Help with my sad mushrooms please

TikiBird · Nov 24, 2017

Well last week I posted about my sad toadstools...they are happy again! Now the mushrooms are sad.

I have four. Three stayed on their rock, and one went walking. They looked like this a month ago:

Now the two on the rock look like this:

The two that went walking look even worse:

Here are the parameters:

Temp: 78
Salinity: 1.024
pH: 8.0
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 20 (down from 40 last week bc of water changes)
Calcium: 420
Phosphate: 0
dKH: 10 / KH: 179

BioCube 29 running for 14 months with stock lighting, purigen, chemipure, filter floss

Inhabitants:
2 ocellaris clownfish, one cleaner shrimp, several various snails, toadstool coral, green star polyps, and mushrooms.

I adjusted my flow to hit the toadstool more, and the mushrooms started getting smaller after that, although they seem pretty bad right now.

I’m going to do another partial water change today to keep reducing the nitrates. I’ve cut back on feeding a bit, but I’m still trying to fatten up my clowns so I’m not sure how to balance that with the nitrate issue.

Any ideas for how I can help the mushrooms? I’ve read the actually like nitrates so I’m not sure if they’re upset because of that. Too much light? Too little light?

Edit to add: here’s a view of the toadstool and the rock with two mushrooms. They are very tiny now.

I luv coralz · Nov 24, 2017

Well I must say that those are not cheap mushrooms they are interstellar mushrooms. That color can sells upwards of $50. However in terms of helping them has there been any lighting change. Also try moving them into shade. Mushrooms LOVE shade and that’s where I always have mine. Don’t worry about nitrates that won’t really affect them at all. Keep us posted!!,

TikiBird · Nov 25, 2017

I luv coralz said:
Well I must say that those are not cheap mushrooms they are interstellar mushrooms. That color can sells upwards of $50. However in terms of helping them has there been any lighting change. Also try moving them into shade. Mushrooms LOVE shade and that’s where I always have mine. Don’t worry about nitrates that won’t really affect them at all. Keep us posted!!,

Hi @I luv coralz, thanks for your reply! No lighting change at all, but I will try more shade. I don’t think they’re the kind you mentioned though—they were not named but I got the rock with four of them for $40.

Edit to add: I still love them as though they were expensive, though. lol