Mushroom troubles.

[idog]

Hey,

I got this amazing mushroom the other day from a friend and It was attached to nothing.

After chasing this boody thing around my tank, and three times having to fetch it from under my rock. (a horrible task that stressed the hell out of my fish) I could not get it to stick to anything. I tried glasses , and slrpee cup lids... Finally in a fit of frustration, I pierced it with a small plastic tie as you can see. My question is, did I just kill this mushroom, and did I just foul my tank?

 

[Anonymous]

most of the time i can get shrooms to stick with the old rock in a shotglass or other container method but on particularly stubbern ones there are two other options. one is put it in a container with just some sand - some of the sand will stick to the base then use super glue gel - the sand helps the glue to hold it till it really attaches itself. i've also used a needle and thread when nothing else seemed to work. your zip tie may work but a needle would have been far less damaging and less likely to hurt/kill it

 

[reefman23]

most of the time i can get shrooms to stick with the old rock in a shotglass or other container method but on particularly stubbern ones there are two other options. one is put it in a container with just some sand - some of the sand will stick to the base then use super glue gel - the sand helps the glue to hold it till it really attaches itself. i've also used a needle and thread when nothing else seemed to work. your zip tie may work but a needle would have been far less damaging and less likely to hurt/kill it

Agreed... but I think the shroom should be fine. They are generally pretty hardy.

Jesse

p.s. Keep us updated.

 

[idog]

some of the sand will stick to the base then use super glue gel

When you say super glue gel, what brand and how do you keep it from fouling your water?

I got his great epoxy from Marine land that works great for stony corals but this guys really threw me for a loop. He was soooo bloody stubborn. He kept getting sucked under my rocks. He hadn't gotten any light in almost three days so action needed to be taken. I had been handling him way too much too. (Slimy little ***tard.) :evil:
As of this morning, he is still shriveled be hopefully he will open up with the light he is now forced to accept.
The needle and thread is a good idea too. Will keep it in mind.

Thanks again for the advice.

 

[idog]

Ok, so the zip tie didn't work. It actually pushed the plastic out through the side of its body. It was really weird. It got really limp and basically "poured" itself off the rock in a pulpy mass on the sand. I though it was dead but left it in the tank with the lights on. Amazingly, it has firmed up again and looks like it did before, sans zip tie. Hardy little guy.
I have it pinched between two rocks right now to keep it from blowing around. I'll get the sewing kit out tonight...

 

[Anonymous]

Mushrooms usually will attach when they have found a spot they like and are undisturbed. I like the shot glass method also. I usually use a course substrate (like some chipped up LR) in the bottom of the glass and then just leave it alone. If you continually pick it up and try to force it down, it likely will never attach to anything. Once the mushroom does attach to the rubble, you can then glue the bottom of the rubble to another location.

Super glue gel is fine to use in the tank and will not foul the water. Don't actually try to apply it underwater, but as soon as you do apply it and get the piece set where you want it, then hold it under water for a few minutes until the glue sets up. There is a chemical reaction with the glue that produces heat that could damage the frag. Putting it under water quickly minimizes the effects of the heat.

Another method you might try is placiing the mushroom on a rock and then covering it with a fine mesh netting (like wedding vail material). Then just set the rock aside for a good while and the mushroom should attach - in time.

 

[idog]

Well here is my high tech solution to the mushroom dilemma. I cut an onion bag to get the mesh. I hope it works! Looks like hell though.