Reptile & Amphibian Forums

while out searching for various live moss species for my vivarium,i came across what i thought at the time,to be a species of moss growing all over a live tree trunk.i had just read an article on growing moss indoors and they reccomend taking a moss clump and rubbing it all over something youd like to grow moss on,then keeping it wet and after a couple weeks,you will see moss begin to grow if the conditions are right and the humidity is kept up as well.anyway,i did just this and rubbed it all over my back wall and dead wood accents in my tank.then,about 4 -5 days later,i can see it begining to take hold on almost all the wood i rubbed it on.its spreading a lot faster than i was told or expected.this has me thinking maybe what i have is not moss at all,but some sort of fungus or litchen.to describe what i have would be hard,but ill try.its a moss colored green,but upon close inspection,its not fuzzy like moss,but more crusty,it covers very heavy and has a texture you can feel but its not fuzzy per say.it basically covers evenly a nice green color but occasionaly,it forms kinda like a 4 leaf clover pattern,but they are not leaves,more like a fungus texture.the thing that makes me feel its not fungus is that its nice,moss green.some areas are a nice really bright green but most is a darker green.(never seen green fungus)it looks amazing and really contributes to the jungle look and its growing like crazy but now im a bit worried that,since its growing so fast,i may not have moss here and maybe something harmful to my plants and animals.id say its a litchen,and what i have read,litches are a mix of moss or algae and a fungus living together.this seems right no the money but i always thought litches grew very,very slowly.not this.i imagine ,at this rate,in about 2 weeks it will have covered my entire back wall of tree back.by the way,its not cork tree bark but its actual tree bark i collected outside and sterilzed.anyway,please put my mind at ease or tell me to burn my cage.id like to know.it really looks great though.thanks i know you guys have the answer or at least a good guess.

Let it grow and see what happens. Many ferns and some mosses form a kind of prothalium-liverwort-like flakes before going through the next stage in developing the fruiting body. It is not pathogenic to anything in your vivarium, including your frogs. Just enjoy and watch what happens next. If it's an algae of some sort, this is also a part of the biological process, as are fungi. While there are indeed pathological molds and other fungi, these are not usually manifested as conspicuous growth in vivariums, or even rain forest floors. If you can see it growing conspicuously, it's harmless, and probably good. You cannot possibly keep a planted vivarium going without encountering various molds, fungi, algae, mushrooms, cropping up. Rather than indicating a problem, they indicate a sound system of biological recycling. Unless a human or animal is immunocompromised, (such as humans with HIV or on immunosuppressants) they aren't susceptible to the everyday fungi we can see. The pathogens, on the other hand, are not as conspicuous, and often difficult to see or even grow on an agar plate and identify. In other words, if it's out there green and flourishing, or running around in strands all over the surface, or shooting up stalks of shrooms, just sit back and enjoy the show.
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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

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