where did they go?

[edandsandy]

We had a rock that we paid 200.00 for full of rics appx. 12-14 of them. we went on a cruise, my mother -in-law was taking care of the tank. I told to look at the tank everyday, make sure nothing got moved by the crabs or snails. when we got home my rics were upside side down. we were able to save 3 on the rock. now they have moved. they left behind about 10 little feet. will these grow new ones? I know the rics did not leave the tank, I just can't find them. I keep looking in the tank, hoping to see them.
any advise on what I should do about the missing ones? or is it hopeless?

 

[minipolyp]

Unfortunately if you found them upside down then they may be dead. Though it is possible that they were not happy where you put them and they moved. The pieces of foot that they left behind should grow into new mushrooms.

 

[keckles]

The feet are designed to grow into mature Ricordea if all goes well.

The missing Ricordea most likely rode the 4 power-head train to an inconvenient place in your tank.

 

[Tallinu]

This is a time where you will have to move some live rock around or even use a small powerhead and blow debris out of caves and crevices that have the substrate as a base flooring. Also a large hungry brittlestar of good size even though they don't eat shrooms tend to pull them into their dens by accident as they feed if they are loose. They have sticky conveyer belt feet and pick up all kinds of loose rubble and whatnot. You were gone long enough that if there was a problem, most of the signs of a meltdown would have gone away. Please do not be the case. I hope you find them. They tumble and float very well when loose and get lodged into or under the damndest of places. They let go when under acclimation or environmental stress in an effort to change locations.

Tallinu

 

[edandsandy]

Keckles,
the power head train, that's funny.
True, but funny,
I just hope I can find them before they die!

 

[edandsandy]

Tallinu,
I have a brittle star, do you think he is moving them around?

 

[Tallinu]

I have a brittle star, do you think he is moving them around?


Only if they are loose and the brittlestar is large. Then it's possible you will find them stuffed deep inside nooks and crevices. They tend to operate like a huge draglines over the nighttime hours. I've watched them grab and move small mushroom polpys and pieces of rubble. A fully attached and healthy polyp will not be an issue. But a loose polyp will tend to wander with the current and wind up where lots of debris would tend to accumulate. Of course theres edibles in that debris and a large brittlestar will sift through the odd bits looking for yummies, moving it from foot to foot on it's long arm and do little tastes, dropping what it doesn't like in whatever hole it's reaching out from.

It's a place to look if you have one. It doesn't mean your polpys will be there but it would be nice to have the mystery solved.

Tallinu

 

[ziggy222]

i gave up on ricordia because they would move under rocks and sometimes just let go and blow under the liverock.its ok though cause i like my regular mushrooms