Purple Mushrooms Dying

[Coral Farmer]

I just bought a rock about 10 days ago covered in purple mushrooms. They looked great for a couple of days then 1 at a time they are turning into brown slime. Not very many left, any ideas. All other corals doing fine.

 

[Jiddy]

How are you phos. levels?

 

[Coral Farmer]

I have not tested them, but I did a water change saturday and replaced my phos ban media this morning.

 

[sihaya]

If you have a camera, a pic could be helpful. Without a picture, it's harder to guess if they're infected with something or dying from poor tank conditions (or possibly both).

 

[ronj]

what type of lighting do you have them in??? what type were they under when you purchased them???

 

[Coral Farmer]

I have four 65 watt pc bulbs on a 75 gallon tank. 2 actinic, 2 10000k, 2 50/50. Brand new bulbs. Coral is 1/3 up from bottom. I think they were under halides when i bought them. There has been coral in this tank for 3 years. Softies,and LPS. 120 lbs live rock, three inch sand bed, 20 gallon fuge, ASM protein skimmer, very good water flow. This tank is very well maintained. Nitrates below 5 on a Hagen test kit, and phosphate is barely detectible. All other corals doing great. These mushrooms are spread out and look good. The lights go out at night and the next morning there is another casualty. They turn into brown slime and disinigrate very fast. A power head will blow the dead ones off like they were never there. I also have a 150 gallon frag system. I grow green star polyps, yellow polyps, green trumpets, purple/green trumpets, purple, green, and orange zoanthids, pulsing xenia, and green mushrooms. Ive never encountered anything like this before. This hobby is a never ending learning experiance. The more i learn, the more I find out I dont know. Thank you for your help!

 

[Herefishyfishy]

Hmmmm, I'd have to call it melting mushroom malaise syndrome (sorry.)
Wish I knew more about your cause. You might want to peruse this thread and see if any match your situation:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/shroomhlthfaqs.htm

 

[twilliard]

I have found that purples are picky (and the blues).
I have a rock of purples and they like shaded areas under rocks.

 

[onehawksfan]

watch fluctuations in your pH and salinity (make sure you are using pH adjusted top off water regularly). sounds like it could be a water quality issue to me (nitrates, nitrites, phosphates too high). with pc lights it shouldn't be light shock. good luck.

 

[Coral Farmer]

Thanx for the link. Looks like many others have had melting mushrooms.

 

[Anthony Calfo]

with new imports... the death in your tank is often just the deferred stress of the ammonia rich water and otherwise rough shipping from point of origin to the USA (commonly more than 1 day in transit with a small amount of fouling water on bad shipments). It can take a couple weeks for them to give up the ghost (mitigated by the need to acclimate to new lights in your tank, etc). If you move a new coral, furthermore, several times after its brought home... thats also a surefire way to kill a new specimen (common newbie mistake). Do place new corals in the right spot the first time and then do not move them at all... let them acclimate, my friends.

 

[Coral Farmer]

Thank you for your reply. I cleaned the rock to rid it off any dead pieces, and the rest of the mushrooms made it.