# mold on wood?



## mallorymccarroll (Jun 13, 2012)

hello!
please forgive me if this has been asked a million times.. but i haven't seen anything like this before.

we finished this 29 gallon viv about a week ago and over the past two days mold has become rampant on our wood! It it starting to spread to a few of the plant upcoming plant roots, will it kill the plant?
along with the mold growing on the wood.. there is also the little white whispies coming from the wood as well.

I have read mold is harmless to frogs, but this stuff looks so angry!
At the moment there are NO frogs in the tank, but we were planning to add two Azureus to the tank in the next two weeks or so..

Any ideas/suggestions as to what to do?


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## SnakePaparazzi (Jul 20, 2008)

I'd recommend adding springtails and isopods. Mold is normal and will eventually go away. Is that grape wood? If so, grape wood doesn't have a long life expectancy in a humid vivarium. Harder woods such as mopani, Malaysian driftwood, manzanita and ghostwood will last much longer.


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## timopictures (Sep 9, 2010)

Yes, I would also recommend springtails, as well as simply some time. For me mold usually seems to go away in time, although that could just be the springtails doing their work. As for your pics, that mold doesn't look any different than the mold I've come across in my tanks, so I wouldn't be too worried.


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## morg (Jul 28, 2012)

With no frogs, don't mist. Add water directly to plants' bases. This might lower your ambient humidity enough to be unsuitable. At least until your substrate becomes more active.


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

Springtails eat mold and rotting material. Isopods eat rotting material that leads to mold.
Both springtails and isopods would beneficial for that. They would also make a nice between meal snack for your frogs.
Try to get you microfauna (springtails and isopods) established as soon as possible.
You can also culture them separately, and add some to the viv now and then.
http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/food-feeding/66991-how-culture-isopods-woodlice-springtails.html


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## varanoid (Jan 21, 2011)

Don't panic just add microfauna. Completely normal for newly started vivs to go through a "mold outbreak". Another thing that may help is to improve air circulation if possible.


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## mallorymccarroll (Jun 13, 2012)

thanks for all the replies!
im sure you can tell im a bit new at this.. 
we are picking up some isopods today to help with the spread of the mold

Mallory


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

Springtails might be a better choice for a first bug to start getting the mold under control. They will breed faster and get it under control sooner. Isopods take much longer to breed and establish.


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## oldlady25715 (Nov 17, 2007)

Every new tank gets mold initially, but with springs, isos and time it usually diminishes. The only time it got out of control for me was with a water feature. What is there in your pics looks like average settling of a new tank. 

The comment not to use grape wood was legit. I've pulled that stuff out because it can't handle the high humidity.


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## GP dynamite (Feb 19, 2013)

I recommend Doug's silver springtails. I just did some tank maintenance and move some wood only to discover the silver springs crawling up and down the wood feeding on the detritus in the cracks and crevices in the wood.


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