mold!!!

colorcrab2000 · Post by **colorcrab2000** » Wed May 01, 2013 7:28 am

I bought some grapewood climbing wood from the pet store. It seemed absolutely fine. However, after about a week, the humidity got to it and it started to rot! I took out all the new wood, rinsed it in really cold water, then put it in the freezer. I checked my whole crabitat and found no other mold. my questions:1) is mold harmful to crabs?2) is there something that hermit crab wood is usually treated with to prevent mold that this wood was lacking?3) is there a way to safely treat wood to prevent mold?4) should I put the un-molded wood back in the crabitat, or throw it away?5) can sand and tank walls get moldy?6) when buying hermit crab wood for climbing, are there any specific things to look for, regarding mold immunity as well as general things to look for?

Ganji&Bongo · Post by **Ganji&Bongo** » Wed May 01, 2013 9:51 am

I'm not 100% sure on all of the answers, but I can try to help with the way I have been doing things.1) Yes, mold is very harmful. I'm pretty sure it messes up their breathing and if it gets bad enough it will kill them. It's something that should always be removed and taken care of right away.2) I don't think it is really pre-treated with anything before we buy it, if it has a "finish" I would hesitate to buy it because they probably used harmful chemicals to treat it.3) You can soak all of your wood in dechlorinated salt water to prevent it from growing mold before you put it in your tank. I would definitely let it dry though before putting it into the tank. When it's nice out I like to put it in the sun for a few hours.4) If there was no mold on the other wood in the tank, then I do not see any reason you can not still use it. I would recommend soaking it first though. 5) I haven't heard of tank walls getting moldy, but I think sand can. It shouldn't if you used salt water to make it, but I use mostly EE so I'm not 100% sure on that one.6)I wouldn't but any wood that looks fairly "green" if you will. The wood that seems darker, like it's slightly petrified is what I have found to hold up really well to the humidity without molding. I'm not sure how else to describe it, I'm sorry. I hope this helped out in some way, good luck!

colorcrab2000 · Post by **colorcrab2000** » Wed May 01, 2013 10:04 am

Thanks! Do you know what the symptoms are of mold poisoned crabs (just curious)

Ganji&Bongo · Post by **Ganji&Bongo** » Wed May 01, 2013 10:23 am

I just looked through the archived information on here and I couldn't find anything specific. I remember reading somewhere that it can begin to grow in their shell or on them, so I would look for that. I had a piece of wood mold about 3 months ago in my tank, and unfortunately I didn't notice it for a couple of days. When I did the entire underside of this piece of wood about 12 inches long was covered in bright blue and yellow fuzzy mold. I took it out right away and inspected the rest of the tank, which was good. I was really worried that since it was so bad that my hermies would be affected, but they never showed symptoms and they are still good to this day. Most crabs will avoid mold so I think you should be okay.

Ganji&Bongo · Post by **Ganji&Bongo** » Wed May 01, 2013 10:27 am

Also, cholla wood is really great to put in tanks. It holds up to the humidity really well, doesn't seem to mold very easily, has holes in it for the crabs to climb easily, and I even catch mine snacking on it sometimes. It's their favorite thing in the whole tank to climb on and sit on all day.

colorcrab2000 · Post by **colorcrab2000** » Wed May 01, 2013 12:32 pm

Phew! It's a relief to know that it takes a while for the crabs to be affected. I noticed little patches of green fuzz only two days or so after I put the wood in, so it couldn't have been moldy for too long. I have seen that cholla wood online and in pet stores (it was painted bright blue so I didn't get it). I didn't know what it was called. Do you get yours from a specific pet store, or online?

Ganji&Bongo · Post by **Ganji&Bongo** » Wed May 01, 2013 1:44 pm

I purchase mine online from the Hermit Crab Addiction Store. From my experience, they are the most reasonably priced and reliable site to get cholla wood. They have a lot of different lengths and shapes to choose from too! Here's the link.http://www.hermitcrabaddiction...l/dt33598/WOOD_ITEMS

Post by **JediMasterThrash** » Wed May 01, 2013 2:08 pm

Harmful or not, we generally don't want mold in our tanks because it's indicative of other issues that should be corrected.I'm not aware of any direct evidence of mold being harmful or poisonous (there are some kinds of mold that would be, but the standard blue fuzzy or white stuff is probably more of a nuisance).If mold exists, one of two things is happening1. decaying organic matter in moist environment. This could be food dragged around the crab tank, or dead crabs. Or as it turns out, wood you put in the tank on purpose.2. Any organic matter in contact with moist substrate, or in contact with stagnant moist air.Most wood is not treated, and I wouldn't use any that is.The saltwater bath can be effective, but I find it's better to properly ventilate the crabitat, and choose woods less likely to mold.I wash molded wood with hot water and nuke it for a couple minutes, then re-use.Sand and tank walls can not directly get moldy. 99% of the time it is organic matter in the sand that has molded, and it just looks like the sand is moldy.Cork wood and mopani wood are both quite resistant to mold.Cholla will mold about as easily as driftwood.The key to preventing mold is proper humidity levels and ventilation/aeration. If the humidity is too high or the air is stagnant, mold will form. Use some kind of air pump to continuously pump new air (preferrably moist air, via a humidifier or bubbler) into the crabitat, and then allow ventilation for air circulation. This will do wonders to prevent mold, even with a tank full of cholla and driftwood.if you can't do that, keep the humidity at 75% or below. Going above 80% is a quick way to get a blue fuzzy outbreak.

colorcrab2000 · Post by **colorcrab2000** » Wed May 01, 2013 11:12 pm

Thanks! @Jedi Master Thrash. Right now, my crabs are in a ten gallon that's pretty tall, and I could open the lid halfway for more ventilation. Don't worry, there's nothing tall enough for them to even climb within eight inches of the lid, they're all small crabs, and the sealing glue on the corners of the tank is solid and virtually un-climbable. I have noticed that my humidity is a little too high, and I assumed the crabs wouldn't mind, but I didn't think about mold!

Laurie LeAnn · Post by **Laurie LeAnn** » Thu May 02, 2013 3:42 am

YOU CAN GET A SMALL PLASTIC CONTAINER AND STICK IT UNDER YOUR WOOD IF YOU HAVE A SMALL END THEN CAMO IT WITH RIVER ROCK AND FAKE PLANTS.THIS HELPED THE ENDS OF MINE TO KEEP IT FROM MOLDING.and yep if you really make sure your wood it dried out good to before putting back in your tank it will not or shouldn't mold if your humidity and temps are correct and you have good ventilation going. sorry for the caps, was doing book work here at work and didn't know I still had caps on. so I was not yelling at any one! just didn't want to go back and have to erase it all and retype it all

colorcrab2000 · Post by **colorcrab2000** » Thu May 02, 2013 8:35 am

@LAURIE that sound like a good idea. i think i'll do a trial with only one or two pieces (there were 6 pieces of moldy wood total). i'll see how it goes, and probably decide what to do from there.I've done that with caps by the way- once i typed a whole email in caps (multiple paragraphs) and didn't notice until the end. I just put "P.S. accidentally left caps lock on- not yelling" at the top