ShroomHlthFAQ2

FAQs about Corallimorph Health/Disease/Pests 2

FAQs on Mushroom Disease: Mushroom Health 1, Mushroom Disease 2,
FAQs on Mushroom Disease by Category: Diagnosis, Environmental, , (Pollution/Poisoning, Lighting...), Nutritional, Social (Allelopathy), Trauma, Pathogenic (Infectious, Parasitic, Viral) Predatory/Pest, Treatments
& Mushroom Reproduction/Propagation,

Mushroom killing bacteria? 8/21/17
Hi Crew! I am at a total loss, I need help.
I run 2 tanks, my main 75 gallon display tank (established 3.5 years) and a newer (7/8 mth) 55 gallon 'frag tank'.
I am a big mushroom enthusiast, but also keep a variety of other soft corals, Zoanthids, lps and a couple small easy sps (birdsnests, montis).
<Mmm; you likely have heard/read that Zoas and Shrooms often "fight" chemically; more than most stony corals>
You'll hate to hear this but I have never been big on testing, I simply rely on frequent small water changes via drip, and constant observation for anything looking 'off'. I have a low fish stock in both (maroon clown, starry blenny, azure damsel, pink spotted watchmen and an unknown Anthias in the 75, and a small clarkii clown and azure in 55).
<I'm of the same "practice">
Up until recently both tanks have thrived, very minimal coral or fish loss over the past few years. Everything has always seemed very stable and well balanced, no issues with algae and in fact immediately before my current
issue my display tank looked the best it ever had.
But we all make mistakes, and I always learn from them, but in this case I think it's too late. I know I should have been quarantining everything and I have learned and now have a quarantine tank set up but as I said, too late.
<Mmm>
So on to my issue. A few months ago I purchased the coral contents of a fellow reefers tank with plans of fragging and reselling the corals. The vast majority were Euphyllia (torches, hammers, frogspawn, as well as a favia, large brain and some others) I placed them all in my frag tank, except one large plate that I didn't have space for that went into my display.
<The Euphyllias rank near the top for allelopathy amongst Scleractinians...
Oh how I wish you'd slowly acclimated the new to the established as gone over here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/cnidcompppt.htm
Within 24 hours the brain and plate both looked ill
<Losers to the mentioned combatants; classical>
and eventually started melting, and were covered in the dreaded brown jelly. Never having dealt with brown jelly before it was a great learning experience. I promptly removed both corals but the brown jelly didn't take long to affect the other Euphyllia (i suppose since they were not well established and under stress). I saw no ill effects on any corals in my main tank, assuming because they were well established and healthy. My attempts at fragging off dying pieces, treating in a separate tank with furan 2, dips with revive, rinsing in fw etc all failed. In the end i lost
the vast majority of Euphyllia that I had purchased, aside from the frogspawn which never seemed effected.
<More reading: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/envdisphysiof.htm
A few weeks later and all the Euphyllia in the frag tank were gone besides the frogspawn, and everything seemed back to normal, so I resumed my normal practices. I fragged some Rhodactis mushrooms in the frag tank,
<... Yeeikes; not in the tank; not this soon>
and to my surprise they melted. I have never had issues with fragging any mushrooms in the past. At the time I did not think it could be related, (and am still not sure it is) maybe I had just 'butchered' them or they weren't well established, so I simply decided to hold off on any fragging for a while. At some point I moved some mushrooms into my display, considering them quarantined and healthy. Weeks went by with no issues, now the nightmare starts.
A few weeks ago I lost one of my prize Rhodactis in my display. It had been doing amazing and was growing rapidly, and then didn't open fully for a couple days, then suddenly melted within hours. Since then many healthy
mushrooms (some that I have had for at least 3 years) have just suddenly melted away.
<A familiar "cascade" event>
Some first detach from the rock then disappear, some start expelling their guts then begin oozing from their mouths till they melt away, the odd one simply begins oozing from an outside edge then melts. These are healthy mushrooms, not recently fragged or damaged in any way. I have learned to syphon them out now as soon as i see it beginning, but I need to find a way to stop this!
<For now; just time going by: NO CHANGES>
So far it has only affected Rhodactis and Discosoma, I haven't lost a single Ricordea, or any other type of coral for that matter. The mushrooms that die are all in random places in the tank, it doesn't necessarily travel from one and then directly to it's neighbour. I even accidentally damaged a hammer coral while moving it (it and an anemone were getting dangerously close to each other ) and it has recovered quickly and without incident.
I've done large water changes and added carbon with no luck, just in case it was allelopathy.
<Ah, good>
I apologize for the long story, but I feel all details are necessary.
<They are; no worries>
Please help guide me, what steps should I take next? I have spent 3.5 years building my mushroom collection, this is devastating to me. I am normally very good at researching and problem solving on my own, but I feel I have
hit a dead end.
<IF you have other well-established systems to move some stock to, I would.
Otherwise, no further additions or fragging here for a few months>
The last thing I would like to note is that the only other major change I had made around the time this started was that I began feeding Reef Roids to the tank, although I am sure this is merely coincidental.
<Agreed. Bob Fenner>

Re: Mushroom killing bacteria? 8/22/17
Thanks for the reply Bob.
<Welcome Nic>
After doing some more reading on your site (I often find the site difficult to navigate but the information, once found,
is invaluable),

I have some more questions. Hopefully your answers may give me a greater clue as to what is going on and if there is a specific coral I need to eliminate from the systems.

Firstly, I have a friend whose tank is completely over run by one particular type of mushroom. He has thousands. A few months ago I offered to trade him a couple of his mushroom encrusted rocks for other corals.
Each of my tanks has a rock with many, many of these mushrooms.
They are not directly touching any corals, but I wonder, could these be a particularly potent type that could effect my other mushrooms (and only mushrooms) through allelopathy?
<Yes; of a certainty. Again, folks should REALLY trade a cup of water back and forth from their main/display and new arrivals/isolation system... for several weeks, ahead/before physically mixing new Cnidarians to established systems>
I have attached a photo of them in case it helps. I find it interesting that while they apparently spread like crazy and can be quite invasive,
each mushroom never seems to get bigger than a quarter.
<Mmm; the systematics, general biology of Corallimorpharians needs a great deal of work for sure. BobF>

Re: Mushroom killing bacteria? 8/22/17
Thanks again Bob.
4 years in this hobby and many years of research prior and I have never ever heard of 'acclimating to reduce the effects of allelopathy' before today.
<Dang! And tis a fave topic, addn. to presentations detailing stinging-celled life. Including my pitch this coming Sat. at MACNA... re Anemones>
I was always under the impression that some corals will not get along no matter what.
<Mmm; nope... there are all sorts of examples of them doing so in the wild and captivity. A matter of both acclimation (with space), and stability...
The last referring to NOT having great insults that result in a cascade effect as alluded to earlier>
I will try moving these mushrooms to my now empty quarantine tank for a while and see it makes any difference as oddly, none of these have yet to be affected.
<Please do keep me/us informed of your progress, observations. Bob Fenner>

Help! Something eating my corals in the middle of the night!
Hello! First I want to say thanks for all the information you guys provide, it's helped me get through a lot of sticky situation. I need your help once again. For the past several days I have looked all over your site and the rest of the Internet for an answer and have not been able to find one. This started about a week ago when I noticed my mushrooms that were close to the sand bed just completely vanishing overnight. Mushrooms that were close to the sand bed were BEAUTIFULLY opened all day and next day in the morning COMPLETELY gone and all I saw was slime covering where the mushroom used to
be and some mushrooms just the outside ring was left but the entire center was gone. First it happened to about 10 Ricordeas from literally one night to the next, then it happened to a huge colony of red and blue mushrooms.
On the 3rd day I decided to remove all sand and investigate, found nothing.
I decided I would put the alarm clock about 2 hours after lights shut off to investigate. I did this and the only thing I found was A TON of little round white and brown snail.
<Mmm; don't think they're the immediate cause. What other Cnidarians are here?>
Tried looking on internet but I believe may be some type of nerite snails, I don't think they are the problem because they were EVERYWHERE and not on top of any corals and I figured they can get to all corals not just the ones near the sand. Next night (after removing all my remaining mushrooms) now it was a few acan, chalice, and favia frags that were also on sand bed.
<Mmm; these too should not have out-warred Corallimorphs>
They are literally half eaten and all i see is a slimey residue and the skeleton underneath. I have since moved these corals to a higher location and they are doing fine now. I took another coral and put it on the sand bed right before I turned off the lights and sure enough by morning it was covered in slime and skeleton was all that was left. Please help! I don't know what else to do! There is still some sand left and I really don't want to remove ALL my sand but I will if I have to. Thanks.
<Well; such an overnight problem (vs. a little over weeks time) and w/ the Shrooms presenting as you state... Am guessing this is/was some sort of "melt down" prompted by a challenge to the Mushrooms... Did you do something the day ahead of the event? Like add a supplement, medication, algicide or such? You may gain solace and useful input from reading re other such events; here: http://wetwebmedia.com/toxicwipeoutf.htm
and the "same advice" listed there. Bob Fenner>
Re: Help! Something eating my corals in the middle of the night!
Thank you so much for the quick response! I also thought that maybe it was a series of events from maybe the mushroom toxins but I'm starting to rule that out because during the day all these corals that are waking up dead and covered in slime are nice and opened during the day and at night they're gone..
<... more like a chemical battle... Allelopathy>
Plus the ones that were affected were moved up and are doing well and others that were doing well up top, I moved down and were eaten that night.
I did see a couple of asterina stars which I forgot to mention. Can you please clarify which is the bad asterina vs the good ones and do they eat all types of corals?
<You can just look this up on WWM... the indices, search tool on every page>
So far it's been mushrooms, acans, chalices, favia, and all have been on the sand bed. Wall hammers, wall frogspawn,
<...? You didn't mention these Euphylliids in your orig. email... Read about these as well>
and Acroporas are unaffected. Any other ideas?
<Reading. BobF>
Thanks againGreen Hairy Mushroom blues... 3/1/14
Hi gang,
<Chuck>
I've got a 225 gallon reef, with lots of (probably too many) LPS and softies... the latter mainly Zoanthids and pulsing xenia.
<Yikes... very allelopathogenic groups>
Down on the bottom of the tank, I've had a horde of green hairy (frilly?) mushrooms
<Yowzah! The triumvirate!>
that have been bent-on-world-domination for a while.
<Heeeee!>
I trade them in at my LFS in batches... when they get out of control... which has been a regular occurrence two or three times a year.
No issue until last week... when I couldn't pay attention to the reef for a few days. Suddenly... all my green hairy mushrooms were shrunken and pale... down to maybe 10% of their normal size... and looked like they were dying.
<Yikes!>
I did a quick water change...
<And activated carbon...>
I've admittedly been negligent lately...
dosed some iodine... strontium... and later magnesium. The green frillies seem to have stabilized... and when I pull one up, it's got only its normal -- slightly noxious -- smell. They're still firm to the touch, and none are dissolving into moosh. All other corals look fine. For now...
The mushrooms seem to have stabilized... are firm to the touch, and some have begun to regain a bit of their normal color, and extend bits-of-frilliness outward again.
I've got another batch of water prepped... and will do a few more changes in the short run.
<Good>
My question is this:
Since they all declined so rapidly, is this likely to be a coral-chemistry allelopathy issue... or a lack of trace-elements... with some critical element suddenly in short supply?
<My bet is the first>
I've admittedly got an awful lot of purple tip frogspawn and grape coral in this tank... plus lots of xenia.
The only other thing I can think of is I've been giving my tangs quite a bit of blanched spinach lately... since they'd been on a dried Nori diet for too long, and fresh seaweed has become unavailable at the LFS's lately... I know for humans spinach is considered a decent dietary source of copper, and wonder if this could be the problem.
Thanks in advance for any help on this...
Chuck
<Whatever the trigger... am glad you appear to have arrested this "cascade event". Do see here re others experience:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/toxicwipeoutf.htm
Bob Fenner>

Mushrooms and Zoanthids... allelopathy, starvation knocked on, reading and great self-discovery! 10/10/13
I have hard and soft coral systems that range from Acros to polyps and everything in between. My levels are acceptable if not near perfect for all of my tanks.
<Perfect>
The tanks in question are a 75g drilled with 30 g sump. 80 watt led lighting, PhosGuard in a reactor,
<... you realize chemo- photo-synthetic life requires measurable soluble HPO4>
carbon in a bag a week out of the month, SeaChem matrix, refugium, two 750 gph powerheads, 1250 gph
pump.
Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate 0
<... sigh: and measurable NO3. Please read on WWM re>
phosphate less than .25, alk11, ph 8.22
daytime, I feed a mix of flakes heavily, bribe
<Brine likely; Artemia>
shrimp once a week, phyto once a week.
<See WWM re this as well. Of little use in most settings>
Dose AquaVitro ions, calcification, 8.4, fuel once a week to where Mag stays around 1300, calcium 420, iodine at .06, iron not registering with my red sea test kit, but fuel has iron, so not sure if the test does not pick up this particular type of iron or what. Potassium at 385. This tank houses only soft corals and a tube anemone
<Cerianthus? Not compatible... see WWM re this as well>
along with fish and inverts. The problem I am having is with mushrooms melting, Ricordea shrinking and detaching, and Zoas melting away.
<... after you're done searching, reading, you'll understand why. How to put it/this: Your problems are obvious>
Plays
<Likely "Palys">
do great, leathers do great, polyps do great. Tank has been up for two years and this started with just the Zoas 3 months ago. More recently, I have a separate soft coral frag system, 200 g, 2200 gph pump, divided into 4 stair step tanks.
One section has mushrooms and leathers, one has polyps , other two house fish. My Ricordea are starting to shrivel and detach in this tank as well.
It has same readings and fixings except ph is 8.16 daytime, nitrates are at 5ppm, and the lighting is 120 watts led 24" off the tank over a 75g area.
Both systems have skimmers, dsb, ample live rock.
<.... So... what are your choices? Provide or don't eliminate needed nutrients, and either remove the Ceriantharian, or the other mal-affected Cnidarian life. Keep reading. Bob Fenner>
re: Mushrooms and Zoanthids 10/10/13
What is WWM?
<Haaaahhaaaaaahhhhaaaaaa>
re: Mushrooms and Zoanthids... "I (don't) want to hold your ha ha ha ha ha hand!" 10/10/13
I see, wet web media, what should I read and which section can I find it in?
<... the indices; search tool... on all 12k some pages... the topics listed on your first query... B>
Re: Mushrooms and Zoanthids... comp. f's 10/12/13
So I read tons of post and answers on wwm. Thank you for the great knowledge base and for answering all these questions so there is such a vast reference to pull from. First I removed my tube anemone from my 75 and added carbon. I also added carbon to my 200 g frag system. Other than carbon and a water change, which is coming tomorrow, is there anything else
I can do to prevent this from happening again if and when it gets fixed?
<Mmm, yes; a few things. Principal amongst these is careful introduction of any new stinging-celled life... The SOP mentioned over and over to "mix water" back and forth from the isolation/quarantine with your display system you intend to move the animal/colony to>
Also are the palytoxins from plays poisonous to the Zoanthids?
<Yes; some more so than others>
And why are they not affecting any polyps or leathers? Thx
<They are better competitors... less susceptible to Terpenoid warfare.
BobF>

Ricordea Florida all "jumping ship"? Old-enough set up, changed lights, added Xeniid... 4/24/13
Hello I have a soft coral reef aquarium where I have had some (when I say some I mean tons) Ricordea florida in. They have been very happy for 3+ years and have created many babies all over the tank as they meandered their way around it. One and a half months ago I got a new Ecoxotic Panorama LED fixture. I started with it set low and slowly increased the light to get everyone hopefully accustomed. All my other soft corals and mushrooms are happy. My Ricordea all appeared content until about 3 days ago... The two "originals" were the first to start. First they made all this mucus at their base and let go. Now all their "kids" are following suit. No water parameters have changed at all. I added a new waving hands Xenia,
<This could be "it", or even the Corallimorpharians>
but it wasn't even near them.
<Doesn't have to be. Chemical allelopathy can be profound, even in a large system>
I have moved the "originals" and a few of their oldest "children" to my refugium to see if they will reattach but seem disinterested.
<Have to be in an entirely different system>
:( Could this still be light stress even though I've had the light over a month and slowly increased the light over the first month I had it?
<Not at all likely the lighting>
Is there some sort of Ricordea mass exodus occurring here?
<Yes; a survival mechanism for cases/circumstances when there's a need to move elsewhere (too much of something or not enough)>
Is the apocalypse at hand and only the Ricordea know?
<Heeeee! A possibility. At their scale and from their "point of view", yes>
Thanks for your help!
<See WWM re Xeniid and 'Shroom compatibility and allelopathy. Bob Fenner>
Re: Ricordea Florida all "jumping ship"? 4/24/13
Thanks for your reply. So would it makes sense then that they were fine
with my pulsing pom/pom Xenia and they are not ok with the waving hands?
<Could be either, both or even neither involved here... "Cascade" events where something happens w/ established systems, mixes of Cnidarian groups are quite common... w/ concurrent winners and losers. BobF>
Re: Ricordea Florida all "jumping ship"? 4/24/13
guess best way is to try removing suspects until one is found. I moved my "original" Ricordeas to my 30G quarantine which luckily is set up right now holding my friend's fish while he moves.
<Ah, good>
So they're at least protected while I use their "children" as guinea pigs... Anything that, other than trying to figure out / remove the "naughty" one, that I can do to help the Ricordea heal/be happy again?
<Oh yes... check, raise RedOx, dose iodide-ate... B<>
Re: Ricordea Florida all "jumping ship"? Teased Shroom beh. (predictable) 5/5/13
So this is weird. I removed the "adult" Ricordea florida and was all set to start trials of removing this and that to figure out who is making everyone mad... and then all the jumping stopped.
<Not weird>
The "adults" reattached to some rubble in the quarantine and now that there hasn't been any jumping for a week I moved them back and everyone appears happy again. Which brings me to a theory that I want to jump off you.
<Okay>
About 2 weeks before it all started there was one big Ricordea near the top of my live rock, I didn't want it there - wanted to put the Xenia there actually, teased it off
<? How?>
and moved it to some rubble in the refugium awaiting gifting to a friend (human not Ricordea friend :P). The cease in jumping also coincides with the gifting away of said naughty Ricordea. Can Ricordea communicate distress to one another and actually stimulate their "kids" to jump ship?
<Of a certainty, yes. Bob Fenner>

False percula and green mushroom coral... Likely simple nitrite poisoning... no rdg. 1/2/12
<What part of only a few hundred Kbytes of images don't you understand?...
And these pix are too blurry to be of much use. >
Hello crew, If I may ask a question and quiz your knowledge of Soft Green Mushroom corals. But first I should tell you my set up, I have a 29 gallon tank with approx 1 to 5 in of sand bed depending on where you look (one of my fish moved the sand I believe), about 30 pounds of live rock and two Aqueon Quiet flow power filters each filled with live rubble, I have a charcoal filter pad in one of the filters to assist with the cloudiness (or so I'm told it will do). While writing this email I tested my water parameters using a Laborett and my results are, PH: 8.0, KH: 11, NH4/NH3: 0mg, and N02: .3, my lighting set up is an Aquasun 36" T5 HO fixture using one 10,000k bulb and one Actinic 420 both at 36w each the tank is heated and maintains a temperature of 75 degrees Fahrenheit and last but not least the specific gravity is 1.025.
The live stock I have in the tank consist of: 2 Green Chromis about an inch and a half each, one yellow tail blue damsel, two false Percula Clown fish one the same size as my Chromis the other is just slightly smaller, two Camel Shrimp, one Firefish, and 2 Mushroom Coral, one is a green stripe (the one I'm worried about) and the other is a red one, I don't know the type, (Pic attached).
<See WWM re. In fact read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/corallim.htm
and the linked files above>
I purchased this coral from a LFS about two weeks ago and it was doing great for the first week, The mushroom was spread out very large and had a beautiful color to it. Recently it has bulged in the center, and the sides have folded down (pic attached). Also my smaller false percula clown in the tank either floats near the filter, or near the sand bed, my other false percula is active and swims freely around the tank granted he/she ( i don't believe they have changed genders yet) is much larger than the other.
<... natural behavior>
Any insight as to why they are doing this would be greatly appreciated and if you need any further information i will do my best to supply it.
<... keep reading. Bob Fenner>

Bubbles at base of mushroom coral 9/11.5/11
What an awesome amount of information you have here! I tried searching and found only one response from a number of years ago but it didn't seem to really tell what/why. This isn't so much a problem, but more of a query. I received this mushroom nearly a month ago and after taking a while to 'grab' on the frag plug I put it on my mushroom wall. At some point I noticed that at night the foot would swell out with these bubbles around the base. It seems to get happier by the day opening up bigger and bigger, but at night it recedes and the bubbles get big.
Any explanation of what this is or why it happens?
<Usually something in the way of incompatibility... another Cnidarian species... or summat w/ water quality...>
Tank has been up for 4 months, parameters:
System volume: 150g across a 75g DT, 2 refugiums, and a sump, system has about 200lbs of live rock and lots of macro algae
Temps: 71-73F (will be a seahorse devoted system)
<Mmm, a bit low>
salinity: 1.023
<This too>
Ammonia: 0
Nitrates: 0
<Uh, need some NO3... whatever means you're employing to keep this at 0.0 ppm may be at root here>
pH: 8.0
Alkalinity: 7
(those are both a little low, but stable)
http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t206/armorbimbo/IMAG0618.jpg
<Oh, starved... Bob Fenner>
-Sean

What Are The Dark Things Coming Out Of My Orange Pink Ricordea? No One Seems To Know/Corallimorph Health/Systems 6/16/10
Dear Awesome Crew!
<Irina>
Your site is amazing and I've been reading for weeks and weeks (ok, months!!!). Just can't get enough info crammed into my little brain but I'm working on it LOL!
<A learning experience for sure.>
I'm hoping someone can identify this dark entity on my new, orange-pink Ricordea.
I've read copious publications, researched and asked everyone I can think of, including the shop I got the coral from, what this "thing" or "things" are; but, to no avail.
This is the second Ricordea I've bought from the same place. The first one developed filaments and stressed to death while expelling a few of these dark-oval or petal-shaped entities along stringy filaments. This poor creature dissolved in one day. I'm beginning to think they might be a parasite. Or do Ricordea poop like this??? I know that sounds silly, but; I truly don't know and can't find a photo showing anything like this. I do know it doesn't look like any scat, or poop, that I know of and I'm stumped.
For size reference sake, the photo below shows the Ricordea open diameter of barely half an inch. This little guy is now into his fourth day here and shriveled up to a quarter inch. I'm still happy to see it at all considering how fast the first one melted away.
This second one did not let go all kinds of filaments as the first one did.
Puhleeeez tell me it's not some kind of flatworm.
<Very unlikely. Ricordea have a tendency to extrude their mesenterial filaments when stressed chemically and/or mechanically, and I believe this is what you are seeing. Is quite possible that allelopathy could be responsible if aggressive corals are kept with them. Your Frogspawn (Euphyllia paradivisa) is on that list, and when kept together in miniature systems such as yours, you can expect allelopathy problems in keeping the two together. Lighting can also come into play here as Ricordea do not seem to do as well under direct intense light. Bob may have further input here.>
You have no idea how much I've learned from your wonderful site and all your efforts are appreciated far more than you will ever know!
<Is nice to hear this, thank you.>
Respectfully and gratefully,
Irina aka Cranky When Wet
<James (Salty Dog), happy when wet with beer.>
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Other photos of my hand drawings are below (camera not available when first Ricordea failed).

Please see end of email for these.... I express myself better with my drawings than my writing.
<You're writing is fine.>
TANK INFO: My tanks are tiny: a pico and a Nano.
<Mmmm.>
Main or Nano display is an 8gal Oceanic Biocube
one-inch deep, live sand bed;
Coralia <Koralia> pump;
380gal/hr upgraded filtration pump;
<Waaaay too much, 80-90 would be much better.>
very aged purple Live Rock (stunning);
and the unit is approximately three month's young.
Two Turbo Snails
One lump of Zoanthids
One very large Hawaiian Feather Duster Worm
One Peppermint Shrimp that ate two Aiptasia that appeared on the worm, above.
Pico is diverse Biotope (six months old)
Polyp/Zoanthid corals, one Frog Spawn
<Ah, the likely culprit if the Ricordea is in with this Euphyllia.>
and a bit of Small Polyp Encrusting Coral
on a deep, 2.5", sand bed inside a 6gal Fluval Edge modified tank of 6 gallons.
Two Hermit crabs
(added two LED strips above this first tank and am using a daylight lamp in order to get higher 6400K white light and some Actinic as well... My lighting knowledge is poor though I believe I have a minimum five watts per gallon in that tank.
If prolific wildlife is a clue to success,
<Success in our hobby can be a wide gamut.>
I have what seems like a gazillion copepods; a few bristle worms; lots of wild dusters, sponges and associated bio-load I cannot recall the formal name of this second (tunicates sp?) LOL!
I feed Phytofeast algae mix and toss in the occasional intestinal tract of Maine lobster when the cat doesn't snag it first... otherwise, the whole thing seems to feed itself and is quite lush and fascinating. Oh yes, no protein skimmers here so I do weekly, diligent water changes.
<Great.>
Water condition:
sg = 1.025,
zero nitrite,
zero nitrates,
no ammonia
and pH is 8.2ish.
I don't have the top-of-the-line test kit but did get a portable refractometer to monitor salinity.
<Another plus, do check the calibration periodically with distilled water.>
I use a product called "Meersalt" for water
<Not familiar with that product.>
and do weekly water changes of approximately one quart of buffered-down distilled water (don't have RO system).
The volume/ratio of rock to water is almost 50/50.
I stuffed about fourteen pounds of live rock into this little tank.
The quarantine tank, is a Pico-style little thing with a simple filter pump inside it that also breaks water surface a bit. I run a daylight lamp over it, as well as an array of 30 LED bulbs of unknown strength (manufacturers don't seem to want to say what you're buying LOL!). This little unit is barely three gallons but again is loaded with wildlife like copepods, deep purple corals and a big, spinning Chaeto-algae ball all grown from same, original batch of well-cured live rock.
All tanks holding temperatures of 74 - 78 degrees Fahrenheit and I'm using mini heaters during colder seasons. I hope this is steady enough for reef systems.
<Be better to adjust the heater to maintain 78 rather than fluctuate between 74-78. Should be easily done with the summer temperatures in your area.>
So, if flying by the seat of my pants and a whole lot of intuition serves me, I think both my little tanks are doing rather well and are surprisingly stable... for now, hee hee!
<Sounds good with the exception.....>
I know I have a lot to learn and am loving every minute of the journey!
(I've years of fresh-water experience but little marine and doing my best).
<I've been into this for 30+ years and I'm still learning.>
This was the very first Ricordea I purchased. It expelled filaments and dark "things" within an hour (from top and side!) and finally dissolved leaving a sad little ring of tissue on the rock no more than 24 hours
later. I am wondering if those dark entities are some kind of parasite or disease???
<Unlikely.>
It was a lovely purple with green.... what are those things???????? Sure hope you can help. Thank you so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
<As above along with Bob's possible input.> <>

Re What Are The Dark Things Coming Out Of My Orange Pink Ricordea? No One Seems To Know/Corallimorph Health/Systems 6/16/10
A gazillion thank you's Salty Dog!
<You're welcome.>
My brief replies in bold, teal-colored text below... and spelling correction: Meersaltz (link below)
<Oh no, please don't do/use that, just reply as you would in a normal email, the continuation of a thread. Our program does not display colored text.
Can you please re-send your reply/response as I suggested above. Makes it too difficult and time consuming to sort through this and correct. We are not nine to fivers here, are all volunteers donating one to two hours per day. James (Salty Dog)><<Well-stated James. B>>

Re What Are The Dark Things Coming Out Of My Orange Pink Ricordea? No One Seems To Know/Corallimorph Health/Systems 6/16/10
A gazillion thank you's Salty Dog James!
<And a gazillion you're welcomes.>
I'll reread everything in Corallimorph-health as directed.
<OK, really didn't direct you, but do read.>
Yes, I do understand what mesenterial filaments are; recognize them; but, am much more concerned about the dark, somewhat circular "things."
<Likely it's innards. Picture not resolved enough to see much detail.>
Those dark "things" seem too large to be Zooxanthellae (that I believe are more on a cellular size level). I revisited the store the Ricordea from and found many of these dark "things" all over displayed Ricordea in the shop's tanks. Perhaps I'm fussing too much. I would very much like to understand what they are, as does the shop owner.
<Mmmm.>
And dang that lovely Frogspawn to heck! Got that for Hubby because he liked it and well before I fully understood chemical-warfare intensity within tanks. I'd placed the Frogspawn at opposite end of tank from my Zoanthids
from day one and hope it hasn't been reaching closest critter to sting. It is fourteen inches away from peaceful corals though overall tank size is likely too cramped. I will move peaceful corals into the eight gallon tank, a couple at a time, over a month or so.
<OK>
Should I move the Ricordea right away or wait to find out what the dark "things" are??? I'm thinking I'd be stressing it too much?
<You will likely be helping it. Would be a way to see if health improves by doing so.>
Meanwhile, I've very gently tucked the Ricordea into a shaded area in case lighting is too strong and added small heater/s to reach constant 78deg F in both little tanks.
<Didn't say it was for sure, but no harm done in experimenting. Problem with small systems is that water parameters can fluctuate too much which could lead to health problems, and your Ricordea is not healthy.>
Re: Refractometer. I got very lucky and found a tool with a locking screw/nut to keep calibration spot on. I still check it a lot regardless (grin).
I must say I don't care for, nor have the time, to do most Blog-type sites or Forums. Every single page I read here with all of you is a wealth of knowledge!
<Why thank you.>
It's sheer joy to find a site that simply doesn't do "junk!!!"
<Is likely why we have many sponsors.>
My voracious curiosity is killing me and I'm looking forward to finding out more about these weird small, dark, "things."
<Understand, do Google, get as much information as you can.>
Sincerest thanks James and best regards to you, yours, and the whole Crew!!!!
<You're welcome. James (Salty Dog)>
Irina Horvath
aka Cranky When Wet
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
P.S. Regarding my Pico and Nano tank parameters and the type of salt I'm using:
My bad spelling or memory again... showing my age yikes, ha ha!

Meersaltz is a product made for public aquarium maintenance. I understand it to be high in minerals found naturally in saltwater making it unnecessary for me to dose my tiny tanks (the calculations required would drive me nutzo). It's a bit pricey but worth it.
<I'm thinking this product may not be designed for reef systems, may lack vital trace elements needed by corals and other inverts, and be geared toward large fish only systems.
Would not hurt to find out more detailed information as to it's contents.
Bob may be familiar with the product <<Oh yes; hi Mike. RMF>> and may comment here.>
Here is the company link: http://aquacraft.net/whoisaquacraft.html and no, that is not Peter Sellers!
<Does look like him cigar and all. The Pink Panther of the marine world.>
I figured Mr. Del Prete's product ok for me as it was used in the world's first viable, captive breeding of Chambered Nautilus... sounded pretty sweet to this layman.
<Sounds good in that regard, but I don't know too much about the Chambered Nautilus.>
Most pertinent to me is attention paid to uniform, homogeneous, ingredient distribution ensuring consistency in my water quality/attributes. This may be what is helping me deal with small tanks so easily; I feel it certainly must be a factor.
<Quite possibly, yes.>
P.P.S. . Attached are detailed photos of unknown entity on Ricordea; same as in my first email.
Re What Are The Dark Things Coming Out Of My Orange Pink Ricordea? No One > Seems To Know/Corallimorph Health/Systems 6/16/10 - 6/17/10
Thank you James and Bob! BINGO old post with better photo.
<You're welcome.>
Eureka, I do believe we've got some kind of prolapsed or tossed-up innards!!!!
Found a similar post on this page titled Sick Corallimorph? 9/25/03 Link to page: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/shroomfaq3.htm That photo is much better quality and definitely shows the same "things" as my Ricordea has.
I just knew this would be the only place on the www that would hold the right answers. Good thing I read quickly...
<And commend you for doing so.>
And finally knowing this is good because the last thing I wanted to do was baster blow off vital organs.... Omigosh... that did not sound right... nor will I be trimming these thingies off since guts are meant to stay inside... I will simply move the poor little Ricordea into the relatively peaceful 8gal Biocube, on the bottom, in low light and in gentle flow with a wish for good health.
<Yes, appears to be your only option right now. Not too low of a light though, just not intense.>
Thanks again for your help. I keep many critters: 16lb, 20yr old Red Eared Slider Turtle, a small cat, 210lb English Mastiff,
<Yikes, that dog weighs more than I.>
800gal outdoor pond with Shubunkins all between 2-8years, and my latest foray/adventure of two much-loved saltwater tanks. But for the dog and cat, your wonderful site has been a tremendous help with my aquatic beasts.
You all rock!!!! Thank you and all the best!!! You can tell your Sponsors they're lucky to know you too!
<You're welcome and glad we could be of help to you. James (Salty Dog)>
Signing off,
Irina aka Cranky When Wet
Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Mushrooms disappearing 05/07/10
Hi
<Howdy>
About a month ago I purchased a bubble coral and it started to fall apart so I gave it a fresh water dip
<Is it okay to ask the question, "Why?">
and put it back in the tank in a corner out of the flow. It still fell apart and then a few weeks later it started to affect my mushrooms.
<Too likely>
Now more than a month later I have probably lost about a two dozen mushrooms, they are just falling apart and melting away. All other corals are doing well (Leathers, a Galaxea and a pineapple). If it is a disease what do I do to stop it as it is working its way across my tank. Thanks for your help in advance.
<Mmm, time to do what you can to reduce the ill-effects (allelopathy in a word) of this Plerogyra, Euphylliid period... Have you read here:
http://wetwebmedia.com/cnidcompppt.htm
and esp. the linked FAQs files on Compatibility for the stated families, taxa you have. Bob Fenner>
Robert

Shrooms. They are just not growing - 10/06/2009
Crew:
<Hey Thomas! JustinN here!>
I have read and read over the site... over and over again. I love it! I looked through all your articles and FAQ on Mushrooms, Corallimorphs and Cnidarians. Good info...
BUT! I can't figure out what's going on with my Shrooms. They are just not growing.
I have had them in the tank for almost 2 years. I currently have them placed up high, down low, in shade, in full light trying to figure out what they like best. None of them seem to be responding super well.
<Are you/have you tried target feeding them? All the Corallimorphs I've had in my care over the years liked something nice and meaty fed to them periodically -- one of my mushrooms has even decided it likes New Life Spectrum pellets!>
My question is could there possibly be a nitrogen deficiency/over-competition?
<Deficiency? Your goal is to eliminate the components of the Nitrogen cycle, so not likely.>
My nitrates always test undetectable.
<This is a good thing>
I can't seem to figure out why the "easiest" inverts are giving me the most trouble. Here's the scoop on my set-up:
The tank has been running over five years, and has been a "reef tank" for over two. I have always used RO/DI water and Seachem Reef Salt.
<A quality product>
The corals:
Pulsing xenia - doing so well that I almost regret adding it
<They are a bit like a mesmerizing weed, aren't they! :)>
Green star polyps - doing super well
Halimeda - just popped up one day, now it's growing everywhere
<And this is why I love live rock ;)>
Assorted Zoas - doing okay for being under PC's
Red, green striped, green spotted and blue mushrooms
Hammer coral - not growing much, but looks good
The fish:
One Royal Gramma
Two Ocellaris clowns
Two Yellowtail damsels
One Firefish
One Mandarin
One hermit crab
<Sustainability of the Mandarin is questionable -- these consummate 'pod consumers will clean your tank out in no time.>
The set-up:
70 gallon show tank, 60"x22"x12"
100 lbs Fiji and Caribbean live rock
80 lbs live sand
322 watt PC's with half actinic (420nm) and half daylight (10,000k),
replace bulbs annually
<Sounds good to here>
BioWheel 350 with carbon in usually in use
Proquatics 300gph HOT filter filled with coarse foam (great for pods)
Three 150 GPH powerheads
Prizm pro Delux skimmer
<Your BioWheels may be creating/generating more nitrates/nitrites than you know, as this is part of their design -- they're not typically optimal in a reef setup. The skimmer is definitely undersized -- Prizm's are really only 'effective' for about a 40 gallon or so total volume -- and even then, their efficacy is questionable.>
The parameters:
SG 1.025
PH 8.3
Calcium 450ppm
Alk 8-9 dKH
Mag 1350ppm
temp 79 degrees F
Nitrate 0ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Ammonia 0ppm
Phosphate 0ppm
<Sounds like it should be -- are you certain of these nitrate/nitrite readings? What brand test kits are you using?>
The routine:
12 gallon (18%) water change every 2 weeks
Top off with RO/DI water, with Seachem reef builder/calcium (on separate days) as needed.
<Is the Reef Builder/calc just added arbitrarily, or based off of a system that involves measurements?>
Is something standing out to you here? It seems normal to me... but then again I'm not the pro...
Thanks for your help!
Sincerely,
Thomas Brown
<For the most part, I would agree, this sounds very normal configuration-wise -- my main thoughts are your bio-media filtration (BioWheel, filter floss in your Proquatics HOT), and a lack of direct feeding. Try giving the mushrooms a nice blast of Mysis shrimp with a small pipette, this may be the missing key here. Good luck! -JustinN>
Re: Corallimorph Growth - 10/06/2009 >Yay! RMF<
<Hey again Thomas! JustinN again! I cleaned up your responses a bit here, to conform to the standards.. I hope you don't mind!>
I use Phytoplex, coral excel, and Zooplex, each individually about twice a week
<All decent products, but not what your Corallimorphs are after. Move to some mysis and/or a copepod-based food, such as Cyclop-Eeze. These are going to benefit your mushrooms greatly, you should notice a difference quickly.>
He's (the mandarin) been in there almost two years, he's always nice 'n fat too...
<Well, this is excellent -- definitely not the typical end result. Good hands on your part :)>
Should I upgrade to a Remora w/ a MJ1200?
<Would be a worthy upgrade -- definitely far more effective than the Prism.. Do keep in mind, I wouldn't call this essential, since your tank is clearly quite stable -- a 2 year run for a Mandarin is not typical.>
I'm using Aquarium Pharmaceuticals test kits

I measure to maintain calc @450ppm, KH @8-9dKH which typically maintains my pH @8.3
<Sounds good here -- I've just known too many people who come up with some arbitrary number, and add this arbitrary number blindly on a timed basis...
not always a good plan :)>
I'll try feeding mysis... (keeping the fish from getting them will be the trick!)
<The fish will definitely be getting some -- my usual technique is to feed the fish sporadically while I feed the corals. A small pipette helps immensely with this, allows you to slowly provide the meaty food to the
mushroom. After a few feedings, they'll get more used to it, and will typically start wrapping up a bit as soon as you bring the pipette near -- it gets easier with time. Good luck! -JustinN>

Yuma/Ricordea Yuma/Health 9/30/09
Hi WWM,
<Hello Kai>
Need some advice. Is there such a thing as a white Ricordea Yuma? I saw one at my LFS this afternoon and it is white with some grey on it. Does not look bleached and is expanding very well.
<I've been around a long time, in fact, longer than I'm going to say, but I have never saw a Ricordea Yuma that was white or gray. Poor water quality and lack of proper lighting may be a factor here if this is indeed a R. yuma. Ricordea Yuma is a highly sought after Corallimorph because of it's gorgeous coloration, and does command a good price for just one head.>
Thanks,
<You're welcome. James (Salty Dog)>
Kai
Re Yuma/Ricordea Yuma/Health 9/30/09
Hi,
<Hello Kai, and you're welcome.>
thanks for the reply. Yes this is a R. Yuma. We get a lot of them here in Singapore. The price ranges from $5 SGD (x1.6 USD), to around $SGD 20 for the pink ones. I guess it's all to do with the colour and form. R. floridas are more uncommon though. I appreciate your reply. Have a good day :)
<You're welcome. James (Salty Dog)>

Zoanthid and mushroom failure in nano tank 11/25/08 Please Help!!! I have a 24g nano tank that has been running since May 08. Several large pieces of cured live rock with 2" sand bed. I added 1 small powerhead for additional water movement. I ordered a small nano polyp/mushroom pack from DrFoster&Smith online after my tank thoroughly cycled. polyps and mushrooms were doing very well for about 3 months, opening expanding etc, then one day they started staying consistently closed and started dying. Water Parameters. I have tested, double tested, triple tested, had LFS test and all my water parameters and all are pretty much spot on. Water changes done weekly of 5g using Instant Ocean Reef Crystals aerated for 24 hrs before adding to tank. Lights are on for about 12 hours. Lights are new with aquarium bought in May, but as a safety measure bought new lamps a month ago. Add B-Ionic and Iodine. Again double, triple checked I was dosing correctly. Livestock (Nitrates 0) 1 percula clown 2inches 1 blue damsel 1 inch 1 blood red shrimp 1 bi-color Pseudochromis 2 inches 6 red legged hermit crabs and 2 turbo snails as a cleanup crew Here is the catch, I also have a 90 gallon FOWLR tank that I'm converting to a reef tank. Once I got the fish sold to LFS and the Nitrates down I started adding polyps/mushrooms. The water parameters of my 90g match that of my 24g...but my nano is failing. So as a drastic measure I took polyp/mushroom frags from my 24g and placed in my 90g and they are doing just fine and in fact opened within a day!!! I'm at a complete loss of what the problem is with 24g tank. My only theory My 24g tank is at my office. The building is pretty old and I'm using tap water to mix my salt. Is it possible that copper or some other metal/crud from the old pipes could be affecting the outcome of my 24g nano? My 90 gallon resides at my condo that is actually a brand new hi-rise in downtown Chicago...all new pipes etc. One other small issue, I seem to have a little extra algae growth in my 24g nano than my 90g....phosphates of both sources are 0. I just attribute the extra bright green algae growth to a shallower tank with good lighting. Oh, and one last thing, there was a 8-9 hour power outage around the same time that these polyps/mushrooms in the 24g stop opening. I just figured several months later should be more than enough time if they were shocked to re-open....but it took moving them to my 90g to get them to open again. Well hopefully this is enough info...if you need specific numbers on my water parameters I can email a pdf of a ongoing chart I keep of all water parameters. <Obviously, there may be something going on with your nano although the setup of your nano sounds good. I would cut back the time the lights are on to 8-10 hours. That's probably the reason for the algae growth. You mentioned you are using city water. Are you putting in any water conditioner to remove chlorine and chloramines? Secondly, you mentioned the possibility of copper in your water coming from the olds pipes in your office. I would highly suggest you getting an RO/DI unit to eliminate any possibility of this. You can use it for your home and office tanks, the best way to solve water quality issues are to start with good ï¿½cleanï¿½ water. Of course you saved the best for last, a power outage!!! These are terrible events for an aquarium. Your polyps could have been shocked from the lack of circulation when this outage occurred, its a normal sign of stress and usually they will be back to normal within a few days. How long was it before you transferred your corals from the 24 to the 90? What kind of test kits are you using? Have placed anything in the 24 since? Also remember that as live animals, corals go through stages just like every other living creature, there are going to be times when they just don't feel like opening. If you stay on top of your system, watch it every day, you'll get a feel for the tank and be able to recognize these stages. You'll be able to immediately tell when something is wrong and you need to take action, or if its just a normal thing that your corals are going through.> Thanks, Brian <You're welcome and good luck!!! -- BrianG>

Help! Emergency Mushroom Question 11/23/08 Hello. Thanks for being here! I've been out of town for a few days and my mother in law "watches" my tank for me. I came home today to find two of my Hairy Mushrooms stretched(about 2 1/2" long) and stuck to each other, back to back, hanging off their main rock. Apparently, when I bought them a few months ago, they were all (6 total) attached to two rocks, put together. One of the rocks fell of(or was pulled by something), and is suspended with the mushroom's bottom half's (if that makes any sense). These two have stretched so much, all you see of the mushroom is pink. I'm assuming it's the mouths. I moved them to a different place in my tank, as to stabilize them and put them all on one "shelf". In order to place them in a different location, I had to pull them out of the water for a few seconds. The had a funky smell. Not like an anemone that's died, just a very strong ocean scent. Are they dying? <Mmm, likely warring> Should I cut those two off the rock they are on? <Only as a semi-last resort... best to keep genotypes (the same species but not identical genetically) separated here... by doing as you state, distancing the rock/hard substrate they're attached to. Bob Fenner> Linda

Mysterious Ric "BUG" -08/12/08 OK got a good one here. Bob, thanks again for speaking for FRAG here in PHX it was a blast... Check out this thread: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=13137549#post13137549 <Interesting and strange... thanks for sharing this.> I have bought a large number of Ricordeas totaling at about $2000 in my days and honestly they are my favorite of all the corals. I have lost the last 2 batches of 20-30 I bought and whats odd is that people who received Ric's from the same batches are fine. I did have a few people who lost their Ricordeas however most were completely unaffected. I was turned onto that post by a member of FRAG (who knows my heartache with my Ric losses) about some "BUGS" similar to red bugs that prey on Ricordeas and create these holes in them, taking on the color of the Ric and eating it away... UGH just what this hobby needs another "BUG" to be on the lookout for. <Hmm.. how odd. Do you have any more/better pictures of these things? Do you have any friends with a camera mounted microscope you could borrow?> The symptoms in my experience go as follows. The Rics look GREAT for about a month or 2, full extension, very nice color, acting normal and even creating new mouths. I would notice suddenly they are smaller... next day they even less extension, and the following day they are starting to show signs, fuzziness at the foot/attachment site, large holes carved out of them and the mouths falling completely out. The Ricordea would almost look like a spiral apple skin shaving. Within about 2-3 days they are all completely gone. Even more odd is that they do not melt, or get slimy, just disintegrate. All corals around including Zoanthids, other Mushrooms, SPS, LPS are completely unaffected. On my last "D-Day" as I call it I even had a few Ricordea survive the initial hit, but a month later the 3 that survived had the same ending as the rest. <huh> Any clue on what these can be? <Sounds like a pest/coral predator. However, unfortunately, without pictures it's difficult to speculate.> Is this just a simple environmental issue? IE Water chemistry? Possibly too close the light (mine are about a 20'' from a 150 halide)? <Hmm, I do suspect, as one possibility here, that you might have some allelopathic (chemical warfare) problems. There is a limit to how many Ricordea you can keep in one tank (and it's up to them, not "you"/us). It may simply be that you've reached that limit.> I of course test EVERYTHING including Oxygen, very anal about it all... but everything always checks out and is backed up by LFS test kits. Any help would be GREAT and Bob if you don't mind I would like to post what you have to say in that thread. Thanks again for everything!!! <Sorry, not Bob here, but maybe he'll add his comments when this is posted. We just need more info (principally more images, accounts)... to have a better idea of what might (or might not) be going on here.> Adrian <Best, Sara M.> <Mmm, nothing to add. RMF>
Re: Mysterious Ric "BUG" -08/13/08 Right, thank you. As far as the pictures go my Ricordeas are long gone <Oh, sorry to hear that.> and I have not be masochistic enough to get any more lol. I am working on trying to get someone to ship me an infected Ricordea so I can at get it to a near by lab for some pictures and microscope viewing. <Good idea! And I thank you for sharing with us! I do hope you can get some photos and more information on this apparent "mystery" pest/disease.> I just wanted to throw this out there to see if the WWM crew had ever experienced this before. <Not that I know of (fortunately/unfortunately), but I am very interested to see/hear more about it.> Thanks again wand ill talk soon. Adrian <Thank you and good luck, Sara M.>

How can I tell if my Rhodactis is dead? He's only mostly dead! 7/29/08 I still see the bright green but they (I have 2) have gotten very small -- about 2 inches in diameter. When fully open they are a good 6' diameter. <Wasting away...> I see the white mouths look like they are open quite a bit. <Stress> I have searched the web and am not sure how to tell for sure because if they're dead I obviously want to remove them from the tank before I hurt anything else. <Usually don't 'die' per se, but waste away to nothingness. If dead, cnidarians tend to turn to goo pretty quickly and blatantly> I introduced a Condy Anemone and screwed everything up in an otherwise great tank -- I am now recovering. <This is likely either allelopathic or related to water quality. Removing these corallimorphs to a safer, cleaner system should help them perk up, or adding a bit of carbon and frequent water changes on their current system...do read re allelopathy on wetwebmedia.com> Thanks! <No trouble! Benjamin>

Giant Cup Mushroom Losing Flesh 2/27/08 Hi Crew, <Hi Mohamed> I am asking this question for a friend. She has a giant cup for 4 years with on <going> problems. The water quality is within range, no high levels of nitrate, nitrite, etc. but she unsure of iodine levels and water changes are done regularly. <Wouldn't worry too much about iodine levels, regular water changes with a good reef salt should provide all that is necessary. I've supplemented with iodine (Lugo's solution) in the past and have not seen any benefit in it's use.> The giant cup does not open up completely and if you wave your hand next to the GC its flesh is peeling. Could a low level of iodine cause this or what could cause this, a disease? <The Giant Cup Mushroom is a meat eater and I'm wondering if it has been fed small pieces of shrimp etc. A healthy specimen should close/wrap completely around the food. As far as lighting, they do require medium intensity light to survive. You did not mention lighting being used.> Thanks, <You're welcome. James (Salty Dog)> Mohamed

Ricordea Yuma question... hlth. -02/20/08 Hey everyone at WWM... I hope all is well. It has been a pretty long while since I have had a question that I had a hard time finding answers to. I currently own a 34gal aquarium. A Current USA Solana to be exact. I have a single 150W MH HQI Current USA bulb and fixture that sits about 8" over the tank and is on for 8 hours a day (although it was on for about 10 hours a few days this week because I was doing some tank maintenance) The tank has a 1/15th HP chiller and an auto top-off system so the temperature and salinity stay very steady. My tank parameters are as follows: Ammonia: 0ppm, Nitrite: 0 ppm, Nitrate: 10ppm, pH: 8.3, Salinity: 1.025sg, Phosphate: 0ppm. I do a 5 gallon water change weekly and the tank has a skimmer that works well (surprisingly for an all-in-one setup). I am having an odd problem with a single Ricordea Yuma that I have had for a very long time under a wide range of lighting and tank conditions (unfortunately some worse than this). It is an extremely rare 4.5" Neon Pink Ricordea Yuma. I bought it from a guy about 2 years ago who had it directly under a 250W MH about 4" from the surface of their tank. I put the Yuma into a 6 gallon nano-cube with weak PC lighting which it sat in for about 2 or 3 months before I put it in the current tank set-up that I have. The Yuma has been fine for the longest time and I slowly acclimated it to about mid-way up in the tank (the tank is 20" deep... so about 10" from the surface)... after staying at that point for a few days it started to become unhappy (shrinking and expelling its zooxanthellae (sp)). <Mmm, what other Cnidarians are in this system?> So I moved it back down to the bottom of the tank and I decided that it would be just fine there and I wasn't going to try and move it anymore... It opened back up fine for about a week and just today when I took my lid off the tank to do some maintenance it became unhappy again and started shrinking up and expelling its zooxanthellae (sp). Now I can think of any number of things that it may be that is causing him to react adversely but I would really be grateful of any input from you guys (and gals). 1. I just changed out the bulb and it just finished burning in over the past 2 days. <Would be an influence for sure> 2. Moving him may have just been too much trauma for him. <To a smaller degree> 3. any other ideas? <Allelopathy> haha... I plan on cutting back the light cycle to 5 hours over the next week and slowly increasing it. Does this sound sufficient? <Mmm, no... I would have on a good 8-10 hours a day> Any ideas? Thanks and I look forward to your response. -- Chris <Please read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/cnidcompppt.htm and the linked files above re Corallimorph and whatever other stinging-celled life groups you have here's Compatibility. Bob Fenner>

Re: Ricordea Yuma question... hlth, comp. 2/21/08 I could understand that but the particular Ricordea in question is surrounded by a lot of other Ricordea too... <Ahh!> there is absolutely nothing wrong with any of them... All of my other Cnidarians are fine... <Heee! Sure, they're the winners... the Yuma is losing...> I do have a toadstool leather that I have had for a long time that has recently begun to be eaten on by some sort of parasite... It is the only leather in the tank. I can not remove it because of its location in the rockwork... I know that these leathers in particular can give off noxious chemicals that can harm other inhabitants... could this possibly be the culprit? <Possibly> Thank you for the fast reply Bob, I know you are busy. <Doing... this! Heeee! No worries... do look into the methods, techniques outlined where I sent you... It may be expeditious to move the one Corallimorph. BobF>

Re: Ricordea Yuma question... 2/21/08 Thank you very much... you have always been a great help in the past... hopefully one day I will have enough knowledge to not have to ask questions but to be asked them. <Oh yes! I too look forward to this time... your joining us here on the WWM Crew. Be chatting, Bob Fenner>

Re: Ricordea yuma question... 2/23/08 HAHA... I don't know about all that. Just an update on the Ricordea yuma in question: I moved it to a different spot in the tank (away from the leather and in a little bit better flow... it as opened up nicely and seems to be doing much better. Thank you for all the help and advice. I have attached a few pictures of my tank set-up and the yuma in question. <Ahh, very nice! Congratulations and thank you for sharing. Bob Fenner>

Corallimorpharians and Allelopathy -- 01/08/07 Crew, <<Hello Scott>> I have a 120 gallon, several year-old mostly fish and live rock system which I was beginning to populate with some hardy species of soft corals. <<Okay>> This included 2 pink mushroom corals that were doing well for about 6 months and split to a number of about 12 total. <<Corallimorpharians can be quite prolific, often to the point of being problematic'¦overgrowing/killing more desirous organisms>> I added a couple of other propagated green mushrooms on the other side of the tank from a friend's system that were doing well and splitting. I also have about a 2" size toadstool and some "devil's finger" leathers that are also about 2-3". A few weeks back my mushrooms started to sag and shrivel, the pink ones especially. Now the green ones are following suit, and the devil's fingers don't look so hot. I checked the water parameters with zero ammonia and nitrite and 20ppm of nitrate which is par for the tank. <<Ah! A clue then'¦ This Nitrate reading is too high. 20ppm may well be at the upper limit for acceptable in a FO/FOWLR system, but once you start trying to go 'reef' you should bring this down to 5ppm or less through increased filtration (biological/chemical), or a reduced fish load. Installing/switching to a more efficient skimmer can also help>> To summarize, everything has been status quo or better in terms of water quality/tank conditions, but with these Shrooms shriveling up I can tell things just are off. <<Indeed>> I started to think it was just a failed experiment into the world of corals until I noticed my purple pseudo missing today (read: dead) and my Eibli angel breathing a zillion X/min and on death's door. <<Likely a result of chemicals released by the stressed/dying soft corals'¦and compounded by the high Nitrate level>> At least one of my larger fish does not look great either. Water parameters still checked out. I haven't targeted the cause of the coral decline, but given the lack of changing conditions and their previous health and proliferation, I suspect some kind of allelopathy. <<Maybe...but I'm more apt to blame the Nitrates at this stage for the Corallimorph's and soft coral's decline>> QUESTION: Could the fish be affected by some type of soft coral chemical warfare to this degree? <<Indeed yes'¦dying and decaying organisms such as these can/will give off a large amount of noxious chemicals. I hope you have applied some extra chemical filtration to help deal with this?>> Some of the tank inhabitants appear to be unaffected, including cleaner inverts (snails and hermits), shrimps, and a Galaxea coral which I acquired a year ago and appears well <<Differing degrees of tolerance>> (I realize this is actually a pretty delicate stony coral). <<I've never considered Galaxea coral as particularly delicate'¦though do be aware it is a very aggressive coral and will do extensive damage to any neighbors within reach of its quite long sweeper tentacles. Hmmm'¦you didn't happen to place any of the new additions within reach of this coral did you?...say about 10' or less?>> I figured some of these other organisms would be the canary for water quality issues. In the meantime, on a friend's advice I have started to run large amounts of carbon today in an effort to pull out any toxins that may be in the water. <<Ah, very good'¦and I would suggest use of some type of chemical filtrant (carbon/Poly-Filter) become a 'permanent' aspect of your filtering methodology>> Should I remove the remaining mushrooms? <<If they are declining/dying, yes'¦else, is up to you as the carbon should help much with the removal of Allelopathic chemicals>> Incidentally, the pink Shrooms were very close, and several actually growing on the stalk, of the toadstool-they seemed to almost have an "affinity" for it. <<These noxious organisms can sense one another/will be fighting for space even when separated'¦allowing them to 'touch' heightens the conflict and speeds the demise of one or both. I would take steps to physically separate these>> Any advice into this dilemma is greatly appreciated. -Scott <<Happy to assist. EricR>>
Re: Corallimorpharians and Allelopathy -- 01/08/07 Thanks for the reply... <<Quite welcome>> Just one more thing, though. <<Okay>> I neglected to mention that the only other thing that has changed in my tank recently is I put about 50 new self-harvested Caribbean snails (USVI) which are alive and well in the tank. << You don't say what species'¦hopefully you identified beforehand that these would be safe/compatible with your existing and future intended livestock>> These were placed about mid December and not quarantined. <> Could they be the culprit or vector for some malicious parasite...i.e. gill flukes? <<Sure'¦ Parasites, bacterial/viral infections, most anything>> There is nothing visible on the fish that I can identify whatsoever except for the respiratory distress and then quick demise. <<This is likely environmental'¦a water quality issue. Have you performed any water changes? I very much suggest you do>> Perhaps the invert/mushroom issue is only temporally related and not directly related? <<Yes'¦likely not the sole cause of your problems here, but working in combination with other factors (high Nitrate, etc.)>> The fish have tolerated 20-35ppm of nitrate for quite some time. <<Indeed'¦and likely weakened by the long term exposure to same. The chemical explosion from the deteriorating Corallimorphs may just be the straw that broke the camel's back'¦>> Scott <<Regards, EricR>>

Mushroom Life Span -- 09/29/07 Cheers Crew. <Hello again Andy, Mich with you tonight.> This may be a stupid question, but I can't find an answer. I assume that mushrooms, like all living things, must die? <Yes. Generally all cells exhibit apoptosis, or programmed cell death. The exception to this rule is cancer cells, which is why cancer is so difficult to fight.> Is there a known life span for these and/or, <Presumably, though I have never hear an actual number.> like other living things, do they sometime just die early of natural (genetic abnormalities, etc.) causes? <Undoubtedly.> The reason I ask is that I have a beautiful mushroom rock with 8-10 hairy green mushrooms--had it for about 5 months. Over the last three or so days, one of the smaller shrooms tightened up, lost its neon green color and appears to be slowly melting. <Sounds like some sort of trauma response to me.> The rest of the shrooms look great, are open, colorful, etc., as are my other shrooms, tree corals and BTA. My water is good--SPG is 1.025, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate all 0, temp 79*F, pH is 8.2, phosphate is 0.05-.1 (this is new. Has previously always been 0. <You'll want to get that down.> I use RO/DI water, my TDS meter shows 0 ppm, I have 80lbs live rock, aggressive protein skimming, 30g fuge with 4" DSB and Chaeto, and I feed quality foods (Formula One and frozen Mysis and blood worms that I thaw and drain before feeding). I think the reading may have been influenced by BGA that I had disturbed/cleaned from my substrate about 1 hr before testing phosphates). <Could be.> Not sure if any of you experts might know about the life span of shrooms . . . . <A small mushroom would generally indicate a younger mushroom, so I highly doubt this is a lifespan issue to begin with.> Thanks! <Welcome! Mich> Andy

Need Help, Mushrooms looking limp and not opening all the way, Cnidarian Allelopathy mostly 8/24/07 Hey all. My tank has been up and running for 4 months. The first coral I added was mushrooms (4 green mushrooms on one rock). They have been doing great the whole time and have even sprouted two new mushrooms on the rock. The mushrooms started looking really limp and only opening to about half their normal size a couple weeks ago. Color of the mushrooms look good. Mushrooms are at the bottom of the tank, under a little ledge, and have not been moved since I put them there a couple months ago. No other corals near the mushroom. All parameters look good. Calcium is low, 340, but has been at that level all along (only softies and LPS in my tank right now). I plan on switching salts when I run out, changing from Tropic Marin to Reef Crystals to see if I can bring up the Calcium without getting into dosing. My Parameters have been very consistent for the past couple months. They are: SG: 1.025 Ammonia, Nitrites and Nitrates are all 0. Phosphates .1 Calcium 330-340 PH ranging between 8.1 and 8.2 with lights off / on. Alk 2.9 Temp 82 to 83.6 (heats up to 83.6 when the MH comes on) I first noticed the problem when my central AC died a couple weeks ago. Tank heated up to 86. <Yikes...> Brought the temp down with ice bottles in the sump, and got the AC running within 48 hours. <I'd leave the lights off on such hot days... turn on more toward night> Another thing that changed, is I added a second powerhead. I have the mushrooms between two rock structures, and they don't appear to be getting blasted with current. I have a 53g tank with about 25x flow now (was about 12x). Have a MJ1200 and added a Tunze6025. Also have a Eheim 1260 for a return pump. <Corallimorphs often are found in quite stagnant settings> There's only one other softie that's not doing well all of a sudden, and that's a yellow colony polyp. <... Here could be a major portion of the problem...> When I bought it from another reefer, it was brownish and "fringe" for lack of a better word, on each polyp were long, and the dots in the middle of each polyp, were bright yellow. They have since changed to completely bright yellow, and the fringe is really short. I suspect these changes are because I have stronger lighting than the reefer I bought them from had. This coral seems a bit limp to me too. I have a Aussie Duncan which is doing awesome. <Duncanopsammia? As in a Dendrophylliid I take it> Bought one head, and it has sprouted 3 new heads. Have a zoo that is doing great and spreading. <...> Leather looks great. Hammer looks great. Any ideas on the mushroom? <It's losing to more dominant Cnidarians... the Sarcophyton, likely the Zoanthid...> Could it be the temperature spike from when my AC died and it just takes a more than a couple weeks for the mushroom to recover? <Could be a contributing factor> Nothing except for the mushrooms seemed to be affected when the AC died. Should I be feeding this mushroom? I've tried putting a little frozen Cyclops or enriched brine near it, but have never seen it take any food. I haven't been adding any phyto or anything, but tried adding a capful of Kent Phyto last night and left the return pump off for about 45 minutes. Don't know if that will help. Thanks! Pam <Too much too soon... I would move the Mushrooms to another system, spiff up your skimming, start the expensive ongoing use of carbon... And read on WWM re Cnidarian Allelopathy... use the search tool here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/WWMAdminSubWebIndex/question_page.htm Bob Fenner>
Re: Need Help, Mushrooms looking limp and not opening all the way 8/24/07 Ahh...the great Bob Fenner. <...? Wait, (goes to mirror... same ole non-hair combed petfish kind of guy... ego-deflated, returns to the computer...> Thank you so much for the response. <Welcome> I had never heard the term "Cnidarian Allelopathy", so at least now I have something to read up on. <Neat term eh?> I will take your advise on the carbon. <Good... advice> I don't have another system to move any of these corals to. The mushrooms are one of my favorites. Should I remove the Yellow Colonial Polyps, zoos, or the Sarcophyton if I want to keep the mushrooms, or do you think Carbon would handle what I guess you're saying is chemical warfare? (or is that something completely different?) <Is of a sort and more encompassing... takes in "stingers", agglutinants... sweeper "tentacles" and more...> I thought of one other possibility. I have never tested for, or dosed Iodine. Could lack of Iodine be a cause? <Again... perhaps a co-factor> I checked my LFS but they didn't have a test kit, and I don't want to dose without testing, but I will order a Iodine test kit online just in case. <Ah, good. Likely once-weekly administration per dosage... would not overshoot...> One last question, do you think I'd be better without the two powerheads, and just go with one powerhead and the return pump like I had before I started having this problem with the Mushrooms? <Maybe... but what re the rest of the life in the system? If there's room, I'd just move the Mushrooms to a less-circulated area...> I only had the MJ1200 and the Eheim return pump for flow, and added a Tunze6025, but I thought I could pull out the MJ1200 and just go with the Tunze now if that would be better. (53G tank which is 31.5" x 19.5" x 19.5") Corals I have so far if it makes a difference on flow: Sun Coral (just added two days ago and doing well) Waiving Hand Xenia (also just added two days ago and doing well) <... I'd be slowing down on these non-ordered/directed additions here...> Aussie Duncan (doing great) Tan Sarcophyton with Green Polyps (doing great) one orange centered zoo (doing fine) Bright Green Mushrooms (Doing poorly) Thinking of adding a Hawaiian Feather Duster. Thanks so much Bob. Pam <Please do read re the Compatibility of each of these Pam... here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/index.htm A very good idea for all to understand the "order", propensity for one group of animals... mainly Cnidarians in this case... to out-sting, out-grow, overshadow, displace one another... and to formulate, adhere to a plan of placing the less "winning" groups... of appropriate size... first... spacing time and dimensionally subsequent additions... using techniques, gear to limit the warfare that is/are these environments, including their living complements. BobF>
Re: Need Help, Mushrooms looking limp and not opening all the way 8/27/08 Hi Bob. I took your advise and added activated carbon this weekend. I also moved the Leather to a corner of the tank (it was only a couple inches from the mushrooms). <Yikes!> I'm not sure if it was the carbon, or moving the leather, or a combination of both, but within two days, my mushrooms have totally perked up!!! Not completely back to their full glory, but close!! I'll have to read more on the compatibility of corals. Thanks for your help! Pam <Thank you for this update Pam... and do keep reading. BobF>

Mushroom Meltdown 7/6/07 I have had a 120 for 10 years, and during that time, had a mushroom rock (Green/blue striped) that has literally become a massive colony. I'm talking on and under every rock (200+ lbs of rock). Even many with no color since they got no light (very cool), not to mention many over 6 inches across. The tank has been very stable and the mushrooms open up beautifully. (I have pretty low flow in that tank). Below are two links that show the tank. (they don't do the mushrooms justice as they were taken just after the lights came on before the mushrooms were open, but you get the point) I say again that this tank has been stable for 10 years. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SD_3i2ALjDo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvtAvnBbwWg So, I went away for a week, had someone watch my tank for me (Who I trust). Fed the tank (Frozen- 1 cube Mysis and 1 cube Mix A - Also, very small amt of arctic pods) 2x over the course of the week (I was feeding the day I got home). - In the tank: Yellow Tang Purple Tang Unicorn Tank Flame Angel Brittle Star 4 Ricordea a million of the aforementioned mushrooms 1 yellow leather 3 frags of pumping leather yellow polyps red Blastomussa So, I walk in and 75% of the mushrooms are gone. That's right. Vanished. (Melted is more like). PH was 7.89 (Low). Temp was fine. Water was a little cloudy. Fish and all other corals were fine. Temp was fine (77 as always) I did a 35 gallon water change the next day. The Mushrooms were 90% gone and water was getting cloudier. Next day - shrooms were 100% gone, water was cloudier and all else, again, fine. Skimmer going crazy of course. I did another 35 gallon water change since I'm sure my levels must be spiking like crazy. Today - all shrooms gone. I did a 45 gallon water change. Nitrates are 20 Bad but not terrible. Ammonia is through the roof. I took the leather (Which was finally looking stressed, as well as the Ricordea and a Blastomussa, and pumping leather and am putting them into my 180 (40 G sump and 75 gallon fuge) for safe keeping. <Good> I am thinking that the 120 has a serious cycle to go through for the near future. <Perhaps...> Questions: 1)What could have happened to dissolve every single mushroom and not the other corals??? (Did she pour a ton of arctic pods in ((Says she didn't)) <Mmm, some sort of "cascade event"... One thing leading quickly and deadly to another... Some sort of pathogen perhaps... or other trigger causing one Corallimorph to poison the system for its genetic likes> 2)Should I get all fish out (into the 180) as well and throw some damsels in there for the cycle?? (Buy some liquid quick cycle (I forget the name) <Mmmm, perhaps... if they appear stressed... too much... And BioSpira is likely the product you refer to and want to use> It's just amazing to me that after 10 years, they could all vanish literally overnight! Could this have been a spawning event of some kind? <Mmmm, not likely, no... This same sort of triggered response can come from "something" lacking in the environment, allelopathy with other Cnidarians... the Clavulariid, or Sarcophyton most likely from what you list...> Thank you very much! Mitch <These "things" do happen... even in well-kept, long-term-stable settings... Periodically upsetting the homeostasis (dynamic equilibrium... jumbo shrimp? Military intelligence?) is suggested... Bob Fenner>
Mushroom Meltdown - one addition 7/6/07 I have to add: I just realized that I forgot to mention something that could be important. My protein skimmer had not been working for a few months (with no detrimental effects) and I did take it apart and clean and fix it about 3 weeks ago. I wonder if this could have started the shift in water chemistry. (IE cleaning the water of excess nutrients that the mushrooms were thriving on, leading to the great mushroom crash.) <Yes... this definitely is a factor> Again, it was overnight and only the mushrooms, so I would still love to hear your thoughts. Thanks again, Mitch <Bob Fenner>
Re: Mushroom Meltdown 7/7/07 Thanks for the response Bob! ok- so a follow up. I am now seeing a white fungus on several rocks and on the bottom of the tank. Could this be related to the cause of the mushroom loss, or a growth after the fact based on the levels in the tank going so crazy in the past week? Also, of course- what should I do about it? Thanks again, Mitch <Is very likely related to the meltdown... are decomposition products... Need to monitor water quality, utilize activated carbon in your filter flow path, keep your skimmer cleaned (esp. the contact chamber), and carefully watch your other livestock. BobF>

Mushroom Coral Problem. No data on sys., tankmates, maint., foods/feeding, water quality testing... 5/29/07 Hi Guys, I have recently noticed my Mushroom coral starting to go black all over. A week ago it was fine and I have never had a problem with it. Please could you tell me what you think it might be? Cheers Phil <... What? Please read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/corallim.htm and the linked files above. Bob Fenner>

Issues... Mushrooms dying, BGA showing up... 3/8/07 I have two main concerns. I have a 4 month old system, 30 gallon with a 20 gallon refugium. By all accounts everything is doing well, my water parameters are all great, lighting is above average, I have plenty of water movement, everything is good. Anyway, One of the inhabitants was a large Hairy mushroom polyp, probably about 3" when fully expanded... It had asexually divided into three identical sized polyps about 1 month after I acquired it. <Often such activity resultant from very good... or very stressful environment> It was performing beautifully. This past weekend though I noticed one started to "change"...I unfortunately have no pictures to show so I will try to describe. It looked like it was melting, quite simply... A slimy layer was peeling off of it, it appeared as though it had shot it's nematocysts and it had shrunk dramatically in size. I tried to siphon some of the material off thinking it was completely dead for some reason, and the main body appeared to still be intact, and attached to the rock. But by the following day it was gone and the other two had begun the same phenomena. There is NO evidence that they ever even existed and it is baffling to me. I also recently have developed more of a red Cyano-bacteria issue... not sure if there is a correlation, I doubt there is. <Mmm, I do not doubt a positive correlation here myself> Any potential reason would be appreciated. Thank you Sean Uslabar <Well... it reads like "something" is amiss here... either directly or indirectly your Corallimorphs are/were being poisoned, mal-affected... by the BGA? By something else... the list of possibilities here is vast... Your resultant actions, important... Please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/shroomhlthfaqs.htm and the linked files above... Re what might be at fault here... And further on WWM re BGA... its causes, cures and controls. Bob Fenner>

Flatworms on my Corallimorpharia 1/5/07 First, happy new years to everyone at WWM. <And to you.> My Corallimorpharians are covered in flat worms similar to the pic in the article, "Flatworms, including "Planaria" & Marine Aquariums" by Bob Fenner, on your website. In the article Bob recommends leaving them alone or getting a predator. They do not appear to be harming the mushrooms however can I remove the rock the Corallimorpharians are on and give it a fresh water dip? <Would hurt/kill the corals.> If not, or also, what type of predator would you recommend. <A siphon during water changes. Otherwise 6-line wrasse are sometimes a good choice.> I have a 100 gal tank with 1-yellow tang, 1-regal tang, 1-blenny, 2-maroon clowns and two-Banggai cardinals. The tank is 6-months old and is doing well: sg-1.026 kh-12 cal-420 nitrates-0 phos low Thanks again. One additional thing I failed to mention, which may affect the choice of a predator, is that I have 2-cleaner shrimp. <A possible problem with the six-lined wrasse, although often works out fine. My suggestion is to go with manual removal during water changes. The worm's population will often wax and wane over time..> <Chris>

Snail comp., relating, Mushroom malady? 12/6/06 Hi Crew, <Hello, Mich here.> 10 gallon with some fish and mushrooms plus critters. Every once and a while I take a flashlight to see what's going on when the lights are out and I always find it fascinating. Usually I just see the threads of the spaghetti worm but last night it was out in full view with a whole web of red strands spread out over the rock. <Cool!> And I found some new snails (4 that I saw) that I did not buy and I have not added much in the past few months except for some small (2 inch ) rocks with mushrooms. <Many snails are fine, but be aware there are some snails that are not reef safe. Google WWM if you have questions.> The snails are small with the largest about half the size of a dime. They are like a dime standing on edge with a very visible spiral which is beautifully colored in bands of red and black with white background. Each band has a repeating design in it. It is amazing that something so small has such intricate designs. <The world is a fascinating place. You just have to stop to notice it.> One was on the glass and the others on the rock. I am surprised that I have not seen them till now. I have another small snail that I got with live sand. These are white and cerith shaped but were so small that it would take 4 to equal on grain of rice. I have lots of them and they are now about double in size but I do not see any smaller ones so I guess they will not reproduce. They are over a year old and are on the glass and rocks but only at night. I did have a strange episode in that I lost about 8 small (smaller than a dime) mushrooms that were all produced from the same parent. This happened over a two week period and I was unable to determine the cause. <As if often the case.> The parent is fine as well as other mushrooms in the tank including some that are small. But this group which was spread out over the tank just dissolved except for two that bleached and are still hanging in. <Sorry for your loss.> Keep up the good work. <Thank you, we'll try!-Mich>

Re: Mushroom Anenome and Soft Coral Help - 12/04/06 Good morning Justin, <Hey Ben, hope you're well> I'm very sorry about the long delay, once again I have been out of the office. <No problems> I thought I would keep you updated on the current affairs in my tank. <Sure! Always good to hear updates!> Since moving my leather toadstool it has look infinitely better and is increasing its size rapidly however the feathery tips are still not extending. <Good, I'd give the polyps some more time after the stress and moving, but if its reinflating itself again, this is a good sign.> I have ordered two 18watt T5 bulbs one 10000k daylight and one actinic (unfortunately I don't have the funds at present to get a 24watt luminary to fit my tank). I hope that this will be sufficient for now until the new year when I will be looking into a better lighting setup. <Sounds good> In regards to the unknown hitchhiker I tried to take a picture of it but it was just too small to get a clear image of it. At present it is not causing a problem to any of the tank inhabitants but I will keep an eye on it and if it gets bigger I will send you a picture of it. <You are wise here.> I have recently purchased a piccolo (not sure of the spelling) protein skimmer which I have added to my tank and this is running fine although I was told that because of the Seachem Renew it may not make much of a difference. Would you agree here? <Mmm, no, I would not. A protein skimmer will be a beneficial addition, regardless of what chemical filtration you may employ. While they may remove similar things, you will still see water quality improvement.> Thanks very much for your advice over the past few weeks. Hopefully once I have my T5 bulbs I will see an even greater improvement from my corals I will keep you informed of any progress within my tank. <Please do!> Thanks again and have a great Christmas and a happy new year if I don't hear from you before. Ben

Mushroom infestation 11/30/06 Dear WWM Crew, <Hi Ashlie, Michelle here.> I have had a rock of mushrooms in my tank for years. The shrooms have gradually been getting spots on them. They look like what a water blister would look like if a mushroom coral could get a water blister. (little pockets of air all over the individual mushrooms) However, in the past day or two, the blisters have multiplied greatly in numbers and now they are moving from place to place around them. Is this threatening to my mushrooms or any other corals/ fish in my tank. I'm really worried about this! Please help!!!! I have searched the web to try and find out what this is, but I can't seem to figure it out! <It sounds like you may have flatworms. Please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/flatworms.htm http://www.wetwebmedia.com/flatwrmfaq2.htm http://www.wetwebmedia.com/pestflatwrmanthony.htm> Thanks so much for anything you can tell me, <Welcome.> Ashlie

Mushrooms sick, possible contamination - 10/22/06 Hi, <Greetings.> I have a 4 year old 90 gallon tank that in every other way seems to be thriving. No nitrates, nitrite or ammonia. All others levels are fine except some phosphates. I got a small rock with handful of mushrooms when I started the tank. It took off and I counted about 30 mushrooms a few weeks ago. A week ago my mushrooms started getting those squiggly white lines coming out of them. Most have shriveled up or disappeared. I am not sure what is going on. The only thing that has changed is my light got a short in 2 of the bulbs a few weeks ago so they had to live on about 200 watts for a week until my new light came in ( roughly 600 watts), I acclimated them to the new light and it is now on full force but they have not come back. I also recently added a galaxy coral but it is nowhere near the mushrooms. Any ideas what could be up? < There is likely a water quality issue at play. A few large water changes in addition to fresh carbon and PolyFilter would be a good starting point. You may want to check your source water for contamination as well as stuff around the house (cleaning supplies etc) for a possible source. > Leah < Best of luck - Emerson >

Dyed Ricordea? - 06/20/06 Dear Crew, <<Evening Narayan>> I've read about dyed soft corals, anemones and glass fish on WWM. <<Indeed>> But just out of curiosity, have you heard of anyone dying Ricordea? <<Can't say that I have>> The reason I ask is that my LFS has a bright florescent-green polyp that looks too bright and florescent to be real. <<Hmm...>> I searched the Internet for pictures and haven't found one that colorful. <<Perhaps a true "find"...or perhaps not...>> I'm very tempted, but I want to make sure... <<Is a possibility I suppose...I think you'll have to use your own good judgment here>> Thank you, Narayan <<Welcome, EricR>>
Re: Dyed Ricordea? - 06/21/06 Thanks! I'll let you know if it's offspring are not as vibrant! Narayan <<Please do! EricR>>

- Mushrooms Fed and then Died 6/15/06 - Sorry, I have never posted before and I REALLY hope I am doing this correctly. <No worries.> I bought a BEAUTIFUL rock of chromes some months ago. It was healthy and happy, very open and thriving. It is in the tank next to a rock heavy with green hairy mushrooms. They have both been doing fine, actually the green ones are about a year old and have done really well. A few days ago my husband felt the need to target feed them because he was CONVINCED it was the right thing to do for them since I have NEVER EVER fed them. I run a fuge and feed the fish everyday and they always seem to catch a little of their food every once and a while. They always looked happy so I figured, if it isn't broke DON'T fix it. He is an engineer so he ALWAYS knows a better way... Anyway, he fed them Cyclop-eeze mixed with tank water through a tube feeder direct in the middle of each mushroom. They immediately closed up like they were eating so he thought it was what they needed and did it again the following day. They reacted the same way as the day before. Then when wok up on morning three, both rocks inhabitants seemed to start just melting away. Now one rock is completely empty and the green ones are not far behind... Is this happening because he OVERFED them? <It certainly sounds that way but it's difficult to know with absolute certainty. That being said, it would be unusual for food alone to kill a mushroom. Perhaps cross contamination from the feeder device.> If they were doing fine with what I was doing, should I just continue to care for mushrooms in this fashion??? <Mushrooms need little direct attention and often do better with none at all... so, stick with your methodology and tell your husband to keep his feeder to himself.> Thanks Danielle <Cheers, J -- >

White specks on mushroom coral - 06/07/06 Hello there!! Quick question regarding my mushroom corals. I was looking at the mushroom corals today and noticed very tiny white dots attached to the mushrooms. They do not move at all but when I poke them with a stick, they quickly dart around the mushroom. They move sporadically. I happened to siphon one out into a cup to observe it (they are like the size of a flea). They do not look like amphipods or copepods that I see in my tank. Once in the cup, I poke it with the stick. Since it has nothing to hold on to, it would swim and dart around with no sense of direction (Similar to a fish darting around when they have ich). I Googled mushroom coral parasites/pest but nothing comes up. I have no idea what this is and is it harmful to my mushrooms or any of my other corals such as colony polyps and frogspawn coral. <Mmm, from your description of morphology, behavior these are likely some species of small crustacean... and not likely of harm. I would tolerate them... and enjoy them while you can, as it is highly likely they will "cycle out" on their own. Bob Fenner>

Rhodactis mushroom 2/8/06 Hi guys, Thanks so much for your help over the last year or so, you guys have been a huge part in my tank doing so well. I recently made a lot of additions to my 29 gallon tank to finally make it more of a reef. I recently acquired some frags of pulsing xenias for free from a fellow reefer in my area, and yesterday I added a small frag of zoo's and a couple of (what I was told are) Rhodactis mushrooms. <... these groups of animals are hard to keep in such a small volume with each other...> Everything seems to being great, but one of my Rhodactis mushrooms is showing mesenterial filaments and his mouth has opened up to about the size of the end of a q-tip. I know that these are a sign of defense, but there is nothing near him except the other, smaller Rhodactis and he is doing just fine. <Maybe damaged, perhaps a weaker individual... likely allelopathogenic influence from the Zoanthids, perhaps the Xeniids as well> Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate are all 0. pH is about 8.3. I dose Purple for Calcium and Iodine which I know is essential for mushrooms. I'm asking early so I can fix whatever may be wrong. Thanks again for all your help. <... Please read here: http://www.google.com/custom?q=mushroom%2C+allelopathy%2C+zoanthid&sitesearch=wetwebmedia.com Bob Fenner>

Ricordea Yuma Bleaching 10/18/05 Hello, <Hey, Mike G here.> I have a brilliant, large rock covered with Ricordea yuma and Discosoma. This piece has been in my tank for about a year now. It has not been through any great changes to it's habitat, water levels are perfect, salinity has not changed, lighting has not changed and temperature has not changed. <Okay.> My problem: For about a week now the Ricordea have not opened to their full potential. <Always a cause for concern.> They are still responsive as they close when the lunar lights are on and open when the when the rest of the lights come on. <Good.> They only open to about a 1/4 of their size though. <Not so good.> They also seem to be changing color, from a deep reddish brown to an almost white. <Ah, they are bleaching. That is, all corals live endosymbiotically with a photosynthetic dinoflagellate known as zooxanthellae. The zooxanthellae thrive in the corals' tissues, and provide them not only with their color, but also with their respiratory wastes. The corals do the same, and, as each has different needs in terms of respiration, both thrive. In fact, zooxanthellae are credited with being the reason corals are able to build such massive reef structures. In any case, under stress, corals will expel their symbiotic zooxanthellae, and, in doing so, effectively destroy their own ability to sustain themselves via photosynthesis. Any coral turning white is a cause for alarm, as this (known as bleaching) is the aforementioned expellation (expulsion) of zooxanthellae. It is of paramount importance to figure out why the Ricordea have decided to evict these (very valuable) tenants.> They also seem to be partially releasing themselves from their host rock. <Too weak to hold on? Trying to catch a wave to a better place?> The Discosoma have begun shedding themselves from the rock and transplanting on other rocks. This has only seemed to give the other Discosoma more room to open larger. <Sounds like everyone's trying to get away from that rock. Likely a bad spot in regard to lighting, flow, etc.> The question: Are these issues natural or is there a problem that I need to address? <Natural? Yes, but not in the least a "good" kind of natural.> I have attached a picture of the tank for your viewing. You can find the Ricordea located in the middle right of the picture. <Absolutely gorgeous system you have there! Can't tell much from the pic in terms of the Ricordea, however. Going by your description, I'm almost positive they're bleaching. Do try moving them around a bit, try to get them to a spot they like.> Thank you in advance for your help, <You're very welcome.> Steve S
<Mike G>