Mushroom

[Relax4]

Bought a new mushroom last weekend , was doing beautiful. Now like it shriveled up . Any ideas why ? Thanks

 

[reef lover]

Parameters?? Something made him unhappy.

 

[Sailingeric]

Give it some time. Mushrooms are nearly weeds. I started with one small one and I have already given away a couple decent size rocks covered in them.

 

[BeardedMcG]

Has it been like this for more than a day? If not than I wouldn't worry.

 

[muzikalmatt]

Have you adjusted your lights or have your parameters changed much recently? I had a watermelon mushroom shrink up for over a week not long ago and couldn't really figure out why. I hadn't changed my lighting and I double-checked all my parameters without finding any issues. It eventually bounced back with a vengeance and has since dropped 2 babies in less than a month. As others have indicated, mushrooms are nearly bulletproof and as long as it's not super closed up for a long time, odds are it will recover without issue.

One other thing you might check is if there are any pests underneath it like a vermetid snail or hydroid. They could potentially cause it to close up.

 

[Relax4]

I moved them over to a less light area, out of flow. But they get a little. Little one has started to open up . Water parameters are new to me So salinity 1.26 nitrates are low. All the other corals are doing good. Brought one back I almost killed . Doing water change with r/ o water it’s learning experience. Going to do a water change tomorrow. Keep you posted on what happens. Thanks again for the help. I’m learning my purple pincushion urchin is a bulldozer ! Lighting is all new to me also .

 

[Relax4]

Have you adjusted your lights or have your parameters changed much recently? I had a watermelon mushroom shrink up for over a week not long ago and couldn't really figure out why. I hadn't changed my lighting and I double-checked all my parameters without finding any issues. It eventually bounced back with a vengeance and has since dropped 2 babies in less than a month. As others have indicated, mushrooms are nearly bulletproof and as long as it's not super closed up for a long time, odds are it will recover without issue.

One other thing you might check is if there are any pests underneath it like a vermetid snail or hydroid. They could potentially cause it to close up.

I just panic, lol, only had it for like 5 days . 1st 2 days it was huge , so probably just acclimating like you said. Thanks

 

[El_Guapo13]

It could be...
1. just acclimating
2. Pest is bothering it
3. Too little light
4. Too much light
5. Too little flow
6. Too much flow
7. It's just a picky little pain in the rear

And in case anyone is thinking that there is no way a mushroom would be acting up because of "too little light" and that it would perk up if placed directly under the lights...my indigo discosoma is proof of just that. He hated being towards the bottom of the tank under lower par levels. So I moved him to the highest rock, smack dab in the middle of the light of my tank. He is now about 2 inches across in diameter when fully extended and happy, and is now a proud parent of another teeny tiny indigo shroom. I am actually thinking I might need to do the same with my Interstellar Mushroom, as he has been shriveling up and seems to have shrunk a bit at the location it is at currently.

 

[muzikalmatt]

I just panic, lol, only had it for like 5 days . 1st 2 days it was huge , so probably just acclimating like you said. Thanks

I certainly sympathize with that reaction. For the first 6 months or so anytime any of my corals looked off I would freak out and worry that something was terribly wrong with my tank. Since then I've tried to be more patient and give the coral a few days to a week to bounce back, and in most cases they do. I would only panic if all of your corals are looking bad at once as that typically means something is wrong with the tank as a whole.

 

[Relax4]

I certainly sympathize with that reaction. For the first 6 months or so anytime any of my corals looked off I would freak out and worry that something was terribly wrong with my tank. Since then I've tried to be more patient and give the coral a few days to a week to bounce back, and in most cases they do. I would only panic if all of your corals are looking bad at once as that typically means something is wrong with the tank as a whole.

Thank you . All new to me as I’ve only had fresh water tanks. Sooooo much to learn. I keep hearing 6months. Is this when the tank settles or something ?

 

[reef lover]

Not settling...maturing...takes a good year for all the micro fauna to build up and stabalize...after 6 months most tanks have a good start.

 

[Relax4]

Not settling...maturing...takes a good year for all the micro fauna to build up and stabalize...after 6 months most tanks have a good start.

Had to look up micro fauna, lol. Learning a lot through this group . Thanks

 

[muzikalmatt]

Thank you . All new to me as I’ve only had fresh water tanks. Sooooo much to learn. I keep hearing 6months. Is this when the tank settles or something ?

I think the 6 month mark is when I learned to not freak out about any little change in the tank. Corals operate on a much longer time scale so it's best to give them a few days to adjust before making any changes. Tanks tend to mature over time as well and many people say the 6-12 month mark is when a tank starts to mature and reach stability. I'm about 10 months in and definitely seeing more stability, particularly nitrate and phosphate levels. I think that's because my nutrient import/export started to balance. The micro fauna in the tank contribute to that balance and it takes some time for them to get established.