HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hi guys, I’m pretty sure I already know what the answer to this is, but I’m curious to know what’s going on.
I have a yellow fungus growing in my substrate. I’ll toss it and replace the substrate but what could have caused this? My humidity hasn’t been too wet because the dry winter air. Maybe the crabs brought stuff down there and it rotted?
Let me know if you know what this is or what caused it.



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Is it just on the surface? To me it looks like the crabs dragged bits and pieces of food that molded - in which case you don't need to replace all the sub, just scoop out the funky bits and carry on!

curlysister wrote:Is it just on the surface? To me it looks like the crabs dragged bits and pieces of food that molded - in which case you don't need to replace all the sub, just scoop out the funky bits and carry on!

It’s underneath the surface, that yellow stuff on the glass. It’s hard to get a good picture of it but it looks like a fungus, kind of rubbery.


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That is definitely odd. When you mixed your substrate, did you use dechlorinated freshwater or dechlorinated marine saltwater? I personally prefer using dechlorinated marine saltwater as I feel like it helps prohibit mold growth.

This is yellow flowerpot mushrooms, annoying but also harmless to the crabs. The spores are common in many environments and all it takes is moisture to get it growing. In my experience it's self limiting and seasonal. Springtails are the best way to combat growth as they love eating mushrooms and mycelium!