Rhodactis mushrooms melting away, but I can keep SPS

[Brad Coughlan]

Pretty much what the title says

I have a garden of 4 types of rhodactis, which all seem to be shrivelling away and one just disconnected its foot and is now laying on the sand upside down. All of this, but I can keep montipora, torch, frogspawn...

The most recent change is me doing a few water changes in 1 week, perhaps lowering nutrients too much? I am unsure, nitrate is around 5ppm ish, phosphate I have yet to have tested since the changes

Any ideas?

 

[Mechano]

Likely the tank is just too clean.

 

[crazyfishmom]

Mushrooms tend to like dirtier water and low flow for the most part. I keep a separate softies tnak because of that. Mixed reefs are pretty hard.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Pretty much what the title says

I have a garden of 4 types of rhodactis, which all seem to be shrivelling away and one just disconnected its foot and is now laying on the sand upside down. All of this, but I can keep montipora, torch, frogspawn...

The most recent change is me doing a few water changes in 1 week, perhaps lowering nutrients too much? I am unsure, nitrate is around 5ppm ish, phosphate I have yet to have tested since the changes

Any ideas?

Place in area of moderate light and water flow and feed them mysis shrimp. Assure also that phosphate is not elevated

 

[Brad Coughlan]

Thanks for the replies everyone,

Last time I checked nitrate (a few days ago) it was about 5ppm, which I don't think is mega low, but not necessarily dirty like mushrooms tend to like. Should I skip this week's water change, and feed a bit more? (feeding mushrooms as well like vetteguy suggested)

 

[crazyfishmom]

5 ppm is recommended for acros. I do think feeding is a great idea.

Good luck!!!!

 

[Brad Coughlan]

5 ppm is recommended for acros. I do think feeding is a great idea.

Good luck!!!!

Thanks

I did just have a go at feeding them a mixture of mysis and copepods, not sure if they digested it as they took a long time to close up to eat, 1 didn't even really close up at all, on top of that - the shrimps were walking over them and stealing food... So, I am unsure of what to do right now

Could I try reefroids? I am going to my LFS tomorrow, so I might pick some up

The mushroom that dethatched is currently in a basket on a piece of rock in a very low flow area, I am hoping that that recovers

 

[crazyfishmom]

Thanks

I did just have a go at feeding them a mixture of mysis and copepods, not sure if they digested it as they took a long time to close up to eat, 1 didn't even really close up at all, on top of that - the shrimps were walking over them and stealing food... So, I am unsure of what to do right now

Could I try reefroids? I am going to my LFS tomorrow, so I might pick some up

The mushroom that dethatched is currently in a basket on a piece of rock in a very low flow area, I am hoping that that recovers

I don’t see how reefroids can hurt so I would try. Good luck!

 

[vancouverredsea350]

I fed my mushrooms reef roids for a long time and they thrived and got really big and bright like 2/3” in size and started multiplying. I fed twice per week.

 

[Brad Coughlan]

I don’t see how reefroids can hurt so I would try. Good luck!

Thanks, I'll pick some up tomorrow

 

[Brad Coughlan]

I fed my mushrooms reef roids for a long time and they thrived and got really big and bright like 2/3” in size and started multiplying. I fed twice per week.

That's great to hear, I'll definitely give that a shot. My SPS should like the cleaner water after the water changes, but the mushrooms don't so I've just got to find a balance

Those are some nice mushrooms!

 

[Brad Coughlan]

I just gave them reef roids and they had a good feeding response, how often should I feed them to get them back on track?

 

[crazyfishmom]

I just gave them reef roids and they had a good feeding response, how often should I feed them to get them back on track?

Watch your phosphates because reef roids can make those spike. I would consider feeding every other day for a few days and then start to cut back once you see that they’re fluffing up and happy.

 

[Brad Coughlan]

Pretty much what the title says

I have a garden of 4 types of rhodactis, which all seem to be shrivelling away and one just disconnected its foot and is now laying on the sand upside down. All of this, but I can keep montipora, torch, frogspawn...

The most recent change is me doing a few water changes in 1 week, perhaps lowering nutrients too much? I am unsure, nitrate is around 5ppm ish, phosphate I have yet to have tested since the changes

Any ideas?

The mushrooms still seem to be unhappy, even with semi-frequent feeding

Nitrate is 5ppm
Phosphate is 0.03ppm

One of them seems to be doing okay, but it is in a different spot. Could it be flow related?

 

[Uncle99]

0.03ppm is too low IMM for shrooms.
Bump that to 0.1ppm - 0.15ppm.
0.03ppm is in the margin of error for most testing.

 

[Brad Coughlan]

0.03ppm is too low IMM for shrooms.
Bump that to 0.1ppm - 0.15ppm.
0.03ppm is in the margin of error for most testing.

The 0.03 reading was from my LFS that used the digital API spin test, my only other option for phosphate testing is Salifert

Do I raise by just feeding more? Would this be bad for the SPS?

 

[Brad Coughlan]

Mushrooms tend to like dirtier water and low flow for the most part. I keep a separate softies tnak because of that. Mixed reefs are pretty hard.

I am continuing to feed them without many results, but this could be due to my cleaner shrimp constantly stealing the food out of their mouths

There is a spot where I moved 1 mushroom and it's doing really well, so I have moved the others and hopefully this is the solution

What would be the best way to stop the shrimp? I do flick it away but it comes back seconds later

 

[crazyfishmom]

I am continuing to feed them without many results, but this could be due to my cleaner shrimp constantly stealing the food out of their mouths

There is a spot where I moved 1 mushroom and it's doing really well, so I have moved the others and hopefully this is the solution

What would be the best way to stop the shrimp? I do flick it away but it comes back seconds later

Unfortunately I don’t really have any tips there. Once a scavenger knows where they can find food consistently they just gravitate in that direction. Would it be possible for you to give your shrimp food separately? I have a shrimp that I feed with the tongs!

 

[Brad Coughlan]

Unfortunately I don’t really have any tips there. Once a scavenger knows where they can find food consistently they just gravitate in that direction. Would it be possible for you to give your shrimp food separately? I have a shrimp that I feed with the tongs!

I could try, the shrimp usually goes for me when I am in there so I could almost hand feed him haha

I am hoping that the mushrooms do better in their new spot, I'll see how they do

 

[crazyfishmom]

I could try, the shrimp usually goes for me when I am in there so I could almost hand feed him haha

I am hoping that the mushrooms do better in their new spot, I'll see how they do

Crossing fingers for you and your ‘shrooms!