Fish tank fungi

[worimi]

I'm looking at converting an old fish tank into a small rainforrest. I was thinking of putting a few salvias, coleus, peperomia and pilea (maybe even a St. paulia) together to create a nice lounge room feature. In this humid environment I would also like to grow P. cubensis on some old decaying timber as the centre piece. Firstly what type of timber should I use and would this work. I have a feeling that it will, but any pointers would be very helpful.

As the fungi will be researched I will be taking all precautions to prevent contamination eg soil-less media and sodium hypochloride sterilisation of all plants, tools and glass surfaces.

I know this may sound strange but imagine having your our micro-climate to sit back and watch. Beats watching the idiot box (with some exceptions of course!).

[This message has been edited by worimi (edited 19 October 2000).]

[Guest reville]

P cubensis might not be the best species to use as it is originally a dung lover

There are woodloving fungi but the environmental parameters indoors might be a problem

However i am not speaking from experience only from limited research

[worimi]

I here what you are saying. I will give it a go with A. muscari. Know of any other funky fungi that would be suitable.

[Guest Ramon]

Creating the mico-climate sounds like a excellent idea.

Psilocybe cyanescens might be a good idea as I believe it is supposed to grow on wood or decomposing wood.

The A.muscari would probably look better. But I believe P.cyanescens might be more appreciated.

[Guest Silly Billy]

actually warimi i heard that a muscaria is *very* hard to grow if your not in a pine forest

[Guest Psi]

Originally posted by Silly Billy:

actually warimi i heard that a muscaria is *very* hard to grow if your not in a pine forest

I'll second that hearsay. I've heard that A. muscaria requires very specific conditions that occur only near the roots of certain trees.

If you're willing to cheat a bit, you might try putting a traditional P. cubensis rice cake into a hole in a decaying piece of wood. Cover with a bit of loose bark and no one's the wiser. Using pre-colonised cakes might make sterilisation of your environment a bit less of an issue as well. Keep us updated.

Psi

[Guest reville]

you are right about the A muscaria

it is an obligate mycorrhizal fungi- that means it can only grow in association with a plant host - the host range is fairly big bu it mostly large woody shrubs and trees

Id go the cake idea - cheating but aesthetic

Id try plain cubensis too - panaeoleus is reported to be difficult to keep from contam.

id like to confirm this but i still cant get my damn spores to germinate.

grrrr

[Guest reville]

you are right about the A muscaria

it is an obligate mycorrhizal fungi- that means it can only grow in association with a plant host - the host range is fairly big bu it mostly large woody shrubs and trees

Id go the cake idea - cheating but aesthetic

Id try plain cubensis too - panaeoleus is reported to be difficult to keep from contam.

id like to confirm this but i still cant get my damn spores to germinate.

grrrr

[dutchie]

Hiya all,I do have a wood loving cubensis that was a false collection of p.cyanescens in Mexico. It seems to do well on applewood or grain and will fruit on wood. Just wondering on the capabilities of other cubensis, if they too could be lignious feeders.... Now if I could only find that sporeprint...

D

[Guest jessie]

Maybe this is a silly idea but here goes... I would also really love to grow some A. muscaria one day - alas there are no suitable trees where i live. But what about a bonsai plant host? would this work? it would look pretty funny if it did - an enormous mushroom as big as the tree it was growing next to

[Ed Dunkel]

I have seen a bonsai with some LBM (little brown mushrooms) growning amongst it. They were pretty small and looked quite good next to the bonsai.

E D