mushroom wont open after new coral addition

riverreef · 02/02/2021, 01:22 PM

I had a mushroom coral for a couple days that had opened up almost fully. I ended up making a trade and getting several frags of hammer, gsp, xenia, trumpet, zoa and frilly mushrooms. They were acclimated two days ago and are all looking great. The original mushroom has been totally shriveled up ever since. I thought maybe there was some chemical warfare so I started chemipure blue yesterday. The frilly mushrooms are looking great not sure why the standard red mushrooms aren't happy. I did also try to move them to a spot with less flow to see if they would expand but they remain shriveled and unhappy. Any ideas?

MondoBongo · 02/05/2021, 08:27 AM

that looks like a really new tank. how are your levels? salinity? ammonia? nitrite? nitrate?

seeing a tank that new with corals makes me think your general water quality isn't in line.

Oldreeferman · 02/05/2021, 08:41 AM

Ditto on above statements,
Mushrooms are pretty tolerant softys so if they are not happy its bright lighting or water quality. I see zero Coralline so not even close to mature yet. Id add fish & let the DT bacteria mature next IMHO.

riverreef · 02/09/2021, 10:53 PM

Tank is 2 months old. Live rock came from long established tank. Ammonia 0 Nitrite 0 nitrate around 10, salinity 1.025 temp 78. Have ato so no salinity swings, apex controlling temp. All other corals continue to look healthy and the mushroom has continued to decline. I did go back to the store where I got the mushrooms and saw that the other shroom frags in the tank I got them from had also shriveled like mine. That was comforting in one way knowing it wasnt just me. What would happen that they all declined in similar fashion in two different tanks?

MondoBongo · 02/10/2021, 07:56 AM

really hard to say.

my general triage for situations like this is as follows:

1. basic level testing (which we already covered)
2. alkalinity/calcium testing
3. do a water change
4. run some carbon
5. check other ancillary items like temperature/stray voltage

could be an infection of some kind? could be water quality? could be something else entirely. so whenever i run in to a situation where i can't pin down a cause, the above is my typical course of action.

MondoBongo · 02/10/2021, 07:57 AM

one other thing i just thought of. sometimes corals, soft corals specifically, just get kind of cranky. if you do all the above stuff, everything else looks fine, and they're still being jerks, just give them time. sometimes they get over their bad mood.

Timfish · 02/10/2021, 08:39 AM

As mentioned above just give it time. There is some VERY COMPLEX biological and chemical warfare going on in reef systems but it could just be from being moved around too much or from different light intensities. Have you measuired PAR?

riverreef · 02/10/2021, 05:54 PM

I currently don't have a par meter, one day...

Oldreeferman · 02/11/2021, 09:24 AM

2 months old is 2 months old, the rock work may have come from a mature sys but the substrate didn't probably and would have to mature from day 1 and the various strains of slower growing bacteria that help mature & stabilize a tank take a long time more then 2 months.
That being said your lighting looks pretty intense for mushrooms also and i have no idea how intense the lighting is at that LFS but it too may be high par over a frag tank as most frags like high lighting and they mix up species in them so to show & sell quickly.
You can test the too new DT theory very easily just pick up a cheap acro frag verses a soft coral & see how it fares. Im betting it will not be happy in a 2 month old tank, i know this because i experienced that in 2 tanks i had with the same issue until my tanks matured, the majority of soft corals i had at that time did ok tho except for, you guessed it the mushrooms, and my Ricordeas were unhappy until i started using Reef salt verses reg sea salt, another thing i had thought was a non issue but they do like Reef params better, not just salinity like say a fish only DT.
Just my exp with this issue it may or may not be the exact same issue but again its easy to test with 1 sensitive frag, its what id do ATM if everything else seems spot on and its not getting better.
Like was stated in a sys with soft corals a lot of warfare is going on id run carbon for sure on it too as well even on a small frag start setup.

02/05/2021, 08:27 AM	#2
MondoBongo Obligate Feeder Obsessed Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 4,061	that looks like a really new tank. how are your levels? salinity? ammonia? nitrite? nitrate? seeing a tank that new with corals makes me think your general water quality isn't in line. __________________ [Citation Needed] "You don't use science to show that you're right, you use science to become right" - xkcd Current Tank Info: A rectangular shaped money pit.

02/05/2021, 08:41 AM	#3
Oldreeferman Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2019 Location: NW Indiana Valparaiso Posts: 505	Ditto on above statements, Mushrooms are pretty tolerant softys so if they are not happy its bright lighting or water quality. I see zero Coralline so not even close to mature yet. Id add fish & let the DT bacteria mature next IMHO. __________________ Montipora Digitas, Cyphastrea, Blastos, different Leptoseris, Green Stylo, GSP, gorgonions, Ricordea mushrooms, psammocoras, Birdsnest coral, Clownfish, Watchman goby, Royal gamma. Current Tank Info: Nano Reef tank

02/10/2021, 07:56 AM	#5
MondoBongo Obligate Feeder Obsessed Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 4,061	really hard to say. my general triage for situations like this is as follows: 1. basic level testing (which we already covered) 2. alkalinity/calcium testing 3. do a water change 4. run some carbon 5. check other ancillary items like temperature/stray voltage could be an infection of some kind? could be water quality? could be something else entirely. so whenever i run in to a situation where i can't pin down a cause, the above is my typical course of action. __________________ [Citation Needed] "You don't use science to show that you're right, you use science to become right" - xkcd Current Tank Info: A rectangular shaped money pit.

02/10/2021, 07:57 AM	#6
MondoBongo Obligate Feeder Obsessed Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 4,061	one other thing i just thought of. sometimes corals, soft corals specifically, just get kind of cranky. if you do all the above stuff, everything else looks fine, and they're still being jerks, just give them time. sometimes they get over their bad mood. __________________ [Citation Needed] "You don't use science to show that you're right, you use science to become right" - xkcd Current Tank Info: A rectangular shaped money pit.

02/10/2021, 08:39 AM	#7
Timfish Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 1,985	As mentioned above just give it time. There is some VERY COMPLEX biological and chemical warfare going on in reef systems but it could just be from being moved around too much or from different light intensities. Have you measuired PAR? __________________ "Our crystal clear aquaria come nowhere close to the nutrient loads that swirl around natural reefs" Charles Delbeek

02/09/2021, 10:53 PM	#4
riverreef Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 4	Tank is 2 months old. Live rock came from long established tank. Ammonia 0 Nitrite 0 nitrate around 10, salinity 1.025 temp 78. Have ato so no salinity swings, apex controlling temp. All other corals continue to look healthy and the mushroom has continued to decline. I did go back to the store where I got the mushrooms and saw that the other shroom frags in the tank I got them from had also shriveled like mine. That was comforting in one way knowing it wasnt just me. What would happen that they all declined in similar fashion in two different tanks?

02/10/2021, 05:54 PM	#8
riverreef Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 4	I currently don't have a par meter, one day...

02/11/2021, 09:24 AM	#9
Oldreeferman Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2019 Location: NW Indiana Valparaiso Posts: 505	2 months old is 2 months old, the rock work may have come from a mature sys but the substrate didn't probably and would have to mature from day 1 and the various strains of slower growing bacteria that help mature & stabilize a tank take a long time more then 2 months. That being said your lighting looks pretty intense for mushrooms also and i have no idea how intense the lighting is at that LFS but it too may be high par over a frag tank as most frags like high lighting and they mix up species in them so to show & sell quickly. You can test the too new DT theory very easily just pick up a cheap acro frag verses a soft coral & see how it fares. Im betting it will not be happy in a 2 month old tank, i know this because i experienced that in 2 tanks i had with the same issue until my tanks matured, the majority of soft corals i had at that time did ok tho except for, you guessed it the mushrooms, and my Ricordeas were unhappy until i started using Reef salt verses reg sea salt, another thing i had thought was a non issue but they do like Reef params better, not just salinity like say a fish only DT. Just my exp with this issue it may or may not be the exact same issue but again its easy to test with 1 sensitive frag, its what id do ATM if everything else seems spot on and its not getting better. Like was stated in a sys with soft corals a lot of warfare is going on id run carbon for sure on it too as well even on a small frag start setup. __________________ Montipora Digitas, Cyphastrea, Blastos, different Leptoseris, Green Stylo, GSP, gorgonions, Ricordea mushrooms, psammocoras, Birdsnest coral, Clownfish, Watchman goby, Royal gamma. Current Tank Info: Nano Reef tank