mushroom questions

[spongebob lover]

I have had this hairy mushroom for almost 2 years, its quite big but i have noticed that sometimes it spits its guts out and then it swallow them back, why does it do that?
i also was wondering if there's anyway mushrooms can split? because i was thinking about fragging the mushroom because like i said its quite big, but if they can split i would rather wait for it to do that, than fragging my lovely mushroom

 

[loohunter]

usually the base of the mushroom gets really fat. the foot spreads across the rock then it sorta receeds back to where it was leaving behind a little nub of mushroom this then grows into a mature mushroom of its own. sometimes you can get this process started by sprinkling a bunch of your substrate all over the mushroom and just watch over a week or so,it dosent take long. or you can just cut it up. they heal easily

 

[wrightme43]

I just cut them. They heal up quick.

 

[Anthony Calfo]

yikes! Noooooo....

Please do a keyword search for "messenterial filaments"

These are issued as a defensive mechanism.

The occur from common crowding of corals (mere inches away from each other or just downstream from another noxious coral)

It also occurs in degrading water quality (lack of adequate water changes, weekly carbon exchanges, and/or ozone use).

The solution is to move the coral and/or improve water quality.

 

[Pauls]

I know im coming into this late, but if you want to propagate check out www.garf.org for some great info and directions

 

[spongebob lover]

Thank you Pauls for the info .
The mushroom did split and so now i have 2 mushroom which i never thought it could happen, i haven't seen them spiting out their guts anymore.
one thing i've noticed is that my xenias are taking over their space, but other than that, they look good.

 

[MCSInc]

It looks like you have identified the problem. The xenia encroaching on the mushroom space could definitely cause the mushroom to split and/or move. Either way the end is growth of both. Often you will see a mushroom grow to a larger size just because there is no competition for space. As soon as something gets into its space they are prompted to split or move over to a more comfortable spot. Often this moving over will result in new off shoots because as they move over the often leave behind a small piece of foot that becomes a new mushroom. Often when I see a mushroom move over and there is a piece streached out behind it, I will take a knife and clip of that piece of foot that is trying to stay behind so that it doesn't turn loose and be reabsorbed or moved with the parent.

Did any of that make sence?

 

[spongebob lover]

thank you very much MCSInc, now it does make sence to me, if i would have known before, i would have placed my xenias somewhere else.
About the moving, do they move quite fast or does it take a couple of weeks for them to move?

 

[Pauls]

my mushrooms move quite slow maybe 1" a week. I suppose some could move faster especially if they are properly motivated! Like a xenia encroaching, or too much shade. Mine move and split every time i move the rock under a shady overhang. Sometimes one will leave the rock and float around the tank bottom untill it finds a spot it likes. My green mushrooms are spread all over and i have to gather them up and put them where i want them. sometimes they stay sometimes not. Its just one more excuse to hang out in the basement and get my hands wet.hehehe

 

[spongebob lover]

Thank you very much everyone

 

[jesshimom]

So Pauls when you say you gather them up what do you mean? I have red mushrooms everywhere, like 50 on a rock in all sizes and they are throughout one of the tanks. How do I "gather them up?" I want to get rid of some of them but unsure how to make them turn loose from where they are. Same thing with zoos, I have a rock that some orange ones have taken over....???? Razor blade them off, and if I take the rock out of the water to do that, how long can the mushrooms and zoos stay out of the water while I do that??

Sorry Gabriella... I'm having the same problems

 

[spongebob lover]

No problem Colleen, we're here to learn

 

[Pauls]

Sorry it has taken so long to respond. When i say "gather them up" i mean i have about 8 green and red mushrooms that have come loose and just seam to float through my tank. of course it doesn't help that ive been messin with my wavemaker and flow patterns so they get washed around, alot. But to move them when they are attached to a rock(the same applies to zoos), you can pry them loose with a finger nail or toothpick. Just remove the rock they are attached to and pry from the base. It takes some pressure you almost have to scrape off the top layer of rock. Once you get them started they come easy. You can also use a chisel or old knife to cut away the rock under them. Reef rock is usually pretty soft. I have an old Miricle Blade I stole from my wife that I use on some really soft rock in my tank. If you are moving your Zoos and you dont want to move the whole colony, use the chisel method and scrape away the rock under the part you want to move (take about 1/8" of rock). Once you have the rock scraped loose use a sharp razor of knive to cut the connecting tissue away, try to make a smooth cut (no sawing motions). Once the new colony is free you can trade it or superglue it to a new rock. It should quickly heal and start spreading. Mine usually start growing new buds in about 3-4 weeks. I also have a bowl of reef water (straight from the tank) handy when i work on them outside of the tank. They will last out of the water for a while, I dont know how long, Ive had some out of the water for maybe 10 minutes. How long the can really go i dont know. Once you get your mushrooms loose, if you put them on the bottom of your tank on some reef rubble the will find the spot they like and attach to the rubble then you can put them where you want them. If you dont want to try scraping the mushrooms loose you can try to put them in a dark area, they should shrink up and then move towards the light.This method is really, really slow. If you dont now have grey hairs you will when this process is done. I hope this helps.

 

[spongebob lover]

wwoouu thanks Pauls
that's really helpful, i think i'll try your method with my zoos and see how it goes.

 

[jesshimom]

Wow, yes that is great info and just what I was looking for!