i just found out i can have mushroom corals...

trigger40

Well-Known Member
i found out today my light is perfect for shrooms and am really happy! i would like to keep a few shrooms with macro algea. i understand they need water that is less than perfect and my triggers give me just that. i also hear they do not like high water flow. right now my 40g has about 500 to 600 gph of flow, to much? i need to know what to feed them and how. i have never kept any kind of coral befor and i do not really know what i am doing. if you guys can leave me some tips that would be great! :)
 

flower

Well-Known Member
Hi,

LOL...you over think it. Mushroom corals are filter feeders, and really I have never "fed" them anything. My favorite are the true blue, green stripe, and the metallic green... the others IMO are just drab. Red mushrooms always looked rust color, and not red to me. All mushroom coral are not created equal, Ricordea Yuma require high light.
 

trigger40

Well-Known Member
thanks flower! so their food comes from what my live rock brought into my system im gessing? and if they are not getting enough food i gess i can just target feed them mysis. also do mushroom corals fight? because ther are three spots in my tank that are perfect and i would like to start a colony there if that is possible. i have aimed all my powerheads up so that i get good surface distruption but not too much flow over the rocks... good idea?

also will hermit crabs mess around with the coral because i want to start off with a few small frags just incase my triggers like to nip. and i really dont want them turning them over or anything. lol one more question. do you think a kole tang would devour macro algea?
 

flower

Well-Known Member
Hi,

The can't "target feed" a filter feeder Mysis shrimp. If your tank is squeaky clean, and you must feed the coral: Get a gizmo like sea squirt, and go just up-flow from the coral and release the food for to flow over it...get Kents marine microvert, or other food for filter feeders. Be careful, what feeds coral, also feeds nuisance algae.

Kole tangs will eat some types of macroalgae, so you can either purchase a not so tasty species, or set up a refugium. Hermits eat and kill your snails, I personally would opt for a variety of different snails to do a good clean up job and not keep hermits. However that's your personal choice....hermit crabs will not bother corals.

You need flow over the rocks to keep them clear of debris, the little bit of natural die off (marine snow) is what your filter feeder eats. The wave of the ocean brings the food to the coral, so ideally you what to duplicate that.

I run carbon to prevent coral chemical warfare. All corals will have some aggression, that's how they survive, but running carbon will ensure you have no problems.
 

trigger40

Well-Known Member
Hi,

The can't "target feed" a filter feeder Mysis shrimp. If your tank is squeaky clean, and you must feed the coral: Get a gizmo like sea squirt, and go just up-flow from the coral and release the food for to flow over it...get Kents marine microvert, or other food for filter feeders. Be careful, what feeds coral, also feeds nuisance algae.

Kole tangs will eat some types of macroalgae, so you can either purchase a not so tasty species, or set up a refugium. Hermits eat and kill your snails, I personally would opt for a variety of different snails to do a good clean up job and not keep hermits. However that's your personal choice....hermit crabs will not bother corals.

You need flow over the rocks to keep them clear of debris, the little bit of natural die off (marine snow) is what your filter feeder eats. The wave of the ocean brings the food to the coral, so ideally you what to duplicate that.

I run carbon to prevent coral chemical warfare. All corals will have some aggression, that's how they survive, but running carbon will ensure you have no problems.
oh i get it. thanks flower your a real help. ther is flow over my rock ther is just less than befor.
 

mopardwh

New Member
Mushrooms also spread easily, so you might start in one spot and they populate throughout on their own. They really don't require any care.
 

bang guy

Moderator
Just FYI - Nearly all mushroom corals will eat meaty bits of seafood if given a chance. If you want them to propagate faster and grow larger then hand feeding is recommended.
 

flower

Well-Known Member
Just FYI - Nearly all mushroom corals will eat meaty bits of seafood if given a chance. If you want them to propagate faster and grow larger then hand feeding is recommended.
I have never heard of that before.... I always learn something new here.
 

bang guy

Moderator
Some of the larger mushrooms will eat a fish if the fish is inattentive or falls asleep.

I used to feed my Green Hairy Mushrooms whole frozen Silversides.
 

flower

Well-Known Member
lol i think mushroom corals will fit right in in my tank. do i aclimate corals just like a fish?
Yes, however try to not touch the actual coral, handle the rock it's attached to. It also may take up to a week to "bloom", just leave it alone and don't mess with it any more then you absolutely have to.
 

trigger40

Well-Known Member
Yes, however try to not touch the actual coral, handle the rock it's attached to. It also may take up to a week to "bloom", just leave it alone and don't mess with it any more then you absolutely have to.
gotcha. thank you all for all the help! i plan to start with some macro algea and one frag and see how that goes. ill post when i get the mushroom coral.
 

flower

Well-Known Member
also what other corals are out there that can do well in low lighting?
Hi,

Red Chili coral, it needs high flow and would do best in a cave. Purple gorgonian and leather finger, Kenya tree.... There are all kinds of non-photosynthetic corals as well.
 

RobP

Member
Doesn't the Kenya Tree like higher light? I might be thinking of something different though
 

flower

Well-Known Member
Doesn't the Kenya Tree like higher light? I might be thinking of something different though
Hi,

Kenya tree likes light, but doesn't require anything fancy, the T5s or regular PCs are fine for them. Set them high in the tank, not on the bottom like you would mushroom coral...Xenia as well... they will to climb toward the light, so set them on an angle mid tank, and as they climb to the next rock, swap them around, put the rock on the top where xenia has climbed, back to the lower rock. Most of the soft corals require light, but not real strong light. The problem with them is that they are not all that colorful, and mostly just fleshy toned.
 

trigger40

Well-Known Member
i now have a reef tank! today i picked up a mushroom and a kenya tree coral. i placed the mushroom higher than the kenya tree. should i swap them?
 
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