Mold problems - Help!

G

GreenOasis

Second Instar
Okay, just got these guys all set up last week (Thanks, Zephyr!): Orangeheads & Lobsters...(also Lateralis from another person)...the Lobsters have no substrate, but the Orangeheads & Lateralis do (cypress & coco bark, as suggested by Zephyr). I have been misting once a day on the substrated ones, and now I have mold growing all over! Some gray & some black. How can I get rid of this? Will it kill my new roach cultures before they have a chance to take off? (So far I haven't seen any dead.)

Can I add a springtail culture in the bins and have them "clean up"?

Should I stop misting altogether? (I started only lightly misting the egg crates themselves when I first saw the mold.)

If anyone can give me an idea, I would appreciate it. It would take me some time to have to re-order and change out the substrate, so if I can avoid that, so much the better!

THANKS!

-Carey Kurtz-

 
GreenOasis said:
Okay, just got these guys all set up last week (Thanks, Zephyr!): Orangeheads & Lobsters...(also Lateralis from another person)...the Lobsters have no substrate, but the Orangeheads & Lateralis do (cypress & coco bark, as suggested by Zephyr). I have been misting once a day on the substrated ones, and now I have mold growing all over! Some gray & some black. How can I get rid of this? Will it kill my new roach cultures before they have a chance to take off? (So far I haven't seen any dead.)Can I add a springtail culture in the bins and have them "clean up"?

Should I stop misting altogether? (I started only lightly misting the egg crates themselves when I first saw the mold.)

If anyone can give me an idea, I would appreciate it. It would take me some time to have to re-order and change out the substrate, so if I can avoid that, so much the better!

THANKS!

-Carey Kurtz-
Click to expand...
Is the mold on the substrate or on food on the substrate? You can put food in styrofoam cups nestled in the substrate to prevent this. Otherwise, let the substrate dry out. I've never had straight up cypress /coco mix mold over.

You can take your orangeheads off the substrate; they don't need it. The E. sp. "White" I sent you, however, do need it.

 
Hmm...okay.

It WAS on the food on the substrate (when I first got them) & I was using rat blocks cuz I didn't have any dogfood yet. When I saw the rat blocks starting to mold, though, I immediately took them out. This mold is on places where the food wasn't even placed, though. I am putting the food on shallow tupperware-style lids now.

Should I grind up dog food or will they eat it as kibble?

Also, it is possible to reuse this stuff that molded in the E. sp. "White" colony, then? I hate to waste it after I just spent a good $20 on it! And if I do reuse it, will I need to worry that any orangeheads nymphs might be in the stuff? Would they cross-breed with the E. sp. "White"?

Sorry to ask so much...just trying to think ahead! (Unlike how I got into this mess!) :o

-Carey Kurtz-

 
GreenOasis said:
Hmm...okay.It WAS on the food on the substrate (when I first got them) & I was using rat blocks cuz I didn't have any dogfood yet. When I saw the rat blocks starting to mold, though, I immediately took them out. This mold is on places where the food wasn't even placed, though. I am putting the food on shallow tupperware-style lids now.

Should I grind up dog food or will they eat it as kibble?

Also, it is possible to reuse this stuff that molded in the E. sp. "White" colony, then? I hate to waste it after I just spent a good $20 on it! And if I do reuse it, will I need to worry that any orangeheads nymphs might be in the stuff? Would they cross-breed with the E. sp. "White"?

Sorry to ask so much...just trying to think ahead! (Unlike how I got into this mess!) :o

-Carey Kurtz-
Click to expand...
Dont worry about mold. If you let the bin dry out the mold will die off and eventually dissappear from roach activity. Don't bother grinding up food- that's what roaches do. Put the substrate back in the bin and leave it alone. The mold is from overwatering your roaches- that's all. Instead of misting them daily which is very unnecessary, water them once or twice a week by pouring water allover one half of the bin and let it dry out THEN add water again. Easy and less maintenance, which is how roaches are kept. If you have to do too much maintenace/care, then you are doing something wrong.

I have more roaches than I can know what to do with. I use substrate in every bin 2 inches or so deep. Some bins are just cypress mulch and some are coco-fiber, and some are a mix of the two with oak leaves added. Substrate ultimately keeps the roaches cleaner and healthier and better controls your humidity level, which you are having problems with now.....

 
So I have some very humid enclosures due to being non-vented sterlite for species like Panchlora nivea and Periplaneta americana. My question is about the mold I am getting on the food and whatnot. Will Isopods clean up mold or do they only eat the food-stuffs? I ask because my springtails don't do much in the way of mold control. All of the wood mites vanished a few months back too so no idea if they would be helpful or not. Any thoughts?

 
the isopods would eat the food at the same time, it best to keep the food off the ground and when you spray the tank take it out before hand so it doesn't get wet. if you already do this my next question is hoe long does it take the mold to appear?

 
Ozymandias said:
the isopods would eat the food at the same time, it best to keep the food off the ground and when you spray the tank take it out before hand so it doesn't get wet. if you already do this my next question is hoe long does it take the mold to appear?
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+1

But @ vfox, they do like mold better then wet food.....

If you have alot of isopods then they'll eat it before/as soon as it appears :D

 
Good to know.

It takes about 3-4 days for the mold to appear and when it does it's overnight and in a big white puffy mess. It looks like that fake spider webbing you can buy at Halloween, lol.

 
i would just through the food out when the food get moldy or feed only what the roaches can eat in that 3-4 days

 
Last edited by a moderator:
vfox said:
Good to know.

It takes about 3-4 days for the mold to appear and when it does it's overnight and in a big white puffy mess. It looks like that fake spider webbing you can buy at Halloween, lol.
Click to expand...
Mine love the web mold, lol. If cloning a mushroom fails and that shows up, into the isopod's den :D

 
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