While mycelium has already been shaped into surfboards, the fungus-based material is now being tested in a more delicate setting: aquariums, where durability and material safety matter just as much as appearance.
The development is drawing interest because it hints at a future in which some of the foam products people bring into their homes could be grown instead of made from petroleum-based Styrofoam.
Here's what to know
In a post on Reddit's r/Futurology, the company MUD RAT shared a new milestone: a first mushroom aquarium prototype built from pH-neutral mushroom foam, following the company's earlier mycelium surfboard work.
Because mycelium is the rootlike network of fungi, it has been explored for molded uses that might otherwise rely on plastic-style foams, including packaging and similar products.
Applying it to an aquarium-related build raises the stakes compared with a surfboard concept by pushing the material toward a more demanding real-world use.
Tank setups leave little room for incompatible materials.
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Items used in or near an aquarium must not affect water conditions, so the foam's pH neutrality matters for both installation and upkeep.
That kind of specialized molding potential could eventually matter beyond aquariums if it helps displace some of the foam waste generated by common consumer products.
More background
Styrofoam stays widely used for a reason: it is cheap, light, and easy to form.
Its convenience, however, comes with a major waste downside, especially once large pieces of packaging begin accumulating in homes and garages.
Mycelium offers a different path because the material is grown into the desired shape rather than made from fossil-fuel-based materials, potentially reducing dependence on conventional plastics.
Compared with basic packaging, an aquarium-related prototype is a tougher proving ground. Anything decorative or structural around a tank must remain stable, making this a practical test of whether mushroom foam can handle day-to-day use.
Sustainable materials tend to gain traction when they preserve convenience.
If mycelium products can be durable, neutral, and useful, they may reduce the need to dispose of hard-to-discard household foam without asking people to give up the functions they expect.
What's being done?
Rather than treating the surfboard as a one-off demonstration, developers are trying mycelium in additional product areas.
Testing aquarium applications is one sign that they want to evaluate the material where performance carries more weight.
For lower-waste substitutes to spread, they have to work as ordinary products rather than curiosities. A foam replacement suited to pet items, household goods, or protective packaging could make sustainable choices easier to fold into everyday habits.
Experiments like this can also clarify the material's limits and strengths for manufacturers.
If a given mycelium formula remains pH-neutral while maintaining its shape, it could become a candidate for specialized uses long filled with Styrofoam.
Mycelium is unlikely to take over every foam application anytime soon. Still, replacements are moving closer to jobs like cushioning purchases, reducing disposal headaches, and cutting household waste while maintaining safety and function.
Forward-looking users on the subreddit praised the company's novel efforts and asked about further applications.
"Can you grow 'patches' for things when they need repair? Sustainable repairing of insulation would be HUGE," one replied.
"This is very cool. It isn't that often we get to see in this subreddit someone personally working on a new tech talk about and link to what they are doing," another wrote.
This aquarium prototype still falls short of proving that mycelium can replace Styrofoam altogether, but it does move the idea from "growing surfboards from mycelium" toward a sterner test in home products people could someday buy.
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