--= do you shroom? =--

[davelin315]

Hey AuroraDave, what's the name of that store? That's a pretty good deal around here (I was in a store the other day that was asking for $100 for a rock with about 6 mushrooms on it, what a rip off!).

 

[AuroraDave]

Davelin--
Petland in Naperville, IL
On Rt 59 near Wal-Mart across from FoxValley Mall.
I was there Friday and Paul has a lot of Green Ricordia polyps at $5.99 ea

I am guessing you are referring to Living Seas since you live in Park Ridge. They just got some more florescent yellow ricordia in this week, but you are right... it is more $ since it is attached to rock.

 

[esmithiii]

TazDevil- WPG means nothing. What is more important is type of lights, wattage and tank depth.

What kind of lights do you have? How big is your tank?

E

 

[bowser]

I love the mushrooms, there are so many different kinds to get, and they are so easy to care for.
I recently bought a rock with a bunch of zoanthids (sp?) and 3 mushrooms that were hiding (very effectively I might add) in the rock. One of them is I think an elephant ear. This has been in my tank for about 2 weeks and has doubled in size since then. Very round brown disk, with many individual tentacles spaced out on the disk, not on the edges at all. This one does have me concerned, I believe I have read that when the elephant ear gets bigger, it is capable of eating fish? Is that correct?

 

[SPC]

That is correct.
Steve

 

[Anonymous]

I prefer the green or blue metallic shrooms. I sell them to the LFS all the time. They reproduce very quickly. You could make some decent money selling ricordea shrooms. You would also be somewhat of a conservationist by growing hairy shrooms.

GL

Dan

 

[HARRISON]

Only when its hungry

 

[micahdeane]

i have a 55g with 2 watts per gallon what kind of shrooms and other things like that could i keep? also what kind of water movement do i need?
thanks for the help

 

[esmithiii]

Once again, Watts per Gallon is meaningless. Tell us what kind of lights (I am assuming PC) what color temp the bulbs are, how high the bulbs are off the water, how deep the tank is and we can advise as to the adequecy of your lighting.

I assume you have a Standard 55G, which is 18" high, and that you are using 2 daylight 55W PC bulbs over your tank. In this configuration, many mushrooms will be prolific when placed about mid-way up the tank (about 10" from the bulbs)

I had the same setup and successfully kept 4 or 5 different varieties of mushrooms. Be aware that there is a 65W bulb that fits your fixture (same length, bigger diameter) that works with most ballasts. I would recommend that when you replace your bulbs you use the 65W bulbs. Also, if you were to add 2 more 55W (or 65W bulbs) you could keep a lot more corals.

Ernie

 

[micahdeane]

the bulbs are:
2 15 watt sunshine wide spectrum
1 40 watt sunshine wide spectrum
1 40 watt blue actinic
yes my tank is 18' tall
how much are those and 65 watt bulbs and where can i get those
thanks

 

[Anonymous]

hi micahdeane,

lighting questions like that are a whole different thread. you may want to look into the archives and find a few threads.
NO = normal output
HO = high output
VHO = very high output
PC = power compacts
MH = metal halide

For your 55 I would advise you plan out what you want to keep, and invest in the right lighting system. This will require you check out a few books and see what the various organisms demand.
Plan on spending a good chunk o' change on lighting. It is a big up-front expense.
Some books to read are John Tullock's "Natural Reef Aquariums"
Robert Fenner's "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist"
Eric Borneman's "Aquarium Corals" and
Delbeek & Sprung "The Reef Aquarium Vol. 1 & 2"
Those books will answer many questions.
Keep researching, and we'll be here to answer any questions you have.

 

[Mouse]

Have read many posts from long term aquarists cursing these mushrooms especially. Most type of shrooms are controlable but these seem to spread like wild fire overtaking tanks. Beware

 

[whirley]

I found that most mushrooms will accept any type of lights. I've even seen mushrooms really close to 400 MH's and loving it !

Just a thought.

whirley

 

[esmithiii]

micahdeane,

It sounds like you have NO (Normal output bulbs), which will probably not be enough for the mushrooms, although I have heard some scattered success under NO lighting. The 65W bulbs I mentioned are power compacts, and will require a difference ballast. You should probably research what you want to keep in your 55G, and then decide on lighting. Check out this quick primer on lighting:

Premium Aquatics on Lighting

I think that they are too liberal on their assessment of what can be kept with the difference type lighting. I would suggest that you err on the side of too much light than not enough if you follow their advice.

Let us know what you want to keep and we will advise you on the best route to adding lighting. If you or someone you know are handy then you can make your own hood and save you some dough.

Ernie

Ernie

 

[Anonymous]

The three types of shrooms in my tank :

Green hairy mushroom :

Watermelon mushroom :

Brown ricordia mushroom :

I want to get more, but with the holidays coming up I actually have to spend money on other people...grrr...

Peace,

Chip

 

[Deo]

Wow! Never realized how much treasure i have until i read this post. I have red ricordeas (really red), orange & green ones (not full colored, i can only see the orange/green colors beneath the bubbles. With actinics only, they really shine. I'll see if i can post pics on Monday.