Should I be worried?

[zezeta]

I just started my tank and got some live rock on Sunday. Attached to one of the rocks is a coral. After looking on liveaquaria I believe it is a giant cup mushroom. Here is a picture of it in my tank (sorry the picture is a little blurry):

<a href="http://s949.photobucket.com/albums/ad338/Zezeta/?action=view&current=DSC07281.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i949.photobucket.com/albums/ad338/Zezeta/DSC07281.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

Here is the link to liveaquaria where I found a picture that looks like mine.

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=597+598+660&pcatid=660


On their website it says that it can eat fish. Is that true? If so should I look into getting rid of it now before it may become a problem?

If I need to get rid of it whats the best way? I would like to try to give it away to someone who may want it because I don't want to have to kill it. Also whats the best way to remove coral off a piece of rock without damaging it? I want to keep the rock its on if possible.

Hopefully its a harmless coral but I have a feeling its a giant cup mushroom. Thanks to anyone who can help me out with this!

 

[NaptownReefer]

Can you get a better pic of it? From what I can see it looks JUST like what I have in my tank. If it is, it's not a giant cup mushroom.

I think it's some type of rhodactus or hairy shroom.

If you have what I have you're in luck! It's one of the hardiest corals I've ever had (survived being completly melted during a heater malfunction). Mine has a VERY neon green disk, with short stubby brown tentecals. Mine is about 4-5" across, and has never cause any problems in my tank.

 

[reeferoo]

giant cup corals are elephant ear corals and look different. I have had 5" hairy mushrooms like the one in the pic, no prob.

 

[scuba guy ron]

from what i can see in the pic, looks like a discosoma sp. a green version of this http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=597+598+668&pcatid=668

 

[zezeta]

NaptownReefer what you are describing sounds just like mine.

Also when I went to the LFS yesterday they had one that looked like mine and they also said that it was a hairy shroom.

So hearing that from them and from everyone here has put my mind to ease. Thanks!

And hopefully once my tank clears a little more I can figure out how to take better pictures.

 

[NaptownReefer]

If it is what I have, which I'm 95% sure it is, treat it well. It won't let you down.

They LOVE being fed frequently. Slowly acclimate it to high lighting and its entire surface turns a beautiful florescent green. They also are very hardy, and make good candidates for fragging. (as I said previously, mine came back from a sliver of the base of it's foot with in a few months) They are also peaceful, and wont hurt anything in your tank.

I'm not sure if all hairy shrooms are the same, but for some reason mine has never split on it's own, so you may have to slice it if you want more of them. A full rock of these would be very impressive.

Happy shrooming!

 

[zezeta]

What do you usually feed your shroom?

 

[NaptownReefer]

Any medium sized meaty foods work well. Brine shrimp/similar sized items are too small and are just washed away. Silversides and Krill work well, as does shrimp (the kind you can buy at your local seafood store) as long as you cut it up small enough.

To feed, all you need to do is take your food item and gently place it somewhere near it's mouth. After you have done this, watch the show begin! Your shroom will close up around the food, and will open back up with in 30-60min. with no traces food to be seen. If it spits it back out, then you just need to go with smaller food. The size of a pea is a good size to start with.

 

[zezeta]

Alright. Thanks! I'll have to go get some shrimp to try to feed it.