Safe coating for grapewood

[crabbykat]

Hello! I bought a climbing 'jungle gym' made out of a few pieces of grapewood that have been screwed together and put it into my crabitat. It molded. Twice. I soaked it in salt water and it still molded. Does anyone know of a safe coating that I can apply to keep it from molding again? It is pretty great and the crabs love it so I hate to trash it! Thanks in advance!!

[GotButterflies]

No, if you want my opinion, just let the mold grow. It will die off in a week or two and then it won't grow back.

[crabbykat]

Interesting. I have never heard that but I guess it makes sense that it would die off if it doesn't have anything else to feed on. I just worry about my own allergies. Thanks for the info!

[wodesorel]

How do your feel about helpful bugs? Springtails are small, almost unnoticeable and they eat mold and mold spores. They keep outbreaks under control. My most severe allergy is to mold and I have them in every single tank to ward off problems before they start.

[crabbykat]

I was just thinking tonight about adding some of those to the big tank, in fact! If they help with mold then I might need to get serious about it. Do you know of a good source for them? Or can I just grab some out of the yard?

[wodesorel]

Mine came in naturally through leaves and wood, but you may also end up with various other bugs like different kinds of harmless mites or fungus gnats. It doesn't bother me or my critters but I know some people really don't like the hassle or the extra roomates!

Any vivarium supply place sells them if you want a pure colony. Ones I have done business with in the past are Roach Crossing (I think he still sells springs) and Josh's Frogs.

[crabbykat]

Thank you!