Why would a mushroom melt?

[markalot]

-- insert food joke here --

Moved this to my 20 gallon from my 40 gallon yesterday. I did notice a long filament coming from the area of the hairy mushrooms last night but I assumed it was a worm of some sort.

I just tested my water yesterday.

Alk 8
Calc 420
a,n,n all 0 (api kit)
SG 1.025
temp 80.1

The numbers for the 40 almost identical except Alk is 9 and nitrate is 5 ish (API kits). I change 10% water once a week in each tank using reef crystals. At the moment I don't dose anything except IO Nitrate Reducer (the biodegradable plastic).

This is in a 20 gallon long under t5 lighting, but the lighting is only 24 inches and this shroom is on the edge of the tank where it's not as bright. If anything the light is dimmer here than it was in my 40 breeder.

40 has been setup for 9 months, 20 has only been setup for 20 days, nitrogen cycled with rock rubble from 40 display and filter but still a very new tank. Besides cleanup crew and coral only fish in the 20 is a purple firefish.

- click to see full size pic -


Could it be the other shrooms? The Toadstool? The lighting? Nitrate change?

All other mushrooms and two ricordea are normal.

This is what it looked like prior to the meltdown.

 

[markalot]

As I think this through, there is one other difference. I use a bag of GFO in the 40 while I use a bag of Seachem Phosguard in the 20. I only have an API phosphate test kit so I did not bother to test. I've always shown a trace of phosphates whenever I test (never in the 20, a month ago in the 40).

3 mushroom rocks moved at the same time as this one, including the rock right next to it, with no other melt downs.

I use RO/DI water, 0 TDS, Spectrapure system.

 

[kingfisher62]

Zooxanthellae was probably what it was spitting out , usually that is from some sort of stress.
What the stress was , I so not know . Could be a sudden temp or alk change . Maybe the change in lighting.

 

[jkoot]

I had a rock full of blue shrooms melt on me at the beginning of the year.....but a rock full of green ones were fine! I have no idea what stressed one colony out and not the other.....good thing is from the slime one grew back and started to re-colonize.

Would love to know why as well!

>jason

 

[usmc121581]

I just wished all my mushrooms (except the green) would melt away. I cant seem to get rid of them.

 

[supernan79]

send them to me, lol! I'll pay you to ship them to me if they're a nusance I barely have anything in my tank and would like to get some color no matter what it comes from.

 

[SantaMonica]

Check the free section of craigslist and search for coral... many people giving them away when they move, especially at colleges.