White mold spreading all over terrarium, springtails aren’t helping!
What is this white stuff growing all over my terarrum? I tried to dry it out but it still didn't kill it. And it is just spreading. I have springtails in the terrarium, why are they not eating it? How to get rid of the white mold?
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terrafirma42
Ugh, I have had the same problem in the past. Thank you for posting!
Beautiful terrarium, btw.
corou4
No idea, I know a girl who had the same problem, couldn’t find the answer and posted it on reddit.
Unfortunately, up until now, no answers 😥😓
butterfly-the-dick
I‘m probably gonna get downvoted to hell about this again bc people don‘t believe me but I‘ve worked in a terrarium store for 3 years and I‘ve made my own terrariums for seven and this kind of fungus is extremely hard to get rid off because springtails won‘t touch it. It could completely envelop your terrarium. Take out any pieces you see the mold on, lower the humidity, leave the terrarium open even. You can also use low % h2o2 to kill the fungus. Sometimes you‘re lucky and it goes away on it‘s own, sometimes you‘re unlucky and it will cover the plants too and suffocate them.
I believe it‘s flower pot fungus but I can‘t be 100% sure.
It’s saprophytic fungus and it eats decaying matter. It’s actually a part of a healthy ecosystem and is more likely to be evident in newly planted terrariums, after soil changes/plant additions, or even after fertilizing. Anytime I see it, I don’t panic, I actually smile because it means my terrarium is close to finding a harmonic balance. Saprophytic fungus actually helps to breakdown decaying matter and make the nutrients more bioavailable for your plants so it’s not inherently bad. It can go a little crazy and throw your terrarium out of whack if you aren’t reading the signs and responding accordingly. See, saprophytic fungi thrive in terrariums because they love damp and humid areas and they do best with lower airflow (hence why they start off and thrive in the soil). Knowing that, we can control these outbreaks and ride them out to the benefit of our terrarium: just take the lid off, allow maximum airflow, and hold off on watering until your substrate is more dry. I also will place my terrarium in more natural light to help the process along especially if I’m managing a larger bloom (so long as I know the plants inside will tolerate the shift in lighting) and when I begin watering again, I start small and keep the lid off until I’m sure the saprophytic fungi bloom isn’t going to flare up again. I’ve had 100% success with this method so I highly recommend not freaking out or starting over. Embrace this as the boon it can be for terrariums microbiome and your plants will thank you for it.
BiophileB
I agree with the others regarding drying things out a bit (just a bit, leave the lid off for a few hours each day or so) or trying a mild h2o2 spray solution before starting over. It’s a beautiful build! However I do recommend removing the air plant as they don’t do well in terraria long term and be prepared to cut back that Anthurium on the regular, as it matures into a plant that is generally much larger than your enclosure.
6 Comments
Hey tmarija
Need help identifying a bug? Check out r/whatsthisbug .
Need help identifying a plant? Check out r/whatsthisplant
Need help identifying a mold or fungus? That can only be achieved using professional sampling methods and laboratory analysis. Your environment is too wet. if it’s a wet environment purposely it needs ventilation.
Have you checked out our [resource page](https://www.reddit.com/r/terrariums/wiki/index/resources/)?
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/terrariums) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Ugh, I have had the same problem in the past. Thank you for posting!
Beautiful terrarium, btw.
No idea, I know a girl who had the same problem, couldn’t find the answer and posted it on reddit.
Unfortunately, up until now, no answers 😥😓
I‘m probably gonna get downvoted to hell about this again bc people don‘t believe me but I‘ve worked in a terrarium store for 3 years and I‘ve made my own terrariums for seven and this kind of fungus is extremely hard to get rid off because springtails won‘t touch it. It could completely envelop your terrarium. Take out any pieces you see the mold on, lower the humidity, leave the terrarium open even. You can also use low % h2o2 to kill the fungus. Sometimes you‘re lucky and it goes away on it‘s own, sometimes you‘re unlucky and it will cover the plants too and suffocate them.
I believe it‘s flower pot fungus but I can‘t be 100% sure.
https://preview.redd.it/cmfv41ifi7cf1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9f896d33ae281c0e917b3b3c062f76b8e39a5665
It’s saprophytic fungus and it eats decaying matter. It’s actually a part of a healthy ecosystem and is more likely to be evident in newly planted terrariums, after soil changes/plant additions, or even after fertilizing. Anytime I see it, I don’t panic, I actually smile because it means my terrarium is close to finding a harmonic balance. Saprophytic fungus actually helps to breakdown decaying matter and make the nutrients more bioavailable for your plants so it’s not inherently bad. It can go a little crazy and throw your terrarium out of whack if you aren’t reading the signs and responding accordingly. See, saprophytic fungi thrive in terrariums because they love damp and humid areas and they do best with lower airflow (hence why they start off and thrive in the soil). Knowing that, we can control these outbreaks and ride them out to the benefit of our terrarium: just take the lid off, allow maximum airflow, and hold off on watering until your substrate is more dry. I also will place my terrarium in more natural light to help the process along especially if I’m managing a larger bloom (so long as I know the plants inside will tolerate the shift in lighting) and when I begin watering again, I start small and keep the lid off until I’m sure the saprophytic fungi bloom isn’t going to flare up again. I’ve had 100% success with this method so I highly recommend not freaking out or starting over. Embrace this as the boon it can be for terrariums microbiome and your plants will thank you for it.
I agree with the others regarding drying things out a bit (just a bit, leave the lid off for a few hours each day or so) or trying a mild h2o2 spray solution before starting over. It’s a beautiful build! However I do recommend removing the air plant as they don’t do well in terraria long term and be prepared to cut back that Anthurium on the regular, as it matures into a plant that is generally much larger than your enclosure.