[rjs5134]

I recieved my first mushroom, a green hairy mushroom in early October. After 6 weeks in QT and while out of town for Thanksgiving weekend, the pump on the QT stopped running and the temp dropped to about 70. Of the 5 frags in QT, the mushroom seemed to handle it the best. Upon being transferred to the display tank, I kept the MH's off for several days, then slowly over about a 2 week period increased the photo-period to 8 hours per day. The Mh's are 2x250W 10K lamps with PC's.

For some reason, the mushroom has not settled in and appears to be melting away. I've placed the frag near the bottom, sort of under an overhang to limit the light exposure. Water flow is medium to high and all water parameters check out. Temp 80, Ph 8.2, KH 8.3, Alk 2.97, Nitrate & phosphate 0SG 1.026. I've been doing about a 15% water change every week.

Could the light be too much and the mushroom is suffering? It's size has probably decreased by 50% or more in the last month. The green sinularia and the clove polyps seem to be adjusting and showing nice growth now.

I've attached 2 photos, I don't know if they are clear enough to really see anything significant.

Thanks

Rob

[PDAJunkie]

Don't know much about your mushrooms, but the little guy right above him is an Aiptasia. They can take over a tank in no time if left uncontrolled. Do a google on 'aiptasia'. Lots of excellent info. Good luck.

[rjs5134]

Thanks junkie,

Had alot of these pop up in the past 2 or 3 months. Check out the photo. Guess a couple of peppermint shrimp are next on my list.

Rob

[PDAJunkie]

I never seemed to have any luck with peppermint shrimp keeping them down but I may have waited to long, because I really had a problem for awhile. I was lucky that I was able to borrow a Copperband Butterfly. Good luck.

[rjs5134]

Boy Richard, borrowing a copperband would be a tall order. I would certainly go through my usual QT for 8 weeks, then assuming all goes well, hope he enjoys those little pain in the ...'s. I've heard they sometimes don't eat them. Any other options that could live happy and healthy in a 65 gallon tank?

[PDAJunkie]

Can't really think of anything. You could do the ole 'Joe Juice' thing if you can get to most of them, but that's kinda a pain in the a___ too. Maybe someone else has had some experience they will share. Good luck.

[rjs5134]

I found another thread that discusses, in detail, the use of a Kalkwasser & Sodium Hydroxide mixture that sounded positive. I'll probably try this in the near future.

[Sleepy Clownfish]

As a quick observation I noticed you say it was in moderate to high flow? Is this direct or indirect flow? Also, where is the mushroom in relation to the top of you tank and the distance between it and your lighting setup?

Mushrooms, although rather tolerant, do not care for high flow. They can survive it, however they typically thrive in low to moderate indirect flow.

A trick to getting your mushroom to attach as well is to place it in an oversized shot glass (2oz. or better) with a piece of rubble. It'll attach to the rubble in under three weeks and you can then place it around your tank.

[rjs5134]

Sleepy, the mushroom is on the backside of a pice of live rock near the center of the tank just a couple of inches from the bottom and is in indirect flow. I have a seio 620 on the side of the tank and it's flow is across the tank, off the other side wall(36" away) and returns across the mushroom.

It is firmly attached to a small piece of rubble, and appears to be attaching to the rock it is sitting on as well. That is why I've been aprehensive to move it.

Thanks for your help.

[rjs5134]

Yesterday I purchased a digital thermometer with a memory of high and low readings. The difference between nightime temp and daytime temp is around 4 degrees. Could this fluctuation be the casue of the mushroom decline? Also, could the daytime high of 82.4 degrees be too high for the mushroom and possibly this is the reason for it's decline?
As near as I can tell, these are the only obvious issues with the conditions right now. I''d be surprised if this was the cause, as everone speaks of their hardiness, but I guess it's very possible.

[Frogfish]

I keep my tank at about 82F and have had the hairy mushrooms in the past with no problems. Of a bigger concern would be the 4 degree swing. Most people belive that a 2 degree swing in 24 hours can be dangerous.

I would suggest getting a properly sized heater and setting it for 81-82 degrees so that when you MH lights turn off the temp is kept relatively stable.

[rjs5134]

I have a sufficiently large heater, I turned it down some time ago to try to drop the overall temp. After seeing the digital thermometer high/low readings, I have turned it back up to 82 to try to maintain some consistency. Just trying to figure out how a relatively easy to maintain creature can be doing so poorly. Fortunately, the singularia and the clove polyps are doing fine.

[rjs5134]

So now I've raised the thermostat on the heater and have brought the minimum temp up to about 80 degrees and the maximum temp during the day has increased to nearly 84 degrees. Obviously the lights are intense enough to heat the tank 4 additional degrees, so my options are:
1. Add fans to increase evaporation and/or blow the heat away.
2. Add a chiller.
3. Increase the height of the lights from the top of the tank.

I'm probably going to have to add a chiller anyway, but still haven't figured out why the mushroom shriveled, and has now completely disappeared.

[felix5747]

check your alkilinity

[weez1959]

Are you guys sure those are aiptasia?
They look like feater dusters to me.

[rjs5134]

I'm not certain, but I've decided to treat them like they were. I used Zep pelletized drain opener which I mixed with just enough water to dissolve. I added an equivalent amount of Kalkwasser to make the mixture a little thicker. I turned off all pumps and using a syringe from baby Tylenol I "drizzled" the mixture onto the groups of aiptasia and let stand for about 30 minutes. Then I turned on the pumps and flushed the area to completely dissolve the mixture into the tank water.

It's been 3 days, but I haven't been home while the MH lights were on to get a good luck at what the outcome was. From what I can see, they appear to be empty tubes now.

I was terrified of having to deal with aiptasia, but thanks to this post by Sihaya, http://www.reefland.com/forum/reef-a...light=aiptasia, aiptasia don't scare me any longer.

Rob

[rjs5134]

By the way, mix in a glass mason jar, or similar in a WELL ventilated area and wear rubber gloves and eye protection if possible. The drain opener gets VERY hot when dissolving and releases a noxious gas as well. The chemical burn will probably require medical attention if it gets on your skin and WILL blind you if it gets in your eyes. The fumes are noxious and a good lung-full would probably knock you out.

Other than that, highly recommended.

[weez1959]

I'm pretty sure you killed feather dusters, they are good for your tank!

[zhenya]

Those didn't look like Aiptasia to me either.
Here is a picture of Aiptasia anemone, I hope you can make out the difference.
And here is one more, clearly showing it's coulumn.
Hawaiian Aiptasia pulchella Anemone Photo 3

The guys you wacked had some type of tube that they constracted that served as home. Could be some polychaetes or hydroids, not sure at this point.

[rjs5134]

Thanks Louise & Gene, then I don't have to mess with that nasty stuff anymore. Still aiptasia free!!!