How do you make your Mushrooms Happy?

[only1cookie]

After looking at the thread - Let's see those uncommon shroom color morphs, :thumbsup: -I got to wondering what everyone else feeds or does to their tank & mushrooms to get them so happy & beautiful? The few I have just don't look happy like those in that thread. I would love for my mushrooms to get happy.


Jackie

 

[JNye]

proper care I guess... too general? I think it'll be easier to pin-point what you are doing wrong or not doing by giving us some system details and maybe a pic of the mushrooms and any theories you may have.

 

[macclellan]

That thread is not about proper care...it's about good genetics. No amount of care will turn an ordinary mushroom into some of those - you just gotta get those and keep them happy.

 

[only_mnh]

what kind of shrooms you got?
what kind of lights? flow? proximity to other coral?

 

[only1cookie]

Ok, it's a 29 gallon tank, established over a year ago. I bought it used about 2 months ago. Moving it triggered it into a cycle & I have been having diatom algae issues since. (I suspect the tank lights weren't turned on much). I have Coralife dual PC light/with moon light= 130 watts total, 1- actinic bulb, 1- 12,000K bulb (bulbs probably could stand to be replaced, but haven't gotten an order finished yet for them). I have a remora skimmer with mag 1200 power head, Aquaclear 110 hob filter (set up kinda as refugium with rock & chaeto, as well as carbon), Koralia powerhead (don't know which model), & another tiny little powerhead. Neither are pointing at the mushrooms. Tank had 3 mushrooms when I bought it, but those disappeared, I figured from the move & stress. When the readings all came down to 0, I bought a rock with some mushrooms on it (5), & the rock with the xenia which also had 3 mushrooms, & a loose unattached mushroom, and the rubble with one on it. Acclimated with drip method, just like fish. All but the 3 have disappeared in less than 5 days. I have looked all over, rearranged rock, etc, no where to be found.
Stocking=
1 marroon gold bar clown,
2 peppermint shrimp,
4 hermit crabs,
4 nasarius snails,
4 marguerita snails.
parameters=
Nitrate 0
Nitrite 0
Phosphate 0
Ammonia 0
Calcium 520+
KH 250.6
GH doesn't measure correctly, ordering a new tester
PH 8.4
Temp 79
Salinity 1.026 (trying to get it down to 1.025, but evaporation is been making this hard to accomplish)
Weekly water changes, manual topoff each evening.

The mushrooms are very small to be able to take good photos of with my camera, sorry, I did the best I could with the camera I have. I'll try to attach here, but you can see them in my photobucket account here: http://s243.photobucket.com/albums/ff280/only1cookie/Salt water/

The happiest is the littlest one, purple with red dots on the rock with the xenia, size of a pencil eraser.
<a href="http://s243.photobucket.com/albums/ff280/only1cookie/Salt%20water/?action=view&current=IMG_1483.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff280/only1cookie/Salt%20water/IMG_1483.jpg" border="0" alt="Littlest Mushroom"></a>

The other one detached from his rock (sibling to the tiniest one), so I have netting over him hoping he will attach again, he's squirted his filament/guts out, they have been out for 2 days. Netting does not touch him, he's in the hollow of the rock- the picture is deceiving.
<a href="http://s243.photobucket.com/albums/ff280/only1cookie/Salt%20water/?action=view&current=IMG_1487.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff280/only1cookie/Salt%20water/IMG_1487.jpg" border="0" alt="mushroom in netting"></a>

The third looks like he's starting to detach from the rock rubble-he's the biggest of the 3 (probably 2 pencil erasers in size).
<a href="http://s243.photobucket.com/albums/ff280/only1cookie/Salt%20water/?action=view&current=IMG_1490.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff280/only1cookie/Salt%20water/IMG_1490.jpg" border="0" alt="another of biggest mushroom"></a>

I don't dose iodine, because I don't have a test for it-going to order that too. I do put in Kent zooplex every other day from the fishstore's reccomendations. & I feed the clown everyday. Everything else (fish/shrimp/crabs/snails/xenia), but the mushrooms, seems happy. Coraline is starting to come on, with the lighting be on everyday. The shrimp & crabs molt. Crabs have eaten all my turbo snails though & not for the shells (stupid crabs!)
Thanks,
Jackie

 

[only1cookie]

macclellan - I didn't mean coloration/type, just how happy they all look, all full & well, happy. Mine do not look happy.

These are just regular mushrooms, nothing fancy, I just want them to be "happy". I figured I must be doing something wrong, that they aren't happy.

No other coral besides the xenia. I have tried to move them around to find a place that made them happy in the tank. Right now, they are on the bottom, out of any flow, cause the flow seemed to upset them the most. They weren't happy in shade either, so I have them out in front.

I used to have a salt water 100 gallon a few years ago, I never had problems with mushrooms back then. Sold the tank due to a move, & am just trying to get back into salt water again.

Thanks for the replys.
Jackie

 

[JNye]

nothing jumps out at me. Everything seems fine. If you start with healthy shrooms they should do fine in the sytem you describe. Possibly they weren't in great shape when you got them. They also look small. That, IMO, makes them more vunerable/suseptible to problems. Calcium is high. KH?? not familiar with that scale. I think if you acquire some adult shrooms they would do fine. I agree replace the bulbs, you gotta stay on top of that with PCs(annually at very least) , but not enough light usually makes them try to "make themselves bigger" so to speak. An auto top off system may be a good idea too but not necesaryy if you always top-off daily. Also I like 1.026, personally I run my tank a 1.027. Good luck and have fun.

 

[only1cookie]

They are small, the biggest one, was between a nickel & a quarter in size fully open. The one under the netting was about a nickel in size fully open. The little one has always been little, he was so tiny I couldn't tell what color he was going to be. Just the last day or so, you could see the dots. They all looked healthy in the store, fully open. Go figure. Wouldn't be the first time something coming out of the store in town was bad though. Usually I mail/internet order everything cause the store is so bad.

The store got on to me over salinity being too high, at the 1.026, when I let them run a test to compare to my tests at home to make sure my figures were accurate. Kh, is supposed to be part of the magnesium figure somehow (don't have that sorted out). I got the test kit with the tank & it was in there, so used it. I got the light with the tank, so I figure it probably needs replacing due to age. I was going to make an order up after payday, & get some bulbs, test kits, & some other things for the tank.

I appreciate you taking the time to look at this. I just figured everyone with the big happy mushrooms did something or dosed something or fed something or just knew something...

Thanks.
Jackie

 

[JNye]

personally I would stop dosing zoo-plankton in such a small tank, unless you are doing large weekly water changes. Those nutrients may start building up otherwise. For test kits look into API, they are cheap and effective and very easy to use. Calcium, Alkalinity, magnesium, nitrate...those are the only parameters I check in my tank.