Mushrooms growing underneath soil in formicarium

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OBlock123
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Joined: Wed Aug 04, 2021 4:44 pm
Location: NYC

Mushrooms growing underneath soil in formicarium

Post: # 97184Post OBlock123
Fri Nov 04, 2022 4:10 pm

So I have a large colony of monomorium min. (10k-20k) housed in a 10gallon open top aquarium setup, and lately I've been noticing some fungi growing both above and more curiously, below the soil. I just want to make sure that this does not pose a serious threat to the ants.

Some background: I moved them into this setup in June of this year, and its been a huge success. Its a fairly simple setup: 10 gallon tank filled about halfway up with soil (yes, theres a layer of carbon and a mesh/drainage layer as well). On the surface there's multiple different plants and mosses, which have grown along with the colony due to consistent exposure to sunlight throughout the day. There's also a fair amount of biodiversity, with a number of different soil creatures including a thriving springtail population. Overall, the whole tank weighs around 70-80 pounds, and provides really amazing views into the intricate tunnel networks built along the glass. During the summer, I had a heating cable taped around 2 sides of the tank so there was always a variance heat/moisture throughout different parts of the nest.

And the heating cable is where my trouble begins, because once it was removed a month ago in preparation for hibernation, I began to notice small yellowish/green balls popping up in different areas of the tank along the glass. I knew it was likely fungus, and figured it was just food that had gone bad, but wasn't worried because the soil critters have always done an excellent job of keeping fungal outbreaks under control. The balls along the glass didn't seem to be growing in size, and there hasnt been any significant increase in their numbers since I first noticed them. They did not form in clusters, and were both deep below the surface and close to the surface.

However, this week I looked in and saw one of those same yellow/green balls on the surface of the soil; in the morning it had barely poked out, but by midday it had emerged fully and its stem was exposed. Within 24 hours of it breaking through the soils surface, the small yellow/green ball had "bloomed" into a flatheaded mushroom, and had shriveled up and died within another 24 hours. This has happened 3 times now, and I see an additional 2 more heads poking through the soil surface today. The ants do not seem to be bothered by the mushrooms, and seem to just be letting nature take its course.

This is my first time having a large formicarium like this, and I know absolutely nothing about fungi.... Should I be concerned that this fungi has found success within the formicarium? Is it normal to have fungi growing deep under the soil like it is now? Is this a sign of bigger issues, or is it a sign that the formicarium is diverse and thriving? So many questions!!

I will also add that in the next 2 weeks, the ants will be put away into the fridge for the winter for hibernation. Is this something that could pose a risk to them during hibernation

Any and all info would be helpful! Thank you!

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Antloverhuman
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Location: Delhi, India

Re: Mushrooms growing underneath soil in formicarium

Post: # 97916Post Antloverhuman
Sun Jan 22, 2023 1:02 am

The balls are the spores of mushrooms. With much humidity and right temperature, in such a large setup, mushrooms are bound to grow. But in nature, these ants will have mushrooms growing by their nest. So i think it is not that big of a problem yet. Also i think after the hibernation, the fungus will die almost completely and won't come back for a few months. But if you see alot of dead ants, it would be best to shift them. But putting any sorts of anti-fungal products is definitely going to harm the ants, so don't do anything yet. You can also just remove the grown mushrooms by hand to help reduce further outbreak
Ants I have-
camponotus compressus colony- the shadow warriors.
Pls just let me have a tetramorium colony

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