That's a good question few people think to ask. I think the fungal forms we see at first are a stage of the fungus that is visibly growing on organic material that is in an early stage of being broken down. Many fungi are dimorphic and we actually see only the visible sporulating stages of some or spreading mycelium. This stage probably lasts only a long as the media supports it and before competition such as algae, soil bacteria, etc. take over. It probably still remains either in microscopic form or as one of the inactive spore forms. A very common phenomenon is the growth of a web-like mycelia on the glass in newer tanks. As you wipe down the inside of the glass over time, you may notice that this is replaced by a greenish algae. Actually few fungi are pathogenic to living tissue and those that are are usually relatively specific for a particular disease. Many fungi can be opportunistic pathogens and invade debilitated or already diseased plants or animals, but as long as the conditions in your vivarium are suitable to the plants growing there (i.e. appropriate heat, humdity, water saturation, etc.) what you see isn't harmful.



We began to see a lot of weird fungal infections in humans with the advent of AIDS and with the widespread use of immunosuppressant therapy for transplant surgeries. Ordinarily bengign fungi became opportunistic pathogens in many of these people. I think one of the most memorable was in a heart valve replacement that a mycologist presented at one of the seminars I attended some years ago. The patient of course was on immunosuppressants so the new valve wouldn't be rejected. A few weeks later there were some obvious problems and the heart had to be opened up again, where the surgeons found an inkcap mushroom actually growing at the surgery site. So just about anything is possible under different circumstances. Fortunately, we are not dealing with anything like this in our attempts at biologically balanced vivariums.
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Patty

Pahsimeroi, Idaho



4 D. auratus blue

5 D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back

5 D. imitator

6 D. leucomelas

4 D. pumilio Bastimentos

4 D. fantasticus

4 P. terribilis

4 D. reticulatus

4 D. castaneoticus

2 D. azureus

4 P vittatus

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