Mushrooms/Coral/Polyps Question with Pictures

[Capnbob]

Hello,

Back on November 20th I bought some mushrooms and polyps and they still havenââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t spread whatsoever. Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢m not sure exactly what kind they are, but I have picturesââ"šÂ¬Ã‚¦ If someone could identify them, that would be awesome. Itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s my understanding that theyââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢re supposed to spread at a pretty fast rate and sprout up in various parts of your tank relatively quickly. Am I wrong about this? Itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s been nearly two months and theyââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢re still just stuck to the little piece of rock they came on and Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢m kind of disappointed because I spent $80 thinking theyââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢d grow. Am I being impatient or should they have grown by now? They seem to be totally healthy, they just aren't growing at all. Can I do anything to make them grow throughout the tank?

My tank parameters are great. No problems at all.

Below is a list of my equipment and tank inhabitants:

46 gallon bowfront. Emperor 280 filter. Coralife Super Skimmer for up to 65 gallons. Two Maxi-Jet 1200's with Hydor Flo water deflectors. About 50-70 lbs. of live rock. Current USA 36" Power Compacts w/ 1 - Dual Daylight Lamp (10,000K and 6,700K) and 1 - Dual Actinic Lamp (420nm and 460nm).

Scarlet Hermit Crabs, turbo snails, nassarius snails
Royal Gramma Basslet
Blue Devil damselfish
Four Stripe Damselfish
Red spotted Hawkfish
Bicolor Blenny
Coral Banded Shrimp
Serpent Starfish
Percula Clownfish

Any tips are much appreciated!

-Capnbob

 

[REV]

They will spread in time. Though , if it were me I would pluck a few of the mushrooms off of the polyp rock... you may consider a regimen of replacing some trace elements if you don't already... Something that I've found that works wonders for many filter feeders in general is give your live rock a "dusting" once in a while. You can use a turkey baster to blow detritus off, I use a power head to blow off my rock - my filter feeders love it! Be patient though... it will still take time. It seems like a LONG time when you're staring at it every day. HEHE.

 

[bluesponge]

I think mushroom polyps require iodine as a food source, may be wrong, but with just light, spreading may take awhile...

They don't spread throughout , the grow new smaller shrooms near each other...