what do mushrooms eat
- Thread starter rsedatec
- Start date
speg
Active Member
Depends on what kinda mushroom it is.. if its something with 11 shrooms on it it is probably a type that mostly will take phytoplankton.. which is what it'll eat.. but you dont HAVE to feed them. They'll get a lot of nutrients from the algae within them.
Some mushrooms actually will take large meaty foods like shrimp/silversides/squid/etc, it depends on what type of mushroom you have though.
Some mushrooms actually will take large meaty foods like shrimp/silversides/squid/etc, it depends on what type of mushroom you have though.
viper_930
Active Member
Originally Posted by Speg
Depends on what kinda mushroom it is.. if its something with 11 shrooms on it it is probably a type that mostly will take phytoplankton.. which is what it'll eat.. but you dont HAVE to feed them. They'll get a lot of nutrients from the algae within them.
Some mushrooms actually will take large meaty foods like shrimp/silversides/squid/etc, it depends on what type of mushroom you have though.
Mushrooms cannot eat phytoplankton, it's too small for them to consume. But they can eat shrimp, clams, squid, etc. like you mentioned. Again, no spot feeding is necessary.
Originally Posted by rsedatec
i have no cal in my tank so recommdation would help . my tank is a 120 gal i have about 100 plus rock any help would help save the lives of my mushroom (no tums jokes please)
No calcium? Have you tested yet? The saltwater you use to do water changes would have calcium. 400-500 cal levels would be ideal.
Depends on what kinda mushroom it is.. if its something with 11 shrooms on it it is probably a type that mostly will take phytoplankton.. which is what it'll eat.. but you dont HAVE to feed them. They'll get a lot of nutrients from the algae within them.
Some mushrooms actually will take large meaty foods like shrimp/silversides/squid/etc, it depends on what type of mushroom you have though.
Mushrooms cannot eat phytoplankton, it's too small for them to consume. But they can eat shrimp, clams, squid, etc. like you mentioned. Again, no spot feeding is necessary.
Originally Posted by rsedatec
i have no cal in my tank so recommdation would help . my tank is a 120 gal i have about 100 plus rock any help would help save the lives of my mushroom (no tums jokes please)
No calcium? Have you tested yet? The saltwater you use to do water changes would have calcium. 400-500 cal levels would be ideal.
F
fishboy2
Guest
FYI - my neighbor recently converted to a FOWLR, and gave me a piece of rock with multiple dying mushrooms on it. He had VHO mega lights, and I have moderate PC's The shrooms have tripled in size and are more brillant than when he bought them? go figure
speg
Active Member
Originally Posted by ViPeR_930
Mushrooms cannot eat phytoplankton, it's too small for them to consume. But they can eat shrimp, clams, squid, etc. like you mentioned. Again, no spot feeding is necessary.
"Mushrooms receive a majority of their nutrition from the symbiotic zooxanthellae cells hosted within their bodies. They also feed upon dissolved organics, particulate matter as well as plankton that is present in the water column. They do not require supplemental feeding, but can be fed small pieces of chopped shrimp, fish or other meaty foods. "
?
speg
Active Member
Originally Posted by ViPeR_930
Mushrooms aren't filter feeders and phyto is much too small for them to eat. Where did you find that quote?
That quote is from another website.. so cant really post it.
Here is another quote from a different website about a mushroom.
"Blue Mushrooms - Actinodiscus species
Also known as: Disc Anemones, Flower Corals, Mushroom Anemones
Color: The Blue Mushrooms has a blue, metallic blue, blue-green, violet color.
Type of hard coral: Polyp
Diet: Mostly photosynthetic. May accept meaty bits and microplanktons."
Here is a quote from Marine Invertebrates by Ron Shimek.
"Rhodactis spp.
Foods & Feeding: They do best in a tank that is well fed. Will occasionally close up and feed on larger particles, but often seem to harvest planktonic material from the water.
Ricordea florida
Foods & Feeding: This species obtains much of its energy from zooxanthellae, but it can be fed plankton or enriched newly hatched Artemia."
It would make sense to me if they did take things like phytoplankton and other similar food-items from the water.. You notice when the lights are off the mushrooms are tiny.. because the zooxanthellae of course needs light.. and without it there is no point of the mushroom expanding its surface area to collect light. How do the mushrooms expand? They take in water and fill up like a water balloon.. take a mushroom out of the water and squeeze it slightly.. it may squirt you.. so if it takes in the water.. it would take in things like phytoplankton and other micro organisms in the water to feed itself...
Or am I completely wrong? :notsure:
viper_930
Active Member
I still don't see how they can filter out the phyto to get usable energy from it. Saying they can eat phyto may just be yet another way to get you to buy phyto, but most corals can't even digest it. Maybe when they said planktonic and microplankton, they may have been refering to zooplankton, which I think is big enough to be consumed by the shrooms, but not in significant amounts IMO.