Good trouble: Have mushrooms ever become pests in your aquarium?

[Peace River]

Good trouble: Have mushrooms ever become pests in your aquarium?

Mushrooms are beautiful and it is amazing to see them start to replicate. Sometimes it is less than amazing to see them continue to replicate. They can fill up space that was intended for other aquascaping and dramatic alter your reefing plans. What starts out as wonderful additions to your reef can become a problem that resembles weeds in your yard. This may sound like a great “problem” to have to a new reef keeper, the struggle is real when the overabundance of mushrooms kicks in. Have mushrooms ever become pests in your aquarium? If so, please let us know what type(s) of mushrooms and what you did to deal with the situation.

Photo by @CoralWealth


This QOTD is sponsored by: www.tidalgardens.com

“The goal of Tidal Gardens is to offer the highest quality corals to those seeking a piece of that world without destroying it. We hope to instill a deep appreciation for the natural reefs and help develop a self-sustaining hobby that no longer requires the collection of fish and corals.”

 

[Gumbies R Us]

The one mushroom I have hasn't become a pest just yet, haha

 

[Greybeard]

Have to go back a couple of decades... I had a 220g tank lit by 2x 400w 14000k DE Ushio's + power compact actinics... Yeah, it's been a while. home depot sandbox sand, 5" dsb, Precision Marine Bullet 1 skimmer. That tank could grow _anything_

Anyway, my wife's father got sick, wife spent a great deal of time away, we had 4 small kids, and suddenly, I had no time. For 6 months, zero maintenance. Nothing. I'd feed once or twice a week, and that's about it. At the end of those 6 months, a group of what I call 'Watermelon' mushrooms decided they liked the dirty water, and covered _everything_. Killed my clams, all my corals... Covered every rock surface in the tank.

I ended up using 160lbs of very expensive, wet ship Walt Smith live rock to fill a hole in the back yard. Completely started over.

These things: Never again.

 

[bubbgee]

I would like an infestation of bounce and jawbreakers. I think that would be a nice problem to have.

 

[Alexraptor]

Most definitely. I had a pink discosoma that spread like wildfire accross the entire tank! Even the rhodactis was troublesome!

Manual removal became necessary, the final solution to keep them managable was to simply flood the tank with MORE LIGHT!!! And force them BACK to the shadow, from whence they came!!!

Now there are only a a few discosomas left and the rhodactis keep to the crevices and overhangs. The rhodactis also took on a much nicer purple-red color, so win win there.

 

[randomfishdude]

Haha. Pest. What's that?
Not even aptasia is a pest.

 

[JayM]

Mushrooms have not become a pest for me. Yet.

6-7 months ago I bought an Orange Rhodactis that was about 3/4" diameter. It stayed that way until about 3 months ago. I now have 2 that are easily 2" in diameter. My LFS threw in a Green Rhodactis at the same time that was about the size of a pencil eraser. It disappeared for probably 2 months until my Tiger Pistol Shrimp drug it out from somewhere. I placed it on it's own rock up off of the sand and it's now 4 mushrooms - soon to be 5.
Once they start migrating off of their own rock and onto the main structure, I'll consider them pests and start trimming while crossing my fingers that they don't go crazy.

​

 

[Dburr1014]

In the past I've had the giant elephant ear mushrooms. They sometimes eat a fish.
I would have to pull a rock out and scrape them off to control the numbers.

 

[Hugster78]

Tank herpes!!

 

[santeeeyyy]

Sometimes I debate doing a weekly water change just so my mushrooms can have some dirty water as a treat

 

[Doctorgori]

These things: Never again.

Indeed those are actually #4 erh I mean #5 down the list from GSP, pulsating xenia, green palys, purple shrooms, then these …
I actually kill or remove them, they got me once, never again

had a pink discosoma that spread like wildfire accross the entire tank

yeah these also, had to throw away a entire rock because of these

 

[doodledreads]

Can someone please tell me how to get this problem? I have tried several times with some Jbs and never worked really want a tank infested with JBs.

 

[Dburr1014]

Indeed those are actually #4 erh I mean #5 down the list from GSP, pulsating xenia, green palys, purple shrooms, then these …
I actually kill or remove them, they got me once, never again

yeah these also, had to throw away a entire rock because of these

What? Blue clove polyps didn't make your list?

 

[SteveMM62Reef]

My 90 Gallon had the back glass 80% Covered with them, before I had to go fallow. Trying to do the same with my 120 Gallon, plus other Corals growing off of the Frag Tiles I glued to the back glass, pre-fill. If they get on my Rock, I cut them off, move them to the glass. When, why did they get so expensive?

 

[kevgib67]

It’s odd, the only coral I struggle with. Ive went through 4-5 ricordea and currently have zero. I have a single rhodactis that’s been in there about two years and a discosoma about the same amount time that just over the past two months dropped 3 babies.

 

[bubbgee]

My 90 Gallon had the back glass 80% Covered with them, before I had to go fallow. Trying to do the same with my 120 Gallon, plus other Corals growing off of the Frag Tiles I glued to the back glass, pre-fill. If they get on my Rock, I cut them off, move them to the glass. When, why did they get so expensive?

I envy you. I cant even grow GSP on my back wall.

I can grow a nice colony of GHA on my back wall though. The snails have been running up and down eating them up.

 

[Tub Life]

Years ago I had a 180 sps dominant mixed reef.
I had moved out and after it went through a crash, my Dad kept it running on life support cruise control for me.
When I finally tore it down, this is what was left.

And that's not all of it lol. 15 years later, I still have a few of these in my tank (by choice).

 

[FernFish]

I love mushroom corals I have a whole garden

 

[JoJosReef]

Had some blue spot discos that would release and float around the tank looking for new rocks to take over. I probably won't get discos again. My rhodactis seem fine for now.

 

[Crabs McJones]

I wouldn't say pest, but they were swarming my acros. Had to show them whose boss a couple times