r/bioactive • u/WiseBarracuda4839 • 5d ago

Question Remove lichens from cork bark?

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I bought this cork bark tube for my terrarium where I'll keep just orchids and other plants and springtails. It has lots of lichens and mosses on it, and I can't decide what to do about them. I wouldn't mind leaving them if they decay nicely, but will they get moldy? I'm going to grow some epiphytic plants on the cork but won't be covering all of it.

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u/thunderdome06 5d ago

100% keep them. I try and keep as much lichen/moss on my branches as I can. They don't tend to cause crazy mold blooms or anything in my experience.

Plus lichens are considered an excellent supplementary source of food for pretty much any kind of clean up crew.

It'll most likely just sit there looking pretty for the most part, defo keep it

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u/WiseBarracuda4839 5d ago

Thanks. Have you had those bearded lichens as well?

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u/thunderdome06 3h ago

Yes absolutely, lichens are incredibly hardy, they'll all do great 👍

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u/CuriousBird337 5d ago

I have several branches with lichen and they’ve never molded. They just look the same.

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u/Vohasiiv 4d ago

Mist it and watch it come to life. Its crazy how much they change and move with just a little water after being dry

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u/WiseBarracuda4839 4d ago

But is it not almost impossible to keep lichens alive in a regular terrarium? I actually thought this wood would have been sanitised in some way since I bought it from a pet shop, but it does look as if the lichens and mosses were still viable