# Frog Friendly Fungus or Something Harmful



## dustin_grey (Mar 8, 2006)

I know how its always nice to look into a viv and see a mushroom pop up because they are not only harmless to the frogs, but a great sight to see. So of course I was excited to look in and see that I had a mushroom explosion overnight. Or at least, I thought they were mushrooms. Now Im just trying to make sure because my knowledge of plants and little buggers they can pick up is less than basic. So, to reassure myself I decided to ask you guys what you think they are. I do believe they are little mushrooms but I want to be positive, as I am another paranoid frog owner.
















These pictures should allow you to estimate the size of the mushrooms. I have photographed a larger one and a handful of smaller ones. At the bottom of that piece of paper you can see a small inch ruler.

















As you can see, there are tons of these little guys. The whole viv has patches like these in them. In the top picture, the little buggers are obvious. But in the bottom picture, they can be found both at the top and mid-left.





Mushrooms right?


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## slaytonp (Nov 14, 2004)

It may be one of the Ascomycetes group, some of which can be pathogens on specific plants, but I don't know of any pathological animal fungus that has a relatively large mushroom-like fruiting body such as this. I think it is perfectly safe for your frogs, although what training I've had in mycology was limited to human and other mammalian pathogens and I'm not a shroom expert. 

As an aside, I might add that with the advent of AIDS and immunocompromising drugs for tissue transplants, etc., I've seen some really strange stuff crop up as "opportunistic pathogens." At one seminar some years ago, the speaker, a mycologist, showed some photos of some pretty strange stuff. One that impressed me in particular was a heart valve transplant (accompanied by immunocompromising drugs) failed, and when they opened up the heart again, there was the fruiting body of an ink cap mushroom growing on the valve. So anything CAN happen under very special circumstances. 

I don't think it's anything you have to worry about with your frogs, though. 

I noticed the date on the photos is 1/23/2003. Just curious.


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## dustin_grey (Mar 8, 2006)

To start off, the dates are wrong because the date got reset and I never bothered to fix it.

Thanks for the advice on the shrooms. I just hope they dont harm my nice plants. So far I havent noticed any problems. But they did explode all over the tank. Thats some crazy stuff about the mushroom in a heart. I cant even imagine how it could fruit like that. Without light? Crazy! Honestly, so long as it didnt kill me, I dont even think I would mind a mushroom inside of me. Id show the thing off .


Thanks again for your help!


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## slaytonp (Nov 14, 2004)

If it hadn't been for the fact that this fellow is a relatively well known (and uncontroversial) mycologist and the clear photos, including later microscopic slide sections, I wouldn't have believed that the fruiting body of a mushroom could possibly have developed under these conditions, either. The mycelium maybe, but not the mushroom cap itself, especially since it was not only without any light, but bathed in rushing blood over a flapping valve, that one would think would at least have broken it off, even as a beginning, but ultimately identifiable "bud," which is was.

I don't think you have to worry about your plants, either. The damage would have already been done before you ever saw the fruiting body if this were a plant pathogen.


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## dustin_grey (Mar 8, 2006)

Yeah, thats simply incredible. I love to hear crazy stuff like that. Now that Im sure the mushrooms are harmless (thanks to you ), I can just show off the mushroom explosion I have in my viv. 


Thanks a ton (again).


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## dneafse (Nov 1, 2006)

Small, 'yeasty' or mold-like fungi can be either ascomycetes or basidiomyctes. 

However, if you have a fungus with a classic toadstool shape, it's almost certainly a basidiomycete.

Both basiomycetes and ascomycetes can be pathogenic to animals and plants, but as Patty said, most aren't harmful to animals unless the hosts are immuno-compromised.

Enjoy your mushrooms!

Dan


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