So I just made a terrarium 2 weeks ago and I'm seeing these white dots everywhere in the substrate, especially between the drainage and substrate mesh.
I already have springtails so if it's fungus, I'm not sure why they aren't eating it unless they can't reach it.
Any idea what to do? I've seen different advice where it either goes away on its own of you have to tear everything down and start over.
Pic related to what I'm dealing with.
Also can the springtails reach the drainage layer? I'm worried I packed the substrate to much.
The excitement never ends, I'm finding all these tiny white worms in the substrate, especially the moister part with the sphagnum moss.
They look like the ones in this, but smaller.
I assume they're some sort of nematode, but is there a way to ID what since i hear some go after plant roots and even isopods
Or worse, are they fugus gnat larva?
Yeah, they must be fugus gnats because I'm seeing these bugs hiding in my terrarium and they just keep coming even though I'm using a vacuum to get rid of any I see.
Am I fricked?
And I have something that look like mites all around the stem and roots of one of my plants that's dying.
Welp I think I'm just going to abort this one and work on sanitizing everything for a total rebuild.
You are building a little miniature ecosystem. it's doing ecosystem things. this is not only normal but actually preferable. Stick with it. the mites (maybe springtails but wood mites are a thing too) are detritivores, and the dying plant is detritus. Let it be for a bit and it'll stabilize. dont even water it unless a plant looks wilty, just let it do its thing. there's a reason they say to wait for at least a month before introducing animals.
So the plant is just dying on its own and the mite things are just eating up the dying part? Because they were all over the roots. They're definately not springtails. The only creatures I originally introduced were those and isopods. Everything else must have gotten in because I failed to properly sanitize stuff.
How do I at least get rid of the fugus gnats? Or keep them contained since they're starting to fly everywhere even with a bug mesh on top.
>How do I at least get rid of the fugus gnats?
that's kind of the eternal question. solutions range from letting the substrate dry out a little to getting a colony of predatory nites/nematodes.
I got some sort of mites (They're like reddish brown) and I think Nematodes, but i have no idea what types they are or if they're the fugus gnat larva since they're so small, I can't tell if they have black heads.
So assuming I don't just hit a hard reset button on this. Which I might since it's still warm enough.
Letting the substrate dry out is my only real option, but how am I going to keep the isopods alive?
And I'm only considering a hard reset because there's just so many different variables now. If it was one or two, I'd have no problem letting things cycle.
Just fungus, add springtails and sphagnum and forget about it.
I already have sphagnum for the isopods I have in the tank, But it's only in one corner since I wanted some areas to remain dry.
I'm going to get more springtails though.
Haven't seen any others sprout yet, and they grow fast, they're already twice as big as they were yesterday. But if they aren't a problem I won't remove any new ones that appear.
Also any idea what type it is?
it's a fungal bloom and it's normal, and will usually go away on its own as the tank cycles. some might even sprout fruiting bodies, which are also harmless.
This, it's fungus. Actually a good sign. Sometimes it can take a bit of time for you CUC to catch up with fungal blooms.
Okay, I am seeing mushrooms sprouting that look like pic related. I dug some out, but left some in one area of the terrarium.
Any idea what type of mushroom this is? I'm assuming it's not Lycocoprinus Birnbaumii mycelium.
Oh wait, is it Coprinus Micaceus?
Wow that's actually impressive. I've only had mushrooms grow in my setup once, and it was just one or two very small very thin little guys.
Yeah, they've been spouting up all around the 'roots' of one piece of wood I put in, the ones I left in are pic related, and they just growing directly growing off the wood itself. No substrate there. These are Coprinus Micaceus, right?
I took the others out. because I worried they might take over the area and kill the plants I'm trying to grow. In fact, the mushrooms started under one of the ferns leaves and just growing into it .
Also, is there a way to tell if my fungal bloom is a regular one and not Lycocoprinus Birnbaumii mycelium? Because I've been reading those are a kiss of death for a terrarium since they're toxic enough that they can kill isopods that try to eat them and springtails don't touch them either.
>I worried they might take over the area and kill the plants I'm trying to grow
They won't. The fruiting bodies usually only last a day or two
Almost looks like eggs?
Yeah, they're mainly at the mesh between the substrate and drainage layer, but it looks like there's some on all sides of the terrarium too.