Mold - A danger or problem?

[Gnag the nameless]

I'm sure I'm not the only person who has encountered mold in their frog's habitat, but ever since I've kept my frogs in their 30G, I've been finding mold growing on the drowned crickets. Of course, few crickets drown due to my frogs voracious appetite, but still, it is a big concern. Would the mold hurt my frogs? If you're wondering what frogs I have, look at my signature.

And also, if I must clean out the habitat, how on earth would I do it? I've been wondering this for a while, due to the fact that the frogs moved from the 20G to the 30G about 2 months ago [January 4th, 2013]. The filtration system has been keeping it pretty clean, but still, I know that I need to clean it out soon.

Here is a photo of the habitat.



I live on the upper floor of my house, unfortunately, so cleaning out the tank will certainly be a challenge. And it is much too heavy for me to carry to my garden. So, do you guys have any suggestions for me?

[aegillesp]

I am curious on this too. I was cleaning parts of my tree frog's cage and I found mold growing on the side under a wooden structure. I cleaned it out of course but it would be good to know if it could hurt my frog.

[flybyferns]

I'm sure I'm not the only person who has encountered mold in their frog's habitat, but ever since I've kept my frogs in their 30G, I've been finding mold growing on the drowned crickets. Of course, few crickets drown due to my frogs voracious appetite, but still, it is a big concern. Would the mold hurt my frogs? If you're wondering what frogs I have, look at my signature.

And also, if I must clean out the habitat, how on earth would I do it? I've been wondering this for a while, due to the fact that the frogs moved from the 20G to the 30G about 2 months ago [January 4th, 2013]. The filtration system has been keeping it pretty clean, but still, I know that I need to clean it out soon.

Here is a photo of the habitat.



I live on the upper floor of my house, unfortunately, so cleaning out the tank will certainly be a challenge. And it is much too heavy for me to carry to my garden. So, do you guys have any suggestions for me?

Caspian,
With all due respect , the bigger danger in the tank is three different species together.
All dead crickets need to be removed immediately. The best way is to inspect the tank daily .
When you clean ;when you pull the plants ( live or fake) rinse them in a bucket of tap water w/ a speck of bleach. RINSE rinse rinse, in de-chlorinated water before re-decorating the tank . May I, respectfully, suggest putting your 2 bullfrogs in the 30, Gnag in the 20 and get a new 10 gallon for your bumpy . Is you filter working OK? If you add coco fiber a drainage layer under the cocoa fiber will help to circulate air and drain excess water. Use 2-3" of either gravel or leca (hydroton clay ball)I'm sure you know, Cocoa fiber simply can't sit there exposed to moisture from misting , dying or dead crickets/frog urine/ frog poop. It's a mold 'set-up'.

[Gnag the nameless]

3 Different Species? I don't mean to sound rude if I am, but Bumpy and Gnag are the American bullfroglets. That's their names. I have no other frogs as of now, though I was planning on raising red-legged frogs from tadpoles into froglets and letting them back in the wild, but I honestly did not get what you meant there.

All I have in the tank is Gnag and Bumpy, currently.

I do try to remove them ASAP, but sometimes they get stuck, or they're slightly hidden, which can be frustrating. But I will definitely begin to inspect the tank more thoroughly from now on. I simply don't like to disturb the hoppers. They're skittish, especially Bumpy. If you approach the tank too fast, she'll swim so fast into hiding you'll only see the ripples of water she leaves behind!

As for the filter, the slits on the sides aren't big enough to suck up the crickets, and I've not enough money [currently] to get a new filter. It does keep the water very clean, though, and it deals with the bio-waste well.

I don't use coconut fiber, actually. This is a full smooth gravel setup. That log provides a nice, near-underwater cave for the frogs. They go in there during daytime, and only come out to bask during daytime. Nighttime is a whole different story I turn off the UVB lamp, and turn the incandescent lamp on in the other side of the room, which gives a sundown effect on the tank. That's when I place the crickets in, usually on the water reeds or lilypads, and the frogs go wild, hunting the crickets, croaking [which can get really loud] and swimming around. They usually do most of their hunting during the 'sundown' and when I turn off the incandescent light, they finish the rest of the crickets, and then swim around and croak at the top of their lungs. It's great to hear, as long as you aren't trying to get some sleep.

[Gnag the nameless]

Also, I forgot the mention, the mold is on the driftwood too.

Now, I've done my research, and apparently, insects known as Springtails will eat the mold if you put them in the tank. Does anyone know where exactly I'd find springtails, if they'd hurt my frogs, and how I'd catch/get them?

[flybyferns]

3 Different Species? I don't mean to sound rude if I am, but Bumpy and Gnag are the American bullfroglets. That's their names. I have no other frogs as of now, though I was planning on raising red-legged frogs from tadpoles into froglets and letting them back in the wild, but I honestly did not get what you meant there.

All I have in the tank is Gnag and Bumpy, currently.

I do try to remove them ASAP, but sometimes they get stuck, or they're slightly hidden, which can be frustrating. But I will definitely begin to inspect the tank more thoroughly from now on. I simply don't like to disturb the hoppers. They're skittish, especially Bumpy. If you approach the tank too fast, she'll swim so fast into hiding you'll only see the ripples of water she leaves behind!

As for the filter, the slits on the sides aren't big enough to suck up the crickets, and I've not enough money [currently] to get a new filter. It does keep the water very clean, though, and it deals with the bio-waste well.

I don't use coconut fiber, actually. This is a full smooth gravel setup. That log provides a nice, near-underwater cave for the frogs. They go in there during daytime, and only come out to bask during daytime. Nighttime is a whole different story I turn off the UVB lamp, and turn the incandescent lamp on in the other side of the room, which gives a sundown effect on the tank. That's when I place the crickets in, usually on the water reeds or lilypads, and the frogs go wild, hunting the crickets, croaking [which can get really loud] and swimming around. They usually do most of their hunting during the 'sundown' and when I turn off the incandescent light, they finish the rest of the crickets, and then swim around and croak at the top of their lungs. It's great to hear, as long as you aren't trying to get some sleep.

Hi Caspian
Your not rude silly-head. My mistake. I thought you had 2 different toads and 2 bull frogs !
That's so funny - my apologies Well that explains why you have them all together!

It is great to hear your frogs-their happy !
I mentioned the cocoa fiber because I thought you had toads. I agree , just keep an eye on the leftover crickets.
Lynn

[MatthewM1]

You can order springtail cultures from most websites that sell dart frogs

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[deranged chipmunk]

springtails won't help you at all actually. they need moist, dark substrate to live and breed in. as far as the fungus. fear not, as long as it is white fungus, you're fine. wood has a tendency to mold up in a fresh vivarium/paludarium. you can remove it as you see it, but it won't hurt your frogs. it will go away on it's own. it may appear from time to time, but it's really no worry. now, if it were jet black, that may be a cause for alarm. May being the key word there.

[Gnag the nameless]

Nah, it's fine Lynn. I can understand your confusion with the name "Bumpy Digtoad"
Yeah, it really makes me feel good when they are croaking and swimming around happily

The cocoa fiber tip could come in handy in the future. I've got that spare 20G and I know where they sell pacmans, so some day, maybe I'll get a pacman. They're some of the most popular frogs, and they have their own community for them, a community someday I'd love to be a part of

It's a kind of white sprouting fungus, and a white kind of cloudy substance forming around the crickets, so I suppose it's fine. Thanks for the advice, Bill, I'll keep an eye out for any other types of fungus.

[deranged chipmunk]

the cloudy ring around the surface is biofilm. if you don't want it, increase your circulation. it's the same stuff insects use to skim along the surface.

[deranged chipmunk]

sorry, i need to correct that. insects are genetically designed to skim the surface, the biofilm is the LAYER on which they skim the surface.

[Gnag the nameless]

Cloudy ring around the surface?

I'm talking about after they've drowned, and the mold that sets in after a few days if I leave the drowned crickets be.

[Hoppity100]

You have a habitat like mine! I clean my water often and use the net to skim out bugs and any dirt. What kind of substrate do you have and is there anything else in your tank where you see mold? Do you have algae? If you have wood under water I'd put it up high enough so its out of the water. I have a wood log that is sitting on rocks and its not in the water. I would clean your water more and remove anything that absorbs water. Hope this helps.

[Gnag the nameless]

Really? I'd like to see your habitat. What kind of frogs do you keep in it?

I clean my water a lot too, but the filter does help a lot. I've not any algae in the tank currently, though I was thinking of getting real plants other than the moss. I use smooth rocks for everything, and moss covers most of the wood and land area, though the land area is small and the frogs never go onto land. And yes, the wood is in the water. It forms a nice cave for the frogs. I don't really want to move it, either, my frogs would freak out. It's the only hiding space they use.

Here's some photo's of the updated tank, the earlier photo of the tank tank is outdated. I just added the moss and more plants yesterday, actually.


Notice the flashlight, water conditioner, cricket quencher and diet in front of the tank.

A view of the side. Sorry for the light, it's due to the UVB lamp.

The corner. Hopefully, the frogs will bask here now. That watery area is actually an entrance to the cave.

The cave entrance. The middle of the log is actually hollowed out, so they have a reliable source of air, which means they can stay in the cave the whole day, partially submerged, in a dark spot, and air. They only come out to bask at daytime. Nighttime is a whole different story.

This is a photo I took of Gnag with the flashlight. The frogs will hunt during the "evening" [when I turn off the UVB lamp and turn on the dimmer incandescent light across the room] and finish hunting when I turn off the light. Then they'll swim around for the whole night. That's the time to get photo's. Gnag is often calm, and doesn't swim away when I'm taking photo's. Bumpy is a different story. Move too fast, too loud, she'll swim like a bullet into the cave. My goal for the end of this month is to get a nighttime photo of her. Not going to be easy.

[deranged chipmunk]

Cloudy ring around the surface?

I'm talking about after they've drowned, and the mold that sets in after a few days if I leave the drowned crickets be.

i just saw this. wty in the world would you leave dead crickets in the enclosure long enough for them to grow mold?

[Gnag the nameless]

Well, I used to. Mostly because even I am repulsed by it, and I don't want to touch them but also, many of the crickets that drown float into ridges between rocks or by the log, making them hard to spot. Even worse are the ones that I can't get at, I usually have to wait until nighttime when my frogs are out of their cave to get them. And the ones that are sucked below the filter, but are too big to be sucked into it can elude me for a handful of days, too. It's irritating. However, I've begun doing longer and closer examinations for drowned crickets, and I've not had a moldy one in a while now due to my new constant schedule of checking for them. Also, I've changed the spots where I place the crickets, so less and less are drowning now.

[Hoppity100]

Yeah, my frogs will miss a cricket or wax worm and I remove it the next day. They get caught between rocks and plants and mine just get gooey. If they're in the water long enough I can see where they could grow something gross. This is why I check my tank every day. I change water often and don't let it become cloudy or stagnant.

[Hoppity100]

I was just thinking about the mold someone has and all I can come up with is really wet wood, dead bugs, or a rotting plant.

[Gnag the nameless]

I never let the water get cloudy, and I try to move the lilypads often so they're not disrupting the flow of the water from the filter. These days, I remove any dead crickets I see on sight. I do like to change the water often, but I try to be careful about it for the frog's sake.

The cause is almost certainly the first 2, the first of which I can't change. However, white mold is all I'm getting, which shouldn't hurt the frogs.

[Hoppity100]

Thanks for writing and posting pics! You have a more fancy tank set-up than mine. Mine is easy and I like building all the decorations, and at different levels. I have hiding places, cave, wood log above water, plants, heater. Months ago I read that someone had a fogging machine, don't recall the frog type but all I could picture was some big machine the size of a buick. I have the easiest remedy: to create humidity I cover part of my tank with clear plastic wrap and I get instant humidity. I have done this during winter, summer will be different. I don't see a need to buy a fogger. This might be needed for a frog other than a FB, but my method works ok. I am on a budget and what happened is: I was in a pet store one day looking and they put FB's in with RCC's. Well, the tank was very poor for frogs: only 1 hiding place, no plants, no rocks, no caves. To make it worse they had a gravel bottom. It was like someone would not even make the effort to create a better habitat when they could have. I rescued the FB's but bad thing is, they'll continue keeping frogs this way. I would not house them with crabs!

I care for other pets and have 3 tanks. My frog tank is by a window (but no algae, its winter) and they get to feel sun. If its warm I can crack a window open so they get outside air. If its cold I can cover the top which creates humidity and close drapes at night. I feed mine crickets and alternate with wax and meal worms. I spent 2 hours today cleaning then re-arranging their tank. So, I rotate myself among 3 tanks (other is fish and hermits) and care for a dog and cats, oh and possum family and squirrels. I find pets very fulfilling, always have. Do you have more pets?