Dried up mushroom?

[dory36]

I have several corals in my tank that are doing quite well, but my mushrooms look awful. They have shriveled up like a prune and have a funny yellow color on the edges instead of the nice green they used to be. My husband said he accidentally hit them with the glass scraper and they haven't been the same since. I also noticed some aptasia growing on the stalk. Any ideas? Oh, my levels are all within normal limits and I can't post a picture because my batteries are dead.

 

[matti070]

hm. seems to me that he killed it or hurt it badly. how long has it been shriveled?

 

[dory36]

A couple of days now.

 

[matti070]

Its obviously not the tank or water bcause the corals are fine. Hmmm...QT for another couple days. I doubt its splitting but you could observe for mini sprouts or buds. If nothing happens for a litte less than a week,

flush him. (the smile was not intended, the waving was) if he changes, then keep him QTed for a little while, then put him back in. These are only if you REALLY want to keep your shrooms, and I suspect you do.

 

[saltynewbie]

flush him?!??!? i definately wouldnt do that... mushrooms are one of the most hardy species of coral, and they will sometimes do what you are describing if they are damaged. if your water parameters are ok, then the mushroom should recover soon.

 

[dory36]

You all must forgive me(I pulled a newbie)...I thought what I had were mushrooms, but my lfs informed me that they are actually some sort of green candy cane coral. Anyway, they still haven't recovered. My levels are all perfect and my other corals have gotten HUGE, so I'm about to give up on this guy. I don't have a QT, so...

 

[saltynewbie]

can you post a pic of it? there is no need to quarantine the coral... and for sure dont throw it away!

 

[dory36]

Here's a picture of my coral. It looks horrible!

 

[matti070]

althuogh im not sure (im teh invert guy, not coral) that looks normal.

 

[salty cheese]

Is that cyanobacteria in the back ground?:thinking:

 

[dory36]

No, it's not normal. They look even worse now.

Yes, that was cyanobacteria, but it's gone!

 

[cimpow137]

Those aren't mushrooms. I think that is a Cancy Cane coral and the only one that I see that is messed up is the one on the very very right of the picture.... The others look quite normal but the one on the right looks like it has a tear in it..

 

[ophiura]

It is a very tough coral...I got a "frag" of it out of the bottom of a LR bin and the polyps were completely withdrawn from the skeleton, but it still came back, even under NO lights at the time. Has it always been at the bottom of the tank?

 

[007]

Originally posted by Matti070
althuogh im not sure (im teh invert guy, not coral) that looks normal.
Corals are inverts.
Give the coral time to recover. It should be just fine if it was healthy to begin with. Patience is key here.

 

[dory36]

Thanks cimpow137 on the proper name. I did correct myself in a previous post---I still call them mushrooms, though. Don't they look like mushrooms? I've never eaten a candy cane that looks like that!

Yes, it has always been at the bottom of the tank. It's in a nano, so I don't think moving it much higher will make much of a difference!
Well, it's been over 2 months since it first started looking that way. So, I'll give it another 6 months and then he can pack his bags!

 

[sammiefish]

I doubt accidently bumping it with the glass scraper had anything to do with how it looks... (in defense of your husband)

 

[dory36]

Thanks for trying to stick up for my husband, Sammie! However, he did admit that he thinks he may have got it with Joe's Juice while trying to kill some aiptasia that was on it. The truth comes out!

 

[sammiefish]

ahhhh, the truth.... well, If the juice didnt get it I bet the apistia would have... eventually... so...I guess you gotta do what you gotta do...