Is there a trick to....?

[My2heartboys]

Is there a trick to getting mushrooms and rics to attach to rocks? I have had both now for 3-4 weeks and neither one of them has attached. I have tried super glue and they just slime their way off of it.

Suggestions please.

Thanks,

Anne

 

[NaH2O]

Anne - have you tried using bridal veil material? You can wrap it around the mushroom on the rock, and it should attach then. Are they floating around the tank, or staying put in one spot and not attaching?

 

[My2heartboys]

Anne - have you tried using bridal veil material? You can wrap it around the mushroom on the rock, and it should attach then. Are they floating around the tank, or staying put in one spot and not attaching?

I have the ric and rock wrapped in bridal veil material now for almost the same amount of time and no attach. The other small mushrooms are currently sitting in a shot glass in the aquarium as I need to get them re-set up on rocks.

I have wrapped them loosely and tightly and still have had no results--that is why I am now asking for help. I have even tried slightly cutting on the bottom of them in hopes that that would cause them to attach. I am out of ideas.

Anne

PS-sorry I have been gone so long. Was sick for two weeks, then tied up with extra w/c and carbon changes after fragging and am now getting ready to move up to a 70 gallon tank. Ever cooked sand????

Anne

 

[liveforphysics]

Mushrooms, rics, xenia, and a bunch of other softys cant be superglued to anything directly. The tissue the glue bonds with dies in a couple days and falls off, detaching the animal with it.

If you tank is solid, slice the mushroom up like a pizza and toss the pieces in a place with the lowest flow possible on crushed coral substrate. Sometimes that requires setting a little cup in the tank with 1/2" of clean crushed coral. After about 2 weeks, you will have 6-8 little mushrooms each attached to a piece of crushed coral. Glue JUST the rock to anywhere you want mushrooms.

For the ric, I would go with Nikki's bridal veil suggestion. Stick it where you want it (for ric, you wana give it maxium light possible, so up high), then stretch out the bridal veil over the top and rubber band things in place. A ric can stick in just a day if its happy, but it could take a week or more if its disgruntled.

If you dont feel confident about your water quality, you can use the same method to attach the mushroom, but you only end up with 1 mushroom.


*EDIT* You replied while I was typeing. Very interesting that you have tried the netting unsucessfully. I think there are 2 good possibilitys. First, I think its possible that when you glued them you burned there feet off so they dont have anything left to attach with (fairly common) or second your tank isnt a healthy enough enviroment to promote growth and health. I hope in the shot glasses they have crushed coral in the bottom so they can be trying to attach to something.

 

[My2heartboys]

Mushrooms, rics, xenia, and a bunch of other softys cant be superglued to anything directly. The tissue the glue bonds with dies in a couple days and falls off, detaching the animal with it.

If you tank is solid, slice the mushroom up like a pizza and toss the pieces in a place with the lowest flow possible on crushed coral substrate. Sometimes that requires setting a little cup in the tank with 1/2" of clean crushed coral. After about 2 weeks, you will have 6-8 little mushrooms each attached to a piece of crushed coral. Glue JUST the rock to anywhere you want mushrooms.

For the ric, I would go with Nikki's bridal veil suggestion. Stick it where you want it (for ric, you wana give it maxium light possible, so up high), then stretch out the bridal veil over the top and rubber band things in place. A ric can stick in just a day if its happy, but it could take a week or more if its disgruntled.

If you dont feel confident about your water quality, you can use the same method to attach the mushroom, but you only end up with 1 mushroom.


*EDIT* You replied while I was typeing. Very interesting that you have tried the netting unsucessfully. I think there are 2 good possibilitys. First, I think its possible that when you glued them you burned there feet off so they dont have anything left to attach with (fairly common) or second your tank isnt a healthy enough enviroment to promote growth and health. I hope in the shot glasses they have crushed coral in the bottom so they can be trying to attach to something.

The ric has been tied up this way for 3-4 weeks and still has not attached. No--the mushies currently do not have cc in the glass--although that can be changed fairly quickly and easily this evening.

Anne

 

[Llarian]

I've found decent success skewering them with a toothpick (or two) to the rock until they grab hold.

That said, if they don't like it where they're at, they will probably let go.

-Dylan

 

[M&M]

I was talking to Daiblo about this yesterday. He had what seems like a really good idea. He suggested putting the frag pieces in a small tupperware container with rock rubbel covering the bottom of the container. Cover the top of the container with mesh and secure with a rubber band. Place the container in the tank and in a few days each of the individaul pieces should have attached to the rubble. The frags should still get enough flow and the netting prevents the pieces from floating away. Haven't had chance to try it but it seems like a great idea.

 

[liveforphysics]

No No! the skewering causes pain and stress, which makes it reckless! LOL! Or maybe since mushrooms and rics are smaller anemones the emotional empathy responce is not carried with them... Obviously kidding here.

I personally have had bad/poor luck with the skewing method though, and find that letting that foot touch some clean (gotta be algae free) crushed coral works like a charm (just my personal experiences, I know others have the skewer method work great).

I think that because you have allready attempted to glue them that the foot tissue has been killed, and its going to need to heal before it can re-attach to anything. If you could take a pic of the foot area, I am decently familiar with what they should look like.

If the foot is really missing and needs to regrow, I think skewing could just delay the process.

 

[esears]

We had a couple mushrooms on a rock that got too close to a powerhead and blew off. Well, we thought they were lost till about a month later when we found a shroom about 3 inches across that had gotten attached in between 2 rocks and is now solidly attached. Is there anything wrong with just letting them float free in your tank and let them attach where they want?

 

[tike]

For mushrooms and xenia I use a small container with rock rubble in it. I put the shrooms/xenia in it and place it in a low flow area. They usually attach within a week's time. I enclosed this pic so you get an idea. Hope it helps!

 

[joshinjosh]

dudde, just get a thin rubberband and rubberband them onto a rock, place in low flow w/ decent lighting, wait a week or two. works everytime!

 

[macronut]

rubberband'em

I have used the rubberband approach to securing them to small pieces of rock. Worked everytime.

 

[moortim]

We had a couple mushrooms on a rock that got too close to a powerhead and blew off. Well, we thought they were lost till about a month later when we found a shroom about 3 inches across that had gotten attached in between 2 rocks and is now solidly attached. Is there anything wrong with just letting them float free in your tank and let them attach where they want?

I tried that with one and it eventually got sucked into a powerhead that didn't have a very good cage over the inlet.