I hate mold!

[KJE]

Not too long ago I bought 4 C. elegans. I lost one to some type of maggot, not sure what that was. Now, I have had a mold outbreak. One of them is barely moving, one of them I believe to have been in the fuzzy stuff, and one of them seems to be ok because he was burrowed down. The one that's barely moving might have been molting because he's kind of twitching his legs like when they molt, but I doubt that's what he's doing since he just molted a few weeks ago. Of course, they seem to molt pretty often at this stage so who knows.

I have them housed in vials with enough peat moss to burrow. Unfortunately, I can't put very big holes in the lid for ventilation because they can fit through pretty much anything at that size. I have read that they need moist substrate, especially when they are small. The substrate wasn't that moist, just damp. Now I have to figure out what to do with them so I can increase ventilation.

I've never had this much trouble with slings before. :wall:

 

[Anastasia]

well, I can tell you how I deal with it
all my small slings in vials, I cut a circle or square or just a good hole in the lid and glue very fine mash over
also have fan going 24/7 to circulate the air
dont have any mold

 

[The Spider Faery]

I would temporary remove the slings, clean out the vials and put fresh substrate in. I use cocoa fiber. If this is what you also use, when you add water in to mix it, squeeze it in your hand in a fist until no more water runs through, add it to your vial and then add a slight amount of water just to dampen it. Then don't add any more water to the substrate for at least another month.

What I do regularly, pretty much every day, is mist my cyriocosmus species. I do it just enough to leave some droplets on one side of the vial. I use a travel perfume bottle. You can buy them in a drugstore and just add water instead of perfume. They're little and deliver the perfect amount of misting for tiny vials.

 

[joshuai]

ventilation ventilation ventilation take a needle and burn tiny holes all over the vial you dont have nearly enough ventilation if there is to much the slings can make a burrow

 

[The Spider Faery]

Oh yah, and I forgot to mention, for ventilation, I used pinholes. You can put as many as you feel you need in the lid. The slings won't escape through pinholes even if the slings are 1/8 of an inch.

 

[KJE]

Thanks for all the advice. I have been in the hobby for many years and this is my first headache with uncontrollable mold. I appreciate everyone for taking the time to help me out. I do have small holes all over the lids and I'm getting ready to change out the substrate.

I will try cutting out a section of the lid and putting some fine mesh screen on it. The only screen I have is the black nylon covered stuff. I will have to check the holes to make sure they aren't too big.

 

[joshuai]

I would also burn some pin holes down by the substrate so there is suficient cross ventilation. I have noticed in the vials that i do that to are far less prone to mold than the ones with small holes just in the lid

 

[Moltar]

If you feel like your ventilation is on point and you're not overwatering them then you should look at your substrate makeup. See if you can determine what the mold is actually feeding/growing on. For example, I had a few batches of this coco coir that seemed to spawn fungal growth at the drop of a hat. There was something in there other than the coco coir that was developing the mold, then the mold would spread to other materials in the enclosure. I've also seen small bits of cork do this. Cork is mold resistant but if you let a small piece absorb water like a sponge and sit in a moist bed of soil it can sprout a halo of fuzz overnight.

 

[KJE]

If you feel like your ventilation is on point and you're not overwatering them then you should look at your substrate makeup. See if you can determine what the mold is actually feeding/growing on. For example, I had a few batches of this coco coir that seemed to spawn fungal growth at the drop of a hat. There was something in there other than the coco coir that was developing the mold, then the mold would spread to other materials in the enclosure. I've also seen small bits of cork do this. Cork is mold resistant but if you let a small piece absorb water like a sponge and sit in a moist bed of soil it can sprout a halo of fuzz overnight.

I'm using a big bag of peat moss that I've had for about a year now. It's been housed inside my house, not outside or in a garage. I seemed to have better luck with the smaller bags, but they cost a lot more.

I think one of my big problems was that I forgot that I fed them each a baby dubia with its head crushed the other day. You would think that only the roach would grow mold since it was only about 2 days, but noooo, the entire surface of the substrate was fuzzy.

This is really bad. I am down to 2 C. elegans slings. One is laying there twitching and the other one is jerky when he walks. This leads me to believe that mold infection can cause neurological problems. I have them separated from the rest of my collection.

I'm so bummed!

 

[Moltar]

Well mold can absolutely cause problems but i'd expect tghem to start in the book lungs. Where it can establish and grow. Have you gotten those slings out of the contaminated containers yet? If not you should do that right away and get them in a relatively dry environment for a while.

Sorry for your poor luck. It sounds like the dubia died and molded, as you suggest. That's another problem with that species as a feeder, they're too sneaky! (And then too moldy)

 

[KJE]

Yes, they are in clean containers now. I might move them into containers that are bone dry for a few days.

 

[joshuai]

Yes, they are in clean containers now. I might move them into containers that are bone dry for a few days.

For small slings i wouldnt leave them bone dry for days or you might not have any left. use a slightly moist paper towel or something dont go bone dry. slings lose water faster than adults so they dont do good bone dry.

 

[KJE]

Yeah, I thought about that and I moistened the paper towel a little bit. I don't think the one that's twitching is going to make it, but the other one looks like it might. Crossing my fingers!

 

[joshuai]

Yeah, I thought about that and I moistened the paper towel a little bit. I don't think the one that's twitching is going to make it, but the other one looks like it might. Crossing my fingers!

Ya never know keep your hopes up, Ive seen some slings pull through some dire circumstances

 

[Teal]

I hope you're able to save the remaining slings!

Mold is so frustrating.. luckily, I haven't had TOO much of a problem with it!

 

[bothriechis83]

I have a couple hundred that I have set up in 3 dram vials with about half an inch of moist coconut fiber. I feed them 1 day old pinheads once a week and only give them water when the substrate is looking dry. I haven't had any issues and have lost only about 5-10. I don't put any holes in my lids. A friend of mine also uses this method and has had no issues with it.

 

[KJE]

I have a couple hundred that I have set up in 3 dram vials with about half an inch of moist coconut fiber. I feed them 1 day old pinheads once a week and only give them water when the substrate is looking dry. I haven't had any issues and have lost only about 5-10. I don't put any holes in my lids. A friend of mine also uses this method and has had no issues with it.

Ok, thanks. They seemed to eat the roaches pretty readily even when they were 2nd instar. I don't have anything smaller than that for feeders. I guess I figured since they were so small I should keep the substrate moist at all times. I've never done that with other slings, but these little ones were my first dwarfs.

 

[The Spider Faery]

I guess I figured since they were so small I should keep the substrate moist at all times. I've never done that with other slings, but these little ones were my first dwarfs.

I think you shouldn't let the substrate dry out completely...they do need moisture, but I guess it's hard to figure out the right balance if you're dealing with mold. Hopefully things improve.