Help! How do you remove mushrooms that are stinging SPS?

davidabrown66 · 08/31/2007, 12:42 PM

I need to prune/remove several colonies of large hairy mushrooms that are stinging and killing my SPS. They have adapted to 500 watt halide lighting (800 watts total) and have spread and climbed to the top of the reef!!! I believe they are of the Corallimorph family, but not sure as of yet.

Also, these mushrooms can also cause a rash with the feeling of a chemical burn if you accidentally brush up against them while doing maintenance in the tank.

I've tried to remove them with forcepts, Kabob sticks, but they don't come cleanly off the LR, and usually come right back. It would be easy to just remove them if they were attached to smaller LR, but this colony has spread beyond that option, and reside on the same rock with established SPS.

My preference is to be able to cleanly remove them as needed and give to other reefers or put in my refugium, b/c they are quite colorful (green and purple), but need to be able to protect the other coral.

Travis L. Stevens · 08/31/2007, 12:55 PM

Do you have a picture of these? The stings shouldn't hurt you, and that makes me wonder if they are something eles.

Now, if they are just plain mushrooms, you can cut them off of the rock with a razorblade, and then smear kalkwasser paste over the top of them in order to kill off any tissue left from the base. The caps of the mushrooms can then be fragged, sold, traded, etc.

CW from the OC · 08/31/2007, 01:40 PM

I recommend you go nuclear. Go to Home Depot, buy one of those battery ignited blow torches with the little can of gas, pull out the rock, hold it upside down with one hand, burn those suckers off with the other hand, place rock back in tank.

davidabrown66 · 08/31/2007, 02:07 PM

Here's a pic from wetwebmedia:

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/shroomfaq2.htm

About a third of the way down the page is an article entitled "Dense Mushroom Colony 3/23/03". That's my mushroom colony.

As far as nuking them with a blow torch, I've thought of a few ways to get rid of them like taking a syringe and injecting them with a couple of drops of "PH Down" right into the mouth. Just enough so it would'nt effect my system PH, but I'm too humane to do such a thing...I'm compelled to care for even the most nuisance of animals, b/c it's me that put them there in the first place.

Anyway, I'll try the razer blade idea...it sounds like a possible winner.

Thanks!

08/31/2007, 12:42 PM	#1
davidabrown66 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Kent, WA Posts: 231	Help! How do you remove mushrooms that are stinging SPS? I need to prune/remove several colonies of large hairy mushrooms that are stinging and killing my SPS. They have adapted to 500 watt halide lighting (800 watts total) and have spread and climbed to the top of the reef!!! I believe they are of the Corallimorph family, but not sure as of yet. Also, these mushrooms can also cause a rash with the feeling of a chemical burn if you accidentally brush up against them while doing maintenance in the tank. I've tried to remove them with forcepts, Kabob sticks, but they don't come cleanly off the LR, and usually come right back. It would be easy to just remove them if they were attached to smaller LR, but this colony has spread beyond that option, and reside on the same rock with established SPS. My preference is to be able to cleanly remove them as needed and give to other reefers or put in my refugium, b/c they are quite colorful (green and purple), but need to be able to protect the other coral.

08/31/2007, 12:55 PM	#2
Travis L. Stevens Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Perry, OK Posts: 13,946	Do you have a picture of these? The stings shouldn't hurt you, and that makes me wonder if they are something eles. Now, if they are just plain mushrooms, you can cut them off of the rock with a razorblade, and then smear kalkwasser paste over the top of them in order to kill off any tissue left from the base. The caps of the mushrooms can then be fragged, sold, traded, etc. __________________ Travis Stevens Current Tank Info: Restarting 28g Bowfront

08/31/2007, 01:40 PM	#3
CW from the OC Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 853	I recommend you go nuclear. Go to Home Depot, buy one of those battery ignited blow torches with the little can of gas, pull out the rock, hold it upside down with one hand, burn those suckers off with the other hand, place rock back in tank. __________________ Cheers! C Dub Current Tank Info: 210 LeeMar starfire reef (7x2x2), 100 gal SoCalCreations sump, Aquacontroller 3, Geo 618 fed by Cole Parmer peri pump, ATB Large Cone , Aquatinics Constellation T5, 4 Vortecs with wireless controllers, Eheim 1262 return on a SeaSwirl

08/31/2007, 02:07 PM	#4
davidabrown66 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Kent, WA Posts: 231	Here's a pic from wetwebmedia: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/shroomfaq2.htm About a third of the way down the page is an article entitled "Dense Mushroom Colony 3/23/03". That's my mushroom colony. As far as nuking them with a blow torch, I've thought of a few ways to get rid of them like taking a syringe and injecting them with a couple of drops of "PH Down" right into the mouth. Just enough so it would'nt effect my system PH, but I'm too humane to do such a thing...I'm compelled to care for even the most nuisance of animals, b/c it's me that put them there in the first place. Anyway, I'll try the razer blade idea...it sounds like a possible winner. Thanks!