Weird Spikey Mold

[Jkosty]

Hello all, this is less a call for help but more of a curiosity. Recently I added a seagrass hammock to the crabitat to give our crabs something new to climb on (a few of them had the habit of inverting themselves on the metal mesh roof of the tank and getting stuck there). It was a big hit, like a bouncy castle at a birthday party. All was going peachy and swell, until one day I noticed a white discoloration on the hammock. I thought at first it was just a trick of the lighting, but within a few days, the white patches had erupted into a sea of little white spines. The spines were fine, almost like hair, maybe 3-5mm in length. I wish I had taken a picture, because it was really neat, but also horrifying.

I went to remove the hammock, but as I did the slightest bit of motion caused the spikes to emit a fine cloud of white spores all over the tank. I quickly threw down paper towels over the substrate in hopes of catching some of it, but alas I'm 100% sure I'm going to have to deep clean the entire tank. The white spines were extremely brittle and volatile, seeming to disentegrate as soon as they touched water. I'll boil the hammock and give it a long salt-water soak before putting it back in the tank, but in the meantime, has anyone ever encountered the mold/fungus in their crabitat before? Just curious what it might have been, how dangerous it is, etc.

Thanks!

[IsolatedShadow]

Hello all, this is less a call for help but more of a curiosity. Recently I added a seagrass hammock to the crabitat to give our crabs something new to climb on (a few of them had the habit of inverting themselves on the metal mesh roof of the tank and getting stuck there). It was a big hit, like a bouncy castle at a birthday party. All was going peachy and swell, until one day I noticed a white discoloration on the hammock. I thought at first it was just a trick of the lighting, but within a few days, the white patches had erupted into a sea of little white spines. The spines were fine, almost like hair, maybe 3-5mm in length. I wish I had taken a picture, because it was really neat, but also horrifying.

I went to remove the hammock, but as I did the slightest bit of motion caused the spikes to emit a fine cloud of white spores all over the tank. I quickly threw down paper towels over the substrate in hopes of catching some of it, but alas I'm 100% sure I'm going to have to deep clean the entire tank. The white spines were extremely brittle and volatile, seeming to disentegrate as soon as they touched water. I'll boil the hammock and give it a long salt-water soak before putting it back in the tank, but in the meantime, has anyone ever encountered the mold/fungus in their crabitat before? Just curious what it might have been, how dangerous it is, etc.

Thanks!

Mold is usually not harmful to our crabby buddies. In fact, sometimes they like to chow down on it, lol. It's fine to clean the hammock, but do be aware that it could reappear rather quickly (I know from experience). Some people do let the mold run its course but once it's gone it usually doesn't come back, far as I've seen.

[Crabby in NJ]

Hello all, this is less a call for help but more of a curiosity. Recently I added a seagrass hammock to the crabitat to give our crabs something new to climb on (a few of them had the habit of inverting themselves on the metal mesh roof of the tank and getting stuck there). It was a big hit, like a bouncy castle at a birthday party. All was going peachy and swell, until one day I noticed a white discoloration on the hammock. I thought at first it was just a trick of the lighting, but within a few days, the white patches had erupted into a sea of little white spines. The spines were fine, almost like hair, maybe 3-5mm in length. I wish I had taken a picture, because it was really neat, but also horrifying.

I went to remove the hammock, but as I did the slightest bit of motion caused the spikes to emit a fine cloud of white spores all over the tank. I quickly threw down paper towels over the substrate in hopes of catching some of it, but alas I'm 100% sure I'm going to have to deep clean the entire tank. The white spines were extremely brittle and volatile, seeming to disentegrate as soon as they touched water. I'll boil the hammock and give it a long salt-water soak before putting it back in the tank, but in the meantime, has anyone ever encountered the mold/fungus in their crabitat before? Just curious what it might have been, how dangerous it is, etc.

Thanks!

I actually bought two different types of these by penn plax on Walmart’s site awhile back. Let’s just say, they had green and white mold and even though one crab climbed every now and again, I decided to throw one away and still have one I’m undecided on. I don’t think it bothers the crabs but to me, I like to play it as safe as possible and it’s kinda ugly anyways.

It is normal apparently, so however you choose to handle it is up to you if you don’t mind it, enjoy the time u are able to see your crabbies on the thing. Mine really don’t like to climb except the one like I said. He does once in awhile but their are other things for him so it didn’t bother me much to toss the stuff. Hope that answered somewhat? Lol good luck whatever u choose to do!

[wodesorel]

Seagrass and corn stalk baskets and nets are notorious for molding. Boiling in heavily salted water (kosher salt is safe and much cheaper!) can sometimes get it to stop, but its the moisture in the tank that does it.

Usually these molds will only affect strong organic matter, so the substrate and other decor won't be affected.