Looking For Help regarding Looking for Help With Saving Mushroom.

[Monad]

Hey Everyone,

I have this mushroom, started with three but one died (was super tiny and I was surprised lasted as long as it did) and one disappeared/ probably died( I thought was doing well. It found a piece of rock but slowly withered away.

I’m trying to keep this last one alive.




He was living to the right on that algae free spot since I put him in there six months ago, but he hasn’t grown. If anything he’s shrunk.

He’s lost a lot of his “bubbles” and looks flatter. His mouth coloration has gotten slightly better.

I’ve tried feeding him thawed mises pieces but he doesn’t seem to eat. Also rotifers.

Tank parameters are

Temp: 78-79 Fahrenheit
Salinity: 0.025
PH: 8.3
Calcium: 380ppm
Magnesium: 1500ppm (Red Sea test kit so probably lower than that.)
dKH: 11.5
Nitrates: 10ppm (Last test but normally hovers between 1-3ppm. I have a dino problem in the sand so I’ve upped the nutrients.)
PO4: 0.03.

The rock he is on has got some of the gentlest flow in the tank.

For a couple months, my nitrates bottomed out or stayed super low. That problem has been solved.

Please let me know if you all have any advice. I want to save this one if I can.

I’m not even sure if I’m feeding correctly. I have a long glass tube that I use to deposit the food on him.

Part of me blames my skunk shrimp for getting every last bit of food they can and stealing from my corals. (I am never getting a skunk shrimp again once these two die.)

 

[Monad]

Well, turns out the IOS app can’t upload photos. I’ll post it later when I return home.

 

[Monad]

Here's the mushroom

 

[FUNGI]

IMO..mushrooms (and many other softies) prefer dirty waters so with almost 1-3ppm nitrates, it didnt do well.
now with higher nitrates, it should do better. I would leave nitrates at 10~15ppm and PO at right around that range (even a little higher is ok).....I run a mixed reef, so I have that battle every day also......

 

[Monad]

IMO..mushrooms (and many other softies) prefer dirty waters so with almost 1-3ppm nitrates, it didnt do well.
now with higher nitrates, it should do better. I would leave nitrates at 10~15ppm and PO at right around that range (even a little higher is ok).....I run a mixed reef, so I have that battle every day also......

Thank you. Honestly, when I started this, I never expected my problem would be getting the reef dirtier.

The only filtration I run is biological.

 

[FUNGI]

Thank you. Honestly, when I started this, I never expected my problem would be getting the reef dirtier.

The only filtration I run is biological.

yeah...I'm caught in no mans land with a mixed reef (softies and stoneys) LOL.

 

[Monad]

Thank you. Honestly, when I started this, I never expected my problem would be getting the reef dirtier.

The only filtration I run is biological.

yeah...I'm caught in no mans land with a mixed reef (softies and stoneys) LOL.

If it happens in nature, we should be able to do it in our tanks. I wish you the best of luck.

This reminds me. I need to update my tank build. A lot has happened.

 

[BryanM]

If it happens in nature, we should be able to do it in our tanks. I wish you the best of luck.

This reminds me. I need to update my tank build. A lot has happened.

I'm not a mushroom expert, but my tequila sunrise thrive in my tank, and I'm around 13 nitrates and .2 phos.... So definitely dirtier than your tank. This started with just one :)