# white moss continuing to appear on mopani wood



## frogimitator (May 2, 2015)

i have boiled it, then baked it. couple days later little white spots appear again. its a real nice piece so i want to save it. i tried putting moss over it and other plants. not enough ff to eat it all. will adding springtails be enough?


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## Scott (Feb 17, 2004)

It's not moss, it's mold. It's natural.

Just leave it alone.

s


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## aspidites73 (Oct 2, 2012)

Not to worry, as Scott said, it is natural. Springtails will help and are an impoetant part of a healthy viv.


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## frogimitator (May 2, 2015)

sorry i meant mold. i asked because it has not gone away. seen tons of posts on this so im not trying to add to the pile of these threads. but ive tried spraying. tried everything. not going away and its been over a month


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

What did you spray it with? Have you added springtails yet? Like the other respondents said, a little white mold is natural and OK. It will diminish over time as your setup matures.


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## Celtic Aaron (Jun 12, 2013)

frogimitator said:


> sorry i meant mold. i asked because it has not gone away. seen tons of posts on this so im not trying to add to the pile of these threads. but ive tried spraying. tried everything. not going away and its been over a month


As these guys with experience are saying, what you are experiencing is likely just a normal part of the cycle of your vivarium. What I would be more worried about is what you are trying to do about it. What exactly are you spraying to try to get rid of the mold? I get mold that comes and goes in my vivs. I simply keep a good population of springs and isopods in my vivs and they help to keep everything in balance.


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## Dane (Aug 19, 2004)

Boiling and baking will remove many surface organisms that would normally be in competition with various molds and fungi, allowing a more vigorous colonization and spread. If you are repeatedly heat treating the wood in an attempt to keep this from happening, you would actually be perpetuating it.
I heat treat a lot of my hardscaping too, and I do see large mold/fungus blooms on the material for a brief period immediately afterwards.


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## phender (Jan 9, 2009)

Mold lives on the decaying wood. By scrubbing, boiling, spraying your wood, you are likely making more places for the mold to take hold. The white fuzzy stuff doesn't seem to like water sprayed on it, but other than that, just leave it alone. 
You are only seeing the mold on your wood, but it is likely throughout your viv. Spores in your tank just keep repopulating the wood until they eat everything they can and then it will die back.

"edit"- looks like Dane beat me to it.


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## aspidites73 (Oct 2, 2012)

Aside from the above answers, enjoy it for what it is: a marvelous part of nature that you are now privy to! 

Some of us actually pray to mother nature for things like this to appear!


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## MrMycetes (Nov 9, 2014)

egh, um, what did you spray it with? You should really tell us.


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## jganjay (Feb 6, 2012)

The spray you used is more of a concern than the mold. I know we have a gut reaction to mold but it is part of the ecosystem in your terrarium as it strikes a balance. The best way to help it reach a healthy balance is to bring the mold naturally. Adding springtails are one of the best ways to control mold and fungi not to mention they are extra food for dart frogs. You'll want to add some several times a week until the mold calms down. Like others said, killing the mold on the surface only wipes out organisms that would keep it under control since what you see on the surface is only part of the mold, much of it is deep in the wood.


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