ClaptonsGhost
Active Member
That's what my LFS says. I have these things in my tank that look exactly like fuzzy mushrooms, only they're a translucent white. I'll try to take a picture. Any idea what they are? Bleached mushrooms? Sponge babies?
do saltwater sponges look like white mushrooms when they reproduce
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pegasus
Well-Known Member
Sponges can be different colors, and white is one of those colors. In the first pic, several small colonies of yellow sponges. In the second pic, there is a yellow mat-like sponge with darker yellow sponge growing on it, and purple sponge around the edge. Does yours, other than the color, look anything like these?
(Click pic to enlarge)
(Click pic to enlarge)
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ClaptonsGhost
Active Member
No, they look like mushrooms. In fact I have one rock with about 9 or 10 fuzzy mushrooms where a couple of them have turned white and look like the ones I'm finding around the tank. Here's a pic. Its the white thing under the green mushroom. It looks exactly like the green mushrooms on either side of it , only white. Crappy phone camera, but it looks just like a mushroom, non-fuzzy variety (sorry, not good with technical names).
ClaptonsGhost
Active Member
But this one appeared under my green rhodactis, which is still attached to the porcelain stand after 6 months. Now suddenly the bleached out one is there. It grew from underneath the green one. It didn't sidle over from another part of the tank. And why are so many of my mushrooms suddenly getting bleached out and shriveled?
pegasus
Well-Known Member
Mushrooms reproduce by division. It could be a baby that grew from the base of the "parent" mushroom. If it has been underneath the parent for an extended period of time, it will be white due to the lack of photosynthesis by the zooxanthellae algae in it's body. If the light's not too bright, it should color up after a week or two.
If your mature mushrooms are bleaching and shriveling, they may be getting too much light. In my experience, mushrooms expand much better in lower, and sometimes shaded, light. The colors also seem more vibrant... not washed out. They're also not too fond of high flow. A low to medium flow seems to keep them happy.
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ClaptonsGhost
Active Member
I've had other "baby mushrooms" appear fully formed, only really small. That's why I'm confused. Lighting conditions haven't changed, and powerheads pointed away from my rockwork. the only flow that directly hits them bounces off the front glass.
I don't really mind them, I want my rock work covered in the different mushrooms I have. I'm just hoping those aren't healthy mushrooms that got sick and are dying. Thanks again, for the info, pegasus.
I don't really mind them, I want my rock work covered in the different mushrooms I have. I'm just hoping those aren't healthy mushrooms that got sick and are dying. Thanks again, for the info, pegasus.
pegasus
Well-Known Member
Any time. I hope they're okay. I've had mushroom clusters that overlapped each other, and when one of the mushrooms moved, the freshly exposed part(s) of the mushroom would be solid white. It would take a couple of weeks for the white to color up, even though the rest of the mushroom had healthy color. This happens a lot with my red actidonis, which are always reproducing. I wouldn't worry too much unless the healthy shrooms were whiting up also. Keep us posted on their progress.
ClaptonsGhost
Active Member
I do have a couple of fuzzies on a rock with about 10 of them that are, in fact ,losing color and turning white. They're the ones most facing away from the light, ironically enough, like they're not getting enough light. Notice the one on the right bottom of this rock.
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pegasus
Well-Known Member
I see what you mean now. It looks like there are 4 more in the center/bottom of the rock that are very pale also. A picture is worth a thousand words, and I can see that those shrooms are shaded. You may want to turn that rock so they can get more light. They appear that they're not getting enough light. This goes back to the zooxanthellae algae/photosynthesis thing, which they rely heavily upon for food. An occasion feeding of meat can help a lot, too. Small mysis, brine, or finely chopped table shrimp works great.
ClaptonsGhost
Active Member
Yeah, there's a bunch of them. All over the tank, and most of them just growing out of nowhere, not previously known shrooms that were looking good, i.e. the one I originally inquired about under the green rhodactis (look at me, I'm learnin', I'm learnin'!). If I turn the rock so more light hits them then the other ones will be crushed. I have my LED's at less than full strength, should I just pump them up to 100% brightness for a while?
pegasus
Well-Known Member
And they say you can't teach an old dog new tricks... lmao!!! Very good! Yeah, crushing some to save a few others isn't a logical solution. You could try turning up the lights a little, but I wouldn't get carried away with it. Everything in the tank is acclimated to the light as it is, so I wouldn't jeopardize the rest of the corals just for a few shrooms. It would probably be better just to wait it out and see what the shrooms do on their own. As previously mentioned, they can move around. If worse comes to worse, you can always cut them off the rock and transplant them elsewhere.