Substrate preference poll

[freedumbdclxvi]

Use to be 100% coco fiber, but now I use it only as a mix in. I use peat or a peat based potting soil mixed with coco fiber at about an 85/15 ratio.

 

[Shrike]

Substrate should be sterilized before use.

So if you purchase a bag of substrate from a pet store you sterilize it?

 

[Formerphobe]

I kinda like it I'm not certain yet but my recent reading suggests that these are spores common to Canadian peat. So far (in that reading) it seems that these break down the dead sphagnum even further. Curiously, my biggest infestation is in an H. maculata tank that stays dry except for a monthly spritzing. It started in the base soil but has really taken off where where the tube webs become more or less horizontal. I guess that the moisture collects in these spots and encourages spreading of the spores. I had a Phlogius tank infested with mycelia that produced mushrooms regularly. The inhabitant would break them off at the stem or flex them and cover with copious webbing.

I seem to have two types of 'shrooms. One umbrella type on a long stem that prefers the damper enclosures, and a phallic shaped one on shorter stem in the drier enclosures. The umbrella type grows up quickly, falls over and turns to mush if I don't get them out. The other is now even showing up on cork bark in some of my dry habitats. Though, now that you mention it, I did find an umbrella one in the dry H. mac enclosure on one occasion. Usually the isopods take care of stuff like that in my damp enclosures. Guess they don't like these 'shrooms.

 

[poisoned]

Substrate should be sterilized before use.

It doesn't help with fungi. If anything, it promotes their growth.

 

[macbaffo]

It doesn't help with fungi. If anything, it promotes their growth.

How?

 

[poisoned]

How?

Fungi spores are everywhere. You're probably breathing them at the moment. Natural materials, like wood, soil and other stuff are usually more alive than you think, it's all full of microorganisms, that help in decomposition. When you sterilize the substrate, you kill all of these beings, so all that food remains in soil. When spores fall on it, they have everything available for themselves and they overgrow everything very quickly.

 

[macbaffo]

Fungi spores are everywhere. You're probably breathing them at the moment. Natural materials, like wood, soil and other stuff are usually more alive than you think, it's all full of microorganisms, that help in decomposition. When you sterilize the substrate, you kill all of these beings, so all that food remains in soil. When spores fall on it, they have everything available for themselves and they overgrow everything very quickly.

doesn't sterilization kill a big number of the spores in the soil too? If you use isopods the food avaible for spores is greatly reduced. More over If peat is used it should not be the ideal environment for fungi because it's slightly acid.
Not saying that this way fungi doesn't grow but i thought that it's more difficult for them to grow.

 

[zonbonzovi]

I seem to have two types of 'shrooms. One umbrella type on a long stem that prefers the damper enclosures, and a phallic shaped one on shorter stem in the drier enclosures. The umbrella type grows up quickly, falls over and turns to mush if I don't get them out. The other is now even showing up on cork bark in some of my dry habitats. Though, now that you mention it, I did find an umbrella one in the dry H. mac enclosure on one occasion. Usually the isopods take care of stuff like that in my damp enclosures. Guess they don't like these 'shrooms.

We should start an enclosure fungi appreciation thread:laugh: People, in general, have such a weird relationship with it.

 

[Hobo]

doesn't sterilization kill a big number of the spores in the soil too? If you use isopods the food avaible for spores is greatly reduced. More over If peat is used it should not be the ideal environment for fungi because it's slightly acid.
Not saying that this way fungi doesn't grow but i thought that it's more difficult for them to grow.

My lividum enclosure, which is all peat:

Incidentally, this is (was) the enclosure with the most fungi, though I haven't seen any pop up this past summer. Maybe the soil is finally depleted of nutrients?
Anyway, I don't use any cleanup crews (intentionally; there are mites and springtales and other things living in some of my tanks), so I just plucked out the mushrooms before they turned into jam. No problems.

Anyway, on this topic, I went from coir, to peat, and back to coir.
I thought peat was ok, but it was too "dirty" for my taste, and once it dried it was damn near impossible to moisten up again. I also didn't like how it "shrunk" or compacted after a while, leaving perfect gaps all around the enclosure for prey items to hide and die in. I found it's holding power was no different from compacted coir, which was the main point of my trying it. The two things I liked, were that it was cheap, and it looked nice. Oh, and sometimes, you found prizes inside!

 

[macbaffo]

Thank you Hobo for sharing your experience about peat. Actually when i started using peat it was for my dart frogs terrariums that are an environment a lot more "alive" than a T one. I mean the soil. I had mushrooms too but i saw them only about 4-5 times in the past two years. That's why i thought to use and using peat with isopods. Never said it was the best but i choose that for the reason i said. In the near future i was planning to try coir but i don't like its consistency...it seems a bit too loose...but i lack of experience that's why i am interested in experiences like yours.
Hobo did you sterilized the peat before use?
(springtails are cleaners. )

 

[Hobo]

Nah, never bothered with sub, peat or otherwise.
I've read the benifits of "live" soil like natural peat, so I didn't want to nuke anything.
And yeah I know springtales are "cleaners" I was just saying I don't intentionally introduce them or mites into my cages. They just kind of find their way in there themselves.

 

[Formerphobe]

My lividum enclosure, which is all peat:

Incidentally, this is (was) the enclosure with the most fungi, though I haven't seen any pop up this past summer. Maybe the soil is finally depleted of nutrients?
Anyway, I don't use any cleanup crews (intentionally; there are mites and springtales and other things living in some of my tanks), so I just plucked out the mushrooms before they turned into jam. No problems.

Anyway, on this topic, I went from coir, to peat, and back to coir.
I thought peat was ok, but it was too "dirty" for my taste, and once it dried it was damn near impossible to moisten up again. I also didn't like how it "shrunk" or compacted after a while, leaving perfect gaps all around the enclosure for prey items to hide and die in. I found it's holding power was no different from compacted coir, which was the main point of my trying it. The two things I liked, were that it was cheap, and it looked nice. Oh, and sometimes, you found prizes inside!

That's one of the kinds of mushrooms I'm finding.
I've had the coconut coir behave similarly to the peat as far as shrinkage and difficulty to re-moisten. I've also had coconut fibre bricks from the same 3-pack 'reconstitute' differently. Most of them fluff right up when you add water. Some are still bricks after days of soaking.

You got prizes in your peat? I must have bought the wrong brand...

 

[macbaffo]

Nah, never bothered with sub, peat or otherwise.
I've read the benifits of "live" soil like natural peat, so I didn't want to nuke anything.
And yeah I know springtales are "cleaners" I was just saying I don't intentionally introduce them or mites into my cages. They just kind of find their way in there themselves.

I know that you wanted to nuke anything. You were just sharing your experience

What prizes did you get in your coir?

 

[poisoned]

I've had the coconut coir behave similarly to the peat as far as shrinkage and difficulty to re-moisten.

That's how all of my coco coir behaves. Although, I think one from Ikea worked the best, because fibres were really short (and it was really cheap too).
Water always seems to be floating on top of coir for me, like it was held up by surface tension.

 

[Hobo]

Prizes included:
Random strips of plastic
String
Pieces of wood
Part of what I think was a bottlecap
A small bolt
A small centipede
Pieces of newspaper
Rocks

 

[macbaffo]

Prizes included:
Random strips of plastic
String
Pieces of wood
Part of what I think was a bottlecap
A small bolt
A small centipede
Pieces of newspaper
Rocks

Omg that seems more rubbish than soil

 

[singaporesling]

using 75% organic potting soil 25% vermiculite

 

[Batu]

My vote goes for "other" - the coconut fiber EcoEarth.

+1 Works Great!

 

[jdl]

I use vermiculite. I have a few containers with the coconut bedding and do not like it as it takes too long to absorb water. Vermiculite is awesome and has nothing organic to mold in it.

 

[ArachnoTeen]

I'm kind of a newby so I haven't experimented although I never have mold issues with EcoEarth Coconut Coir