Help with Rhodactis health/care

[NTP66]

I started another thread on ID'ing a mushroom that I recently purchased, but have some health/care related questions on it now that I know it's a Rhodactis.

First question. In the short time that I've had this mushroom, it has gradually darkened and the edges almost turn a milky white. Definitely not the bright green it was when it entered the tank. For a good comparison, here's a shot of my brand new Rhodactis on the left, with the old one on the right; the one on the left looks exactly like the other one did initially.



Should I be worried about this change? The shroom basically looks exactly as it does in this photo until lights out, when it flattens out, lifting the edges off the rock.

I'm running a 48" BuildMyLED 20,000k XB LED unit set to ramp up to 80% at peak, with the full lighting schedule being about 8 hours in total. Recently, I've also changed the max flow rate on my two MP40s to basically be capped at 80% at its highest outside of NTM mode.

They're placed in the bottom third of my tank, which is what I've always read shrooms should go, though they are under direct lighting. They're not in the direct line of current from my powerheads, however. Here's a shot of the placement, if it helps.



I'm very green when it comes to coral, only having experience with a FOWLR, but I'd greatly appreciate some guidance here so that I can help these mushrooms thrive. It's the only coral that my fish have left alone, so I'd like to keep them around.

 

[organism]

It sounds like your white LED's are turned up too high for the colors you're going for, they're the ones that whiten up the edges. If you put the blues at 90-100% and the whites at 20-30% you'll probably get the colors you want on those.

 

[NTP66]

Unfortunately, all of my LEDs are on a single channel. I didn't think it'd really be worth the extra $80 to be able to control three separate channels when I purchased this unit, to be honest - especially when I wasn't sure that I'd even be able to keep coral because of my aggressive fish.

I'm not sure if it's worth it, but I may try reacclimating everything to these new LEDs on a totally different schedule (shorter photoperiods at a much lower level).

 

[organism]

I don't think it would make too much difference, you'd just be changing the intensity of the light they're getting but not the spectrum.

 

[NTP66]

The only other thing I can think of, short of returning the entire unit (don't want to do), would be to put some sort of tint over the areas where the white LEDs are on the unit. Honestly, though, there aren't a lot of white LEDs actually hitting the tank. Out of the 20 white LEDs (cool and warm), six of them are basically being blocked by my tanks top frame.

 

[Lagoon monkey]

Shrooms dont need much light to grow they could be getting too much. Increase blue spectrum for better greens...shrooms like dirtier water too so if you plan on doing sps or sensative lps you might have to decide which corals you like...softies grow very slow in an sps tank. keep up on water changes as well it is the key to this hobby at least the last 5 yra ive been in it. Keep the shrooms low in the tank and lower flow area for better PE

 

[organism]

Honestly, though, there aren't a lot of white LEDs actually hitting the tank. Out of the 20 white LEDs (cool and warm), six of them are basically being blocked by my tanks top frame.

If you cut a piece of paper to cover the white LED's it'll give you an idea of how much they're changing the color in the tank, it's a lot more than you'd think.

As far as dirty water for softies I run a ULN super clean system and my zoanthids and mushrooms grow like crazy, it's a debunked myth that softies "need" lower water quality.

 

[NTP66]

I'm definitely going to try out shading the whites just to see , though I am also lowering the max intensity in the cycle. My water isn't crystal clean, but it's not bad, either. Nitrates are a little high thanks to the trigger and puffer, but all other parameters are solid.

 

[smatter]

I have the same fixture. It's plenty blue. 80% may not look bright to your eyes but it is quite intense actually. Why fiddle with shading when you can just turn it down?

 

[NTP66]

That's what I've basically done, along with moving the larger Rhodactis to another side of the tank in the shade. I've changed the entire photoperiod down to 4 hours I believe at 40% max, and will be extending the photoperiod and intensity each week. I'm thinking that 60-70% may be where I wind up in the end.

 

[atteb66]

Going to tag along on this one as I have LED lights that I cannot dim the whites either. But I do have a dimmer switch that I can dial down but it also dials down the blues too. I have an all blue strip that is not on this switch as there is no more room and they run full strength.

I have been having issues with my Ricordeas and these dam LED lights, but have been shading the area this one bleached Ric is and its coming back very nice. My Rhodactis seem to be just fine with these lights. I have 2 new Rhodactis coming this week one is to die for a nice Ultra Citrus Yellow and the other is Volcanic Frost so I hope they do as well as my first two are doing.

These LED lights have been a nightmare for me, many reefers where I live are going back to the T5's

 

[smatter]

That's what I've basically done, along with moving the larger Rhodactis to another side of the tank in the shade. I've changed the entire photoperiod down to 4 hours I believe at 40% max, and will be extending the photoperiod and intensity each week. I'm thinking that 60-70% may be where I wind up in the end.

Sounds like a plan. Keep us posted. :thumbsup:

 

[NTP66]

I definitely think moving them has helped. While the edges are still a little white/translucent on both of them, they do look better. Here's a shot of their new/permanent location (ignore the quality... poor lighting in the room and I was in a rush):



The larger Rhodactis on the left has been stretching out to completely cover the rubble rock he's attached to - much more than you see in the picture now. It coiled up a little bit in the past half hour, probably because my MP40s are in NTM mode, so there's a decent amount of flow blowing through there right now. The smaller one looks a little better, too. During the day, I now see both of them moving about in the water, whereas before they stayed like statues the entire time. The bullseye Rhodactis on the right has always seemed to be good in its current location, and may actually be splitting (I have no idea how to tell, and haven't researched).

I'm in the final two weeks of extending my photoperiod, and I'm definitely going to cap it at 70% max (for one hour daily). Here's the final schedule (10% is the lowest these lights can be driven, so I have an on/off statement at the start and end of the period to control the outlet):



The only thing I haven't been able to do yet is to get the shrooms to close up around food (Reef Chili) at night, an hour after the fish are fed and while only the dim moonlights are on. I try once a week, so we'll see if anything changes.

 

[NTP66]

I figured I'd update this thread, since the help was much appreciated. All of my shrooms are doing well, and seem to be thriving. Two of them decided that they didn't like staying on the shells that I bought them on and wound up moving an inch in another direction to get off them, which I thought was pretty interesting to watch.

I've been on the lookout for mushrooms every week at my LFS, but they keep getting the same ones in, and I'd like to add different colors. Anyone have suggestions on where to get decent mushroom frags? So far, Vivid has had the nicest and most mushroom frags that I've found, but I'm sure there are other hidden gems that people here use.

Anyway, here are some shots of the shrooms:

 

[snorvich]

I don't think it would make too much difference, you'd just be changing the intensity of the light they're getting but not the spectrum.

I agree. To the OP, nice pictures!!

 

[smatter]

Looking much better.