor as it breaks down and consumes things in soil that are the cause of bad odor, like bacteria.

---------- Post added 05-11-2012 at 10:30 PM ----------

The spores were white, IIRC. I'll find out soon enough, it's about that time of year.

If the spores are white then i'd definitely guess Hygrophoraceae. (I'm no expert btw so dont hold me to it lol)

 

[Lopez]

I've had mould and mushrooms on and off over the years. Sometimes they grow, sometimes they don't. Never had it adversely affect a spider so I never do anything about them.

 

[Chris LXXIX]

My H. lividum tank grows mushrooms all the time during the moist part of the year, and she's never had issues with them. A number of my tanks also have some mold in them

I do know that this is a dead thread but really, your reply made my day, man
But don't you have fear of mold, especially when it comes to obligate burrower T's?

 

[Hobo]

I do know that this is a dead thread but really, your reply made my day, man
But don't you have fear of mold, especially when it comes to obligate burrower T's?

No.
That particular tarantula is still with me, and still occasionally has mushrooms growing in there. I've no doubt her burrow has all sorts of mold in there, as she chooses to pack boluses in there instead of dropping them outside.
Here's one of my other enclosures, a communal. This juvenile practically lived in the stuff, and he turned out ok.

 

[Chris LXXIX]

No.
That particular tarantula is still with me, and still occasionally has mushrooms growing in there. I've no doubt her burrow has all sorts of mold in there, as she chooses to pack boluses in there instead of dropping them outside.
Here's one of my other enclosures, a communal. This juvenile practically lived in the stuff, and he turned out ok.

LOL now that's some serious stuff, man, ah ah.

 

[cold blood]

I agree with hobo, its gotta be pretty bad for me to get concerned at all about mold.