Shroom Comp F

FAQs about Corallimorph Compatibility

Mushrooms; control 3/18/18
Hi guys,
<Steve>
20 years ago i bought 2 mushroom corals (pest). They seem to always take over, wage war on other corals. I am subject to remove rocks and having to brush the rocks clean with a wire brush. I have tried Aiptasia killers with
no success. Do you have any suggestions of how to get rid these mushrooms????? Or should on just not keep them?
<Mmm; I'd isolate the "Shroom" rocks onto their own area (bommies, wall?) and start all else on new rock separated by substrate... Maybe you can sell/trade some of your Mushroom rock/s for new LR. Bob Fenner>

Chemical warfare? 7/3/16
Good afternoon all and thank you for your time. I have a 7 year old 60 gallon saltwater tank. I have a skimmer, live rock, a goby, a clown fish, a cleaner shrimp, some snails, many purple mushrooms. I added a Kenya tree coral about 4 months ago. He was happy for 2 months and is now mostly slumped over. Is this due to chemical warfare?
<Could be>
I used to have many, many corals, gsp, Duncan, hammer, Zoas, they flourished and then they all gradually died off over the years. So I've just had the mushrooms for a while now and they have taken over half of the tank.
<Winnahs!>
The Kenya is on the other side.
I added a coral beauty a week ago, acclimated him over an hour. On day 3 he developed a cloudy eye. Could this be related to the coral issue?
<Yes... and a few things/actions you might consider to keep your system more "balanced" in favor of all macro-life there. Regular/weekly water changes, the periodic use of carbon (am a fan of Chemi-Pure... switching out an older unit every month... leaving two in place. You might want to read Re ORP/RedOx, get involved in measuring such as an indicator of your system's viability... Oh, and DO read re how to go about acclimating any NEW Cnidarians... HERE: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/cnidcompppt.htm >
Thank you for any insights,
Sarah
<And I'd thin the herd re the Corallimorpharians here... trade them in. Bob Fenner>

Allelopathy Inquiry 5/11/16
Dear Bob & Crew,
Thanks again for your time and experience!
<And you for sharing Joe>
Another question today on the fascinating topic of allelopathy. I am gradually changing my 155 reef to all stony corals. Like many, I have witnessed the problems of allelopathic chemicals in a closed system. I first noticed these in large Eunicia sp. and lastly, in a colony of large hairy mushrooms. The remarkable fact is that many corals proved more or less adaptable to these chemicals, even within the same species!
<Ahh!>
I have since moved these soft corals but am still noticing some loss of heads in some Euphyllia species, most notably, hammer corals. I'm sure that some chemicals remain in the system despite water changes, skimming, and carbon (which doesn't remove much of these toxins IMO).
<Yes and yes>
Moving the corals to the far side of the tank, away from where the mushrooms were, helps the problem. I'm baffled because it seems as though the hairy mushrooms are still in the tank, noticing that the loss of heads is always on the left side of the corals (the mushrooms were on the left side of the tank)!
I do have a Rose bubble-tip anemone that resides on this side (unaffected by the toxins I might add). It is a 8" specimen and I have had many of these in the past with little evidence of allelopathy.
My question is, are bubble-tips known to produce toxins like some soft corals?
<Wild Entacmaeas more than domestic, cultured; and less than other large Pacific Anemone species>
It would explain why the left side of some LPS corals in the tank and closing up and dying.
I might also add that interestingly, no SPS corals seem to be affected.
Thanks so much!!Joe
<Cheers, Bob Fenner>

Please visit our Sponsors