Splitting?

[jasonrp104]

Do shrooms split? I got a live rock that had a few actins on it and I noticed that one seems to have 2 mouths.

Sorry to start a thread on such a quick question but search doesn't seem to work for me.

 

[nacre]

My hairy mushroom splits. My actinodiscus bud off new ones though; I haven't seen splitting with them.

Hopefully a few others with more experience will chime in also.

 

[Drewsus1010]

can you cut mushrooms to make them split faster?

 

[IFbettas]

Yep, you can cut them into halves or quarters. They grow back fastest if each piece gets a part of the mouth, but if they don't get part of the mouth they will still grow, just much slower.

 

[Drewsus1010]

can i do this right on the rock that they are on in the tank or is there a special procedure?

 

[IFbettas]

It is easier to do outside the tank than inside. If you can get them out of the tank, take a sharp razor blade, and make as clean of a cut as you can right through the mouth. I suppose you could do it in the tank as well, but it would be more difficult, so I have always done it out of water. This works for ricordea too.

 

[CoRPS]

sharp scissors would be easier I think.

 

[IFbettas]

I agree, that scissors are easier, but only if the mushroom isn't attached to anything. If it is firmly attached to a rock deep in the tank a razor blade is the easiest IME.

 

[JMCAquarium]

avoid scissors if you can do it with one clean slice of a razor blade scissors tear as much as they do cut even sharp one and you get yourself a light scar line in the shroom when it regrows.


Try and stick to razor blades sharp ones

 

[JMCAquarium]

Also if the shroom as begun to split on it's own don't help it along by cutting it. In a healthy tank a shroom can begin and split and completely heal on it's own in under 5-6 days

 

[Fragman2]

So you guys are just chopping your shrooms in half with scissors?

 

[salmonslayer]

Nice Avatar jasonrp104
lol.

 

[IFbettas]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14621780#post14621780 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Fragman2
So you guys are just chopping your shrooms in half with scissors?

Not quite, it is safer (for the coral) to cut it in half with a razor blade rather than scissors. Scissors are just easier for us to use but do more damage to the shrooms.