Toadstool question

[DD0513]

My toadstool shed its waxy layer. Then I noticed a pea sized white spot, then a couple days later another one that had formed a hole completely through the cap. I have not had any drastic changes. To my tank. My nitrates are 14.9 and phos .07. Tank is all softies and a couple Duncan’s. Is this not splitting or something else? All of its polyps are out in full in the unaffected areas. In the picture they are not because I had just touched it to get the angle for picture.

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

 

[malacoda]

It is how toadstools naturally spread.

The hole(s) will continue to grow (in an irregular shape) until, eventually, a chunk falls off from the toadstool cap.

That chunk will then drift around until it gets caught on rock somewhere, and will then attach and grow out just like a new frag.

In the meantime, the mother colony will heal over where it let the chunk fall off from ... and continue to grow.

I used to use the appearance of the holes as an indicator it was time to slice of the top of my toadstool ... because they'd usually appear when the cap was pretty large.

But, last time around, I decided to let them go and see what eventually happened. Two chunks broke off, settled into the rocks not too far from the mother, and a couple months later I had five toadstools instead of one (the two chunks each sprouted two stalks).

 

[vetteguy53081]

My toadstool shed its waxy layer. Then I noticed a pea sized white spot, then a couple days later another one that had formed a hole completely through the cap. I have not had any drastic changes. To my tank. My nitrates are 14.9 and phos .07. Tank is all softies and a couple Duncan’s. Is this not splitting or something else? All of its polyps are out in full in the unaffected areas. In the picture they are not because I had just touched it to get the angle for picture.

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

Not abnormal appearance and may tear around the area which too is normal as thy send mew shoots into the tank as a means of reproduction

 

[DD0513]

Cool, I’m good with that, I wouldn’t mind having more anyways. I was worried that because they weren’t straight lines like I have seen some split that it might have been sickness or something. Thank you both for your knowledge.

 

[Biokabe]

Just be aware that toadstools can very easily grow like weeds, so have a plan for pruning the ones that pop up where you don't want them. My one toadstool became 20+ toadstools.

 

[BubbleAlgaeFarmer]

Mine does this all the time. I gather them up and trade/give them away