Mushroom dying or spreading?

[mr_X]

hey people.
put your thinking caps on....
i purchased some mushrooms about 2 weeks ago and they have been acting fine, opening up when the lights are on, shrinking when they are off.
no marks or blemishes at all.
just now i looked into the tank and noticed that either one of the mushrooms is breaking away from the pack to spread, or something undesirable is happening.
i picked the rock up they were on about a week ago and touched them, and they shriveled and spit out some sort of string-like internal organ or something, then after a while they sucked it back in and were fine.
the reason i tell you this is because the shroom that is possibly splitting off, has that weird organ-like stringy thing hanging out as well.
hope the pics help. i need to spend more than 129.00 on a camera

anyway..no ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate, salinity is between 1.020 and 1.021
phosphates are non existant, and there is plenty of calcium in the tank.
one more thing, the one that seems to be breaking away is very shriveled compared to the rest.
thanks.

 

[SnowManSnow]

the do reproduce by "tearing away".

b

 

[Anonymous]

Yup, Snow's right that's how they reproduce. Amazing how you can actually dice one up like a pizza and have it recover. Usually all they need in the "part" that splits off is a portion of the center orifice and it recovers just fine.

 

[mr_X]

okey.....i hope they do actually, i'd like em to spread around some. how often would you say that this happens?

 

[Anonymous]

Depends. If they like the water conditions and if you spot feed them they grow much faster and split more often. Try enriched frozen baby brine feed via syringe or a gentle waft from a turkey baster.

:twisted: But beware, a lot of hobbyists look at mushrooms like weeds they can take over a tank so fast!

 

[dnorton1978]

anyway..no ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate, salinity is between 1.020 and 1.021

Just my opinion, but the salinity seems quite a bit low. Nothing to do with the shroom though. I just went through some splitting, and that looks and sounds very similiar.

 

[mr_X]

what do i have in my tank that requires a higher salinity?
i was under the impression starfish like it on the lesser side?

 

[Anonymous]

what do i have in my tank that requires a higher salinity?
i was under the impression starfish like it on the lesser side?

Good catch Doni, I missed that. No, starfish and all inverts (corals, snails etc) like a "normal" salinity range, 1.025-26. Fish can take a lower SG, and some people keep their tanks lower because it can help stop parasites.

That could be why the 'shrooms are splitting, as stressful conditions cause them to do that as well as excellent conditions (right light and feeding).

 

[mr_X]

ok..i'll fix that in a jiffy, just dump a bucket of salt right on the little guys!
:twisted:
btw, how do you all add salt?
i mix a concentrated amount in a bucket and let it drip slowly into the sump area....sound good?

 

[Anonymous]

ok..i'll fix that in a jiffy, just dump a bucket of salt right on the little guys!
:twisted:
btw, how do you all add salt?
i mix a concentrated amount in a bucket and let it drip slowly into the sump area....sound good?

Nope, raise it over the course of a week or you'll shock everything in the tank. You can raise it by not adding as much makeup/evaporation freshwater on a daily basis, and keep checking the SG level. Or by using a weak solution of salt and freshwater as your makeup water. Your starfish will react poorly to a sudden up or down of SG so go slowly.

 

[mr_X]

ok. thanks. :wink:

 

[mr_X]

here is the latest pic of that partcular group of shrooms. note the small one in front down bottom- that's the one in question.

 

[lillum]

Hey Doug,

This picture is a lot easier to see. Ffrom this perspective, it looks to me like a smaller mushroom. It looks well filled out, as can be seen in the numerous nubby thingies on the surface.

Just as a reference, I always kept my salinity at 1.023. That may be the key to what's going on with the mushroom.

I know one of the mushrooms was in the process of dividing when you bought the coral. In my experience, what they do is elongate and become sort of oval shaped. This becomes progressively more pronounced and then the disc begins to split down the center until it becomes two separate discs.

I couldn't open the picture you sent, so I'm glad you sent this link. I can't see a stringy thing in the picture though. Where is it coming from--the mouth?

Lori

 

[mr_X]

na..not the mouth. although, this appears to be the same stuff that spewed out of the mouth when i touched them, but now it's coming from the split area.
as of now, they have totally seperated. i just learned that the rock they sat on was cracked. i think these creatures know "sure footing" and this is the reason why the split happened. so now i have moved the "rogue shroom" to his own area, in the hopes that he's ok. he sits there slightly shriveled. hope tomorrow brings something better for him. :wink:

 

[shavo]

look at my little "big" doug all grown up in the salt water conversations!!
very impressed
"The force is strong in him, but he is not a Jedi yet"

dude the pics look great and I am slightly jealous, good job!!!!

BTW, my tank has settled down, i bought a cleaner wrasse and another cleaner shrimp and turned the UZV on full time.

right now no ick

fingers crossed

talk to you later!

 

[shavo]

look at my little "big" doug all grown up in the salt water conversations!!
very impressed
"The force is strong in him, but he is not a Jedi yet"

dude the pics look great and I am slightly jealous, good job!!!!

BTW, my tank has settled down, i bought a cleaner wrasse and another cleaner shrimp and turned the UZV on full time.

right now no ick

fingers crossed

talk to you later!

 

[mr_X]

that's good to hear chris.
how is that cleaner wrasse doing? is he doing his job?

btw i am almost afraid to raise the salinity now because i have a powder brown who battles ich parasites as well.
i'm afraid if i raise it, they will multiply like crazy! what should i do?

 

[shavo]

ok i bought a cleaner wrasse and another cleaner shrimp, I didn't think they were doing much but viewing my fish in the twilight hours i see that that is the time when they actually clean them. they were out and about and going to every fish

you have a cleaner shrimp right?

 

[lillum]

Hey Doug,

About the ick-- someone told me years ago that ick are more sensitive to low salinity than the fish. If you gradually lower the salinity, the ick will drop off of the fish, but they remain in the sand. It's necessary to keep the salinity low for at least three weeks, until the ick complete their life/reproductive cycle. They can't reproduce in lower salinities and they will only live for about three weeks, so after three weeks, you should be fairly ick free.

That's how I handled any outbreaks over the years and it seemed to work, though I usually kept the salinity low for at least a month. When there was an outbreak I'd take the salinity as low as 1.019 or 1.018. I've had some folks disagree with taking the salinity down that far, but I never had an issue as long as I did very slowly--over a period of a couple of weeks, and it was the only way I found to completely rid the fish of the ick. Then when raising it back up, it was done very slowly again.

If you decide to go that route, watch the animals very carefully to be sure they aren't being stressed too much. If you see any signs of stress, back off for a few days before reducing the salinity any more. You might want to increase the salinity a notch temporarily, then start reducing it again.

It's tough when you've got a reef tank since you can't medicate, but lowering the salinity is a natural way to get rid of the pesky critters, without stressing hte animals too much.

Lori

 

[mr_X]

yes, i have a cleaner shrimp...who works overtime!
meanwhile, about the ich.
my salinity has always been on the low side. i don't remember why, where, how, i came to thinking that the lower salinity was better, but that's how it's been since the beginning.
the single mushroom now is quite shriveled, and has his butt or whatever, sticking out of the middle slightly, and appears to be making himself slowly round again. what i mean by that is, when he ripped off initially, he was kinda half moon shaped, now he is becoming more round. this could be the fact that he's withering away, but hopefully not.