White stringy stuff out of mushrooms

I added some salt to my 30 gallon tank with my mushrooms in there to raise the salinity (I know thats not how your supposed to do it but added just a little) and every mushroom in the tank started secreting this white stringy stuff from the center of each mushroom. Does anyone know what this is? I'm guessing I messed up and stressed them out or something. Will the mushrooms recover or are they gonners? Thanks

Peter

 

If I'm ever doing a tank change and the water gets too low and the mushrooms are exposed to air they do the same thing. I'm betting its a stress response from the quick salinity level change. They will most definitely recover... probably by tomorrow actually (or at least that's what has happened in my nano that I've had for 3 years).

 

Glad to hear and thanks, I figured they would recover but was worrying since this is my first time. Does the white stuff get sucked back in or do they just let it go after awhile?

 

I believe sucked back in because I have never seen it float around the tank before. For future salinity changes I recommend adding the extra salt with the new saltwater when you do your next water change(s).

 

Ok thanks! I noticed my spotted green puffer fish didn't really like the white stringy stuff and it looked like it was bothering them so they stayed away, It's not tentacles is it?

 

If i am reading this thread right, you are converting your fresh water tank to a salt water??

I have a very strong feeling that your salinity is way off. That white stringy stuff is the mushrooms digestive tract. Its basically exerting it guts because its stressed. Now if im right in believing your salinity is not high enough the mushrooms will eventually waste away.
What is your salinity measure?

 

Thats correct with the conversion from freshwater to saltwater, the mushrooms were added yesterday though. My salinity measured 1.026 the last time I measured it which was yesterday. However, the hydrometer I got seems very inaccurate. Any suggestions?

 

Check your salinity against a calibrated refractometer most LFS's will do this for you for free. They're not very expensive if you want to buy one, it's well worth the investment.
Like this:
Refractometers Bulk Reef Supply - Bulk Reef Supply

 

I checked this morning and my hydrometer measured 1.021??? Most of the mushrooms look ok and are opened/in the process of opening back up. A couple are closed up still which I anticipated. I'm guessing I need a refractometer but my readings have been very inconsistent.

 

Most mushrooms excrete when they are stressed, more common with the frilly types. I have several varieties that do this. Whenever I touch them or move them, they excrete strings from their "pores" not just their mouths. Most likely what happened considering you put salt directly in the tank is that some morsels landing on the shrooms before they disintegrated in the water. Therefore burning the mushroom and stressing it out.

A good tip for a hydrometer is let flick it several times and let it sit for a few minutes. Microbubbles will throw the gravity off. This is probably the reason yours is so inconsistent.