green star polyps taking over mushrooms

[aileena]

I Didn't think this would ever happen but my star polyps have started a battle with my blue mushrooms...I put the star polyp frag on a large piece of LR and on the other side of the rock I placed a rock that had blue shrooms on it. the shrooms have crept slowly off the rock they were on to the large piece of LR and the star polyps have grown so fast that they have taken over the rock and now want the space that the mushrooms occupy. I placed several small rubble pieces of LR in a wall around the star polyps and they grew all over so I cut it and fragged it. To make a long story short I am out of small rocks and the stars are in a truf war with the shrooms that have attached themselves firmly. How can I move these shrooms w/o hurting them???

 

[cboyfan2020]

you can pluck them off and stick a toothpick through the middle so you can attach it to a rock in another spot

 

[aileena]

I can just take them off??? they seem firmly attached??? do I just tear them off the rock?

 

[angelofish]

Out of curiosity how fast do your polyps grow? I have some Green Star and was wondering when can I see some noticable growth.Also how fast do Zoos and Buttons grow too?

 

[poiboy]

My gsp started to grow at a rate of 1~2cm a day, fragged it 3 times already. My buttons just started to grow and is alot slower than the gsp

 

[foulbrew]

Aileena,
I believe Kip was referring to the Star Polyps when he said you can peel them off, not the mushrooms. IME you can peel off GSP sometimes, sometimes you can't without hacking at them. Mushroom are more difficult, I usually use one of two methods, the first is manual, I try (emphasize try) to cut the mushroom off as close to the rock as I can. I then cover this area with a kalk paste for a minute out of the tank. I then place it in the tank with the paste on. I then put the mushroom where I want it and use one of my wife nylons to hold it in place for a few days. This actually sounds easier than it is. It is difficult to get a position to cut these suckers and any part that is left on the rock that is not treated will form a new mushroom (sometimes even the treated part). The second method is to create an environment that will cause the mushroom to move on it's own. I've used extreme current and low, low lighting to do this. Unfortunately, sometimes when they move they leave offshoots behind.
Don't be afraid to try, when messing with mushrooms you almost always end up with more than when you started.
Good luck.

 

[aileena]

My concern is touching the mushrooms with my hands...I really thought that you were not suppose to touch corals or take them out of the water for any length of time...maybe a small razor blade would help scrape the mushroom off the rock or at least cut it w/o leaving anything behind...I am leaving for NYC on Sunday so I will have to try it tonight when the lights are out. Ever since I got VHO lights the mushrooms don't seem as colorful as before. I want to move them to a darker area of the tank. The color is like a white blue as opposed to a dark purple. I'll see what I can do with the razor blade.