Please tell me it is NOT a fish eating mushroom!

[blennielove]

Hello,
I went to my "trusted" LFS to get some large corals for my tank and saw this beautiful arrangement of four LARGE green mushrooms. I asked what they were, I knew they were some type of mushroom but not sure, and the owner tells me that they are "giant green mushroom" and so I bought them and placed them in my quaranteen tank...well, doing some research, I'm starting to think that they may be one of those that will eat my fish...
Please help i.d. this thing!
The pictures are ultra close-ups because they were in fairly shallow water and I couldn't get a full frame picture. They open up to be five inches in diameter. When I feed the tank some leftovers, they will cup up for a few minutes. When I touch it with my fingers they will slowly cup up over several seconds.

 

[organism]

Those aren't a big fish eater but they can eat sick fish sometimes. I've had them with no issues, looks like yours have been under low light though, once they get some decent bluer lighting they'll color up a really nice green

 

[BANDIT ANGEL]

They won't eat healthy fish but they do eat sick or dead indivisuals.
The shroom that kills healthy fish is a thing we call "elephant ear" in my region,they look like huge green mats.

 

[blennielove]

Thank you both!!!
I always plan on what to put into my tank before I go to the store and avoid impulse buys. I never heard of fish eating mushrooms! So when I was told that they were mushrooms, why, never could I imagine!
I have a 225 gallon with an Emperor Angel (5"), Atlantic Blue Tang (7"), Powder Blue Tang (4"), Kole Tang (4"), Coral Beauty (2"), Flame Hawk (2.5"), Pair of clowns, a cleaner wrasse (2.5") and a Starry Blenny (4"). I LOVE my fishes as we went through a year and a half of ich together and I would NEVER risk their lives for anything!
I don't have any "sick" fish so I'm thinking it will be okay.
What type of mushroom is it? If you would let me know, it would be Grrreat!

 

[Kahuna Tuna]

Looks like a "hairy mushroom", probably a Rhodactis indosinensis, definately a Rhodactis shroom, but shouldn't be any danger to your fish.

 

[lgtentacle]

The elephant ear mushrooms that can eat small fish have what look like small tentacles (shorter than a short tentacle plate). When you feed them, they actually wrap around the food. The kind of mushrooms in your pictures won't eat fish, so your good to go.

 

[astroreevo]

I have few elephant ear mushrooms, they don't eat any of my fish.. maybe because I feed them small shrimps.. :spin2:

 

[mayberry reefer]

i beg to differ with the statement that that type of mushroom wont eat fish.. i have three different rhodactis mushrooms that will all take pieces of fish or shrimp. but i also have two saddleback clowns that host a large purple one with no problems.. if you have some fish that will rest on them there is a chance , even if it is a small chance that if the fish dosnt move the shroom will eat it. and some of the rhodactis can get quite large up to 12 inches across.. but as was said with healthy fish the risk is very minimal.. but if a sick or injured fish lands on it thats another story

 

[AJSTITAN14]

All rhodactis will eat fish if they can catch them. They have a special structure along the edge of their disc that allows them to do what is called purse-string closure. They are very dangerous to clowns who are trying to use them as surrogate anemone. They are also dangerous to perching fish like dragonets, blennies and certain types of gobies. They often don't seem interested in eating the fish perching on them but can decide to try to eat a fish sitting on it for whatever reason without warning.

They are not generally dangerous to swimming fish since there is little chance that they will interact unless they are sick like someone mentioned before.

The way I learned that Rhodactis were dangerousto fish was finding my clown struggling to get out of one one night when I came home from work. As needed I cut a side off the rhodactis that are large enough to eat my clown to protect her.

 

[mc-cro]

I have had those green rhodactis for several years. My largest one was about 10" across, while most were only about 6-8" across. I had a clown goby that perched on them all the time, but they never seemed interested in eating them.

they are cool to watch them eat though, they way they wrap around the food and close up on it.

 

[Apercula]

I always like these threads, because I get to break out my Amplexidiscus pictures.
Amplexidiscus fenestrafer, 16inches in diameter at the time this picture was taken. The signature difference between Amplexidiscus and Rhodactus is the band visible about an inch from the rim in this picture, Rhodactus tentacles wont have that gap.

A. fenestrafer Is a fish eater. Clowns and perching fish are most likely prey, but any fish that wanders into the wrong spot at the wrong time may be captured.

In feeding mode.

 

[Sk8r]

Yep: they're a handsome mushroom, but very bad news to blennies, gobies, and dragonets.

 

[magnoliapark]

I just had a st. thomas shroom eat a perfectly healthy dottyback. I think any of the bigger mushrooms like that have the potential to eat fish.

 

[Troender]

Oh no! I didn't know they could! I'm definitely too inexperienced yet. I really hope that my new mushrooms don't eat fish (see topic about ID), as I have two clowns and a lawnmower blenny. Now I'm really nervous! :uhoh2:

 

[Davy854]

I have 5 of them mushrooms that close up like a purse my valentini puffer used to use the biggest one as a bed at night and never got eaten