Mushrooms are taking over my tank!

[l8_apex_it]

Any good recommendations for removing mushrooms from a tank? I have tried kalkwasser in the past and it would seem to affect them for the 1st two days... but then they would come back like nothing ever happened. Crazy things!

Be careful of mushrooms and green star polyps. After having my tank for 10 years my tank is being overtaken with Mushrooms and Green Star polyps. I would sell the rocks but I really like the rock and most of it is Fiji rock I believe. I just don't find rock like it much any more....

Any good suggestions for slowly cleaning up areas? I am open to doing it by moving more aggressive coral. Woud frogspawn win the battle over mushrooms? I wouldn't want ot harm the frogspawn!!

 

[Anonymous]

I don't know, selling rocks sounds like a good idea, you can always get more.

One thing I've found is using a pair of the long handled toe/finger nail clippers (looks like a pair of wirecutters with a slightly curved blade) allows you to get under the mushrooms and snip them at the base, or through the rock (most live rock is soft enough to chew through), then sell/give away the mushrooms to locals. However this could be a long tedious process of removing one at a time.

 

[mr_X]

where are you located? what do they look like? i might take some :wink:

 

[trido]

If you have MH you could just put the shrooms real high under the lights for a few weeks. That should fry them in no time.

 

[jay24k]

Unfortunately that won't work.

Someone gave me a good idea I'm going to try. Get some aquamend putty. Flatten it out and put super glue gel on it and mold it to a rock. After 2 weeks, use a butter knife and rip it off and they should be dead. I'm going to do that on a few problems area. Other then that, if you can remove the rock, I'd sell it or trade it for good rock.

 

[l8_apex_it]

I like the putty idea....

I might try kalkwaser paste followed by the aquamend putty on top to hold it in place longer. I haven't tried the putty before but I imagine once I get it I will find quite a few other reef applications for it.

Thanks for the idea!

 

[Anonymous]

where are you located? what do they look like? i might take some :wink:

Ditto.
Where is Sunnyvale?
??????????????????
That was wierd...I posted this in another thread....Does this happen often???

Nevermind... my mistake, I have like 3 windows open and several tabs in each..
Anyway I would be happy to take some off your hands. I'm in Oceanside.

 

[l8_apex_it]

I have both green hairy mushrooms and a purple mushroom competing to take over the tank.

 

[Len]

I've tried kalk paste and also a more potent 50% NaOH. They will work (NaOH works better) to melt shrooms, but mine kept growing back faster then I could kill them If your shroom population isn't too out of control yet, you may have a shot. I was too late when I began addressing it.

No more shrooms or zoas in my tanks from now on

 

[Anonymous]

So you don't want to sell the rock because it's a really nice rock, but you don't mind slapping putty over it all?

 

[l8_apex_it]

Len
It might be as you described for yourself and beyond repair. I tried it with green hairy mushrooms a year ago or so. IT was amazing at how quickly the mushroom melted and seemed as though it would be gone. But then it would grow back as though nothing happened.

sfsuphysics
I figured I could do small patches at a time and then remove the putty with mushrooms dead and gone. I didn't see it as a permanent item and I didnt' see it as destructive action to the rock itself.

The rock seems to have more open spaces than most of the rock I see for sale at the LFS. Maybe I need to check out a few other LFS in the area for quality live rock.


It is funny how in the beginning you want to Mushrooms, Green Star Polyps, and Xenia because they grow easily and look good. Then years later when they are taking over the tank and choking other corals you really regret your earlier decisions!

 

[spanko]

Frag and sell. This is the perfect position for you to be in. Frag swaps, LFS'S, other reefers (especially noobies). Frag and sell. Even for only LFS credit for something later, salt etc. No matter how much you sell it for you get more than it's worth to you at this point. Don''t kill it. Frag and sell.

IMHO

 

[mr_X]

send me some green hairy shrooms! i was JUST gonna buy some this weekend- pm me with details please.

 

[Anonymous]

Or if you kill them and they grow back, just keep killing them, waiting for them to grow back and kill them again, and write it down as a "maintainence" issue.

 

[holldoll]

I'm in Fremont, I'd gladly take some of the hairy ones from you!
PM me!

 

[l8_apex_it]

You can't fully see the left side being taken over by mushrooms but they are slowly taking up every spot they can around and on the leather...