Fungus

[Jamie Cooper]

Hi guys, quick question. Is fungus as dangerous as mould? I have A.Versicolor slings and I noticed today some sort of green/blue stuff on the cork bark. I have removed the piece of bark and replaced it. Is this a cause for concern?

Many thanks, Jamie

[Colin D Wilson]

Could be a problem as you dont know what type of fungud/mould it is, you've already taken out the offending item so thats ok, after this i would try and increase the ventilation in the tank as mould really only seems to occur when there's no air movement in a humid atmosphere.
It may be some fungus or mould that was in the cork bark itself that has "blossomed" now it's got the perfect environment to flourish.
you could try some tank cleaners such as woodlice (tropical variety or some of our indigenous ones that have been left in a tank to clear them selves of any toxins) or a little colony of springtails (some members on here may have some thay could spare)

[Jamie Cooper]

Hi Colin, thanks for the reply. Regarding ventilation, I have around 30 - 40 holes spaced evenly around the walls of the 500ml rearing jar and 5 or 6 in the lid. Does this sound sufficient? The holes are fairly big, just small enough so the sling can't escape. I've not got this problem in other enclosures, and I've never had a mould problem.

Yes, I've been hearing about woodlice and springtails, I take it they will pose no threat to the T, mine are only 2cm slings, so whatever I put in there will match them in size.

Jamie

[Elaine Ross]

Hi Jamie, I'm Colin's partner. We were just chatting about your mould situation and as I keep a high number of Avics sucessfully thought I'd reply.

It sounds as though you have enough ventilation available in the tub so perhaps the substrate is kept too damp? I keep all my Avics virtually dry with light misting twice a week. It could also be something un-noticed on the corkbark that has been an issue with the humidity. Give it a good clean in boiling water and leave to dry out before use.

Using ispopods in humid enclosures is always useful and even with such small slings they pose no threat. If you are concerned with the size of woodlouse then go for springtails that are very much smaller.

Hope that helps

[Jamie Cooper]

Hi Elaine, yes you and your partner Colin have helped me before. Thanks for the reply. I think I am going to take your advice and get some springtails to put in the enclosures. Am I right in saying they remove mould/fungus? My substrate which is 50/50 coco fibre/vermiculite is kept quite moist, so I'll tone that down a bit. Just a few more questions: Where can I find some springtails? How many do I put in each enclosure? Do I need to feed them? And if theres anything else you think I need to know about them, that would be greatly appreciated.

Jamie.

[Elaine Ross]

Hi Jamie

I used to use the coco fibre stuff until I realised it is useless with high humidity. It gets damp and you end up with mould on the top or muchrooms growing in the stuff. I ended up chucking the lot out and changng all my humid tanks to peat moss substrate mixed with vermiculite. I've never had any issues with mould and it often comes with built in springtails

The best person to contact would be Pete Lacey on here re the springtails. I think he was selling some recently. They dont take any care, just chuck them in and let them get on with it. If you see a population growth you can put a waterdish in, leave it a couple of days and you'll find it full of springtails. Easy to keep numbers from getting our of control although they arent really a worry for the T's.

Elaine

[wayne balcombe]

hi jamie,

if peter doesn't have any springtails left that he can spare there is a few places online you can buy them from, they are already set up in a culture as a colony all you have to do is transfer a number of them to you're enclosures.

try www.dartfrog.co.uk look under the live foods section. they also do woodlouse cultures.

wayne

[Jamie Cooper]

Hi Elaine,

Thats fantastic, thank you! I'll order some from the Spider Shop today. If it comes with springtails then I'm sorted, otherwise I'll contact Pete Lacey like you suggested and see if he can send me some.

Thanks also Wayne for the info, I'll bare it in mind if I get stuck.

Cheers guys, much appreciated!

[Jamie Cooper]

Hi Jamie

I ended up chucking the lot out and changng all my humid tanks to peat moss substrate mixed with vermiculite. I've never had any issues with mould and it often comes with built in springtails

Elaine

Elaine, I bought some sphagnum moss from the spider shop and got it today. Stupid question, but is this the same as Peat Moss? I just assumed it was when I ordered it, now I'm not so sure. I can't seem to find Peat Moss anywhere. Thanks, Jamie

[Peter Lacey]

Hi, I'm currently trying to get my population to increase and may have to delve into existing enclosures. I can't recommend these enough and once established they easily beat mites to offending remains.

Peat moss is quite different to Sphagnum moss. Peat you can get from gardening centres eg. B&Q, just make sure there's no additives. Sphagnum moss is excellent for humid environments as it acts as a sponge which Ts will drink from and is often used by the Ts to decorate their webs.

[Jamie Cooper]

Hi Peter, cheers mate thats great, I will get some asap.

[Jamie Cooper]

Hi guys, I have finally managed to find some peat moss, not easy stuff to find even in Devon! I've found a guy on ebay who is sending me some. He tells me its additive/fertilizer free. I've heard of people microwaving it before use to kill off anything nasty, is this a precaution I need to take?

I'm hoping its going to come with springtails, my only other question is how big are they? Will they escape through my ventilation holes?

Thanks, Jamie

[Peter Lacey]

Personally I don't use peat moss and there's a number of ethical reasons for not doing so, but if you decide to microwave it you'll likely kill any springtails.
Personally I prefer to create a living substrate rather than a sterile one but whether you freeze, microwave, cook, burn or nuke your substrate it will only provide a temporary release from mould. Fungus and mould come from airborne spores, its the conditions within your tank that will create a habitat for them to grow, or not!

[Jamie Cooper]

hi jamie,

if peter doesn't have any springtails left that he can spare there is a few places online you can buy them from, they are already set up in a culture as a colony all you have to do is transfer a number of them to you're enclosures.

try www.dartfrog.co.uk look under the live foods section. they also do woodlouse cultures.

wayne

I'm just having a look on dartfrog now, they have 3 different types of springtail. Tropical springtail (Folsomia Candida) 3mm. Tropical springtail (Seira) 4mm. European Black Springtail (Tomocerus Longicornis) 8mm. Does it matter which type I go for? And is there any chance of them escaping through my ventilation holes?

Jamie

[Jamie Cooper]

Having actually read the descriptions properly, I now know what I need. Sorry for the unnecessary question guys. I have ordered some woodlice too. They aren't being dispatched until 5th Nov though so I'll have to make do without for now. I was willing to wait and see if any springtails appeared like they do, but I wasen't sure how long that would take.

Having changed my substrate to Peat I'm much happier with it. It really does hold water better than coco fibre. I'm still getting a blue fungus appear on the cork bark though. It reappears every couple of weeks. I tend to remove the bark whenever I see it to clean it but I don't like doing that as it disturbs any webbing the slings have spun. Is this common with cork bark? I soak it in boiling water for a few minutes to clean it. I know it won't be a problem when the springtails and woodlice arrive, but thats a week away.

I have a piece of bamboo tube that I might chop up and use instead. Another thing I dislike about cork bark is that micro cricket escapees hide in the holes!

Jamie.