mushroom

two days ago one brown ( green flourecent tips under actinics) came off a rock and landed on the sand. i put it on a rock and it seemed to be ok though there is what appears to be a slight tear on it. yesterday it didn't look so good and didn't open up when the mh came on. it started to have this gooey slime next to it's base and now i'm starting to think it's dying.
what is it doing? and what caused it to come off the rock? did you think a crab is trying to eat it? i had some corals die a few months ago because of a crab. i didn't even know i had the crab until i took out the dying piece of colt coral. i found the crab had dug itself under the colt and imbedded itself between the colt and the rock. i should have known from the clicking noises in the tank when the lights turned off at night. this crab also killed a really nice small leather too. i do hear some clicking sounds when the lights turn off in the tank but i haven't seen any signs of a crab. i noticed that two of my peppermint shrimps are gone but i'm not sure what happened to them. other than that the other corals and clams are doing well. what shoud i do about the mushroom and how do i know if i have a crab in my tank? i used to see this bristleworm in my tank but i no longer see it. could that crab have eaten that too?
could someone tell me the differences between a 6500k, a 10k, and a 20k mh?
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VL,

Why don't you register? There are some VERY smart people here so you might as well join up and learn.

There could be numerous things going on at once. Clicking at night could be a crab but it could also be a pistol shrimp or a mantis. I wouldn't worry too much about the shroom as long is has sufficient time to reattach to your rock. I yank those things off of the rock, cut them in 4 pieces (like a pizza) and then put them in a little tupperware container with some rubble all of the time. In that way, I now have 4 mushrooms. They are very tough and they usually reattach to the rubble within a week. I can then give the frags to friends or superglue the rubble where I want the mushroom in my tank.

The different numbers of lighting correspond to different Kelvin ratings. The lower numbers 6500k have a yellow look unless you also add actinic lighting too. The 20,000k's are much bluer----you would want those if you specialized in deep water corals or you like the bluer look. Here are some pic's http://www.cnidarianreef.com/lamps.cfm

 

thanks for the nice reply and link.
the mushroom today doesn't look right at all. it looks as if it's melting on the rock. i doubt i can save it.
well, i don't know what's making the clicking sound. but i know that when one of my peppermint shrimps had died one day, there was no visible signs of disease as it had been in the tank for almost a year. perhaps it died of age but i really don't know the life span of shrimps. as for the other peppermint shrimp, it just vanished a few days after the first peppermint died and i haven't seen any signs of it since. perhaps, the only brittle star in my tank has made quick meal of it's remains. the only shrimp left which has been in there the longest (about 2 years) is the cleaner shrimp. it's still producing and releasing eggs (though not as fast as it used to) which my gold stripe maroon just loves to eat. i've tried to add other smaller maroons with it in hopes of getting it to pair off but each time the bigger gold stripe kills the smaller maroon. this belligerent maroon, she just wants to be single!
if my tank does have a pistol shrimp or mantis shrimp (which look wicked) , are they a threat of the other inhabitants in the tank? if so, what's a good way to trap them? are they nocturnal creatures which hide? might they have eaten the brittle worm? funny how i never see the bristleworm anymore....hmmm it used to come out even with the lights on!
just hope there's not another one of those nasty looking crabs in my tank.
let me get this right...a 6500k needs actinics as to supplement. whereas the 10k and 20k bulbs have the actinic wavelengths. is that correct? thanks

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Mantis shrimp are extremely aggressive hunters. If you have a smasher, it will take out your shrimp, then go after your snails, and eventually go after fish if there isn't enough food for them. Trapping and ID'ing info is on this site. http://www.blueboard.com/mantis/faq.htm

A lot of lighting info is based on opinion and what type of corals you want to keep in your tank. I would say your description is pretty good though regarding having the actinics or not.

 

thanks for the nice replies and links.
after reading the links about mantis and pistol shrimps, i now doubt that i have either of these nasty creatures in my tank. because i haven't come across any molts. i am also amused by the different methods in trapping and catching these "pests."

i have seen big mantis shrimps for sale at the lfs. they look and have a tough disposition. i believe mantis shrimps are edible for i have seen them sold in fish stores as well. wonder if they taste like chicken? i think i'll just keep wondering.

the clicks i hear at night are on a semi regular basis. the clicks happen once and twice in a row at the most. now i'm begining to think it's a crab again. i wonder why my cleaner shrimp or clams haven't been attacked.
hmm....


i will have to remove the mushroom tomorrow. though part of it looks ok, the other part looks like it melted onto the rock.


currently i am using a 10k ushio and using actinics. i just love that deep purple the two coralife flourescent lights produce. i don't run a protein skimmer. i have a uv sterilizer in the sump but it's hardly ever used.


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vl,

Well it sounds like Curt has given you great advice and if you have any more questions, do not hesitate to ask for help.

Sounds like you have a nice set-up and are a fairly knowledgeable reefer. Please do take the time to become a member as if you are in the first 300 members to register, you will be eligable for a drawing for a $50 gift certificate from our sponsor ClamsDirect.

I would give the mushroom frag a little more time before moving the whole thing. As Curt mentioned they are very hardy and the portion of the frag that isn't "melted" could become a nice little colony of its own.