Shrinking Shroom...

[Arie]

There is no picture yet, for that I apologize up front...

I picked up a single shroom at a new LFS that popped up. It was sitting on the bottom of a bare bottom tank, attached only to a small shell. When it was at the LFS, it was a deep red.

I brought it home and acclimated it. During this process it changed from deep red to a purple back ground with blue markings on it. It's more shiney blue than purple at this point.

So silly me thought "Wow! I must be doing something right! It's so pretty!"

So I plop it in the tank and eventaully fall asleep watching it.

This morning (two days have gone by) the mushroom is noticibly smaller. It's still shiney vibrant blue with a purple back ground, but it's gone from being fully exanded - the size of a quarter - to being shrunk - a bit larger than a dime.

Any suggestions? Am I doing something wrong?

As for the tank:

5 gallon hex
whisper 10 gallon hang on filter
50/50 coralife 10 watt compact

PH: 8.2
SG: 1.025
Ammonia: ~.25 (I've yet to figure out why, it was suggested to me that the hang on isn't close enough to the sand to pull up crab poop... not sure I believe this)
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 160 PPM
Phosphate: 0
Calcium: 420

8 lbs live rock
8 lbs live sand
1 Kenya Tree
1 blob Anthelia clove
1 Halimeda Algae

3 dwarf feather dusters
1 pink spongy thing

1 Emerald Crab (who is turning white and seems to be scratching his coloring off with his claws... could this be something in relation to the shroom? Water issue? Parasites? I dunno. I was told that it's due to lack of algae he likes)
2 Trochus snails
2 Bumblebee baby snails (I think this is what they are - they're hitch hikers)

2 LARGE (for my aquarium) bristle worms I've yet to trap

Any clues, suggestions, comments - on anything about my tank? I'll try to take pictures when I get home tonight.

 

[Arie]

Now it seems as though it's detaching from the shell it was on. I must be doing something wrong

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[Arie]

I apologize for the horrible quality. I'm moving and I'm lucky i could manage to find my cellphone...

 

[Ben1]

In small tank the temp can vary pretty easy and this maybe upsetting it, is the tank in a climate controlled room?

N03 is way high w/c time. If you are reading ammonia it would suggest a tank that isnt finished cycling or had a nutrient spike the bacteria couldnt handle. How long have you been set up?

 

[Ben1]

FWIW in this set up IMO the whisper filter should just be looked at as a means to running carbon ans not a main filter. You LR/Sand should be doing plenty for the biological filter and the W/C should do the rest. Also in a tank that small I would probably use the nutri-sea NSW for W/C, it comes in 4.4 gal jug for about $12 and would last 4 W/C if you did a 25% change each time.

Good luck, from what I can see in the pics it doesnt look to be in to bad of shape.

 

[Arie]

Ben,

Thanks for the reply. I'll try to dig out the digi cam and get a few more pictures, but I haven't the slightest idea where it is right now.

The 'shroom seems to be hanging onto the shell by just a little bit. It doesn't appear to have a 'stem' that I can see, so I don't know if that means that this is a new mushroom or if it's just well hidden under the little bit that's still attached well to the shell.

More than anything, I use the hangon as a source of movement. There's no room for a power head in there and I really don't want the issues that come along with stagnant water, so the hang on is the best that I could do. I need to get something lower to the sand bed though, I'm starting to get some crusty looking sand

I've had the tank set up for probably about 6 months now....

I'll make sure to do a W/C tonight when I get home.

Is there something that I should do in the mean time for the shroom, or just let it go about it's way and see what happens?

 

[Ben1]

Yeah I would just do that W/C and give it some time. It should pull through shrooms are very hardy. Still, I find it strange you are reading any ammonia at 6 months every thing should be pretty stable.

 

[Arie]

I'm bringing a water sample to my *trusted* LFS tonight to see what they say. I suppose there's always a possibility my test is old or I read it incorrectly. Regardless, I'd rather be safe than sorry later.

 

[Arie]

My nano tank has been renamed "tank of death" temporarily. Everything else is doing extremely well. The parameters are back to normal (after w/c) and things are growing and looking quite well...

Except the mushrooms which I have watched shrink to the size of an eraser and detach themselves. I need to research more on them I think. There may just be a lighting/flow issue with a tank this small

-A

 

[Ben1]

Sorry ot hear they didnt fair well for ya. They are usually on the tops of the hardy corals list with zoathids.

 

[SnowManSnow]

shrooms have been an issue for me too. Believe it or not I can't seem to keep them.

As odd as it seems I'm not sure that they do so well in pristine conditions. JMO

B

 

[Anonymous]

Mushrooms and Ricordia never survived in my tank either...

Who knows why sometimes?!?