Aculeatus

[bluespotocto]

The little thong I said is zoo something he said it's a good hardy coral. I will post some photos of them. Also is 90 watt good for the corals but not to bright for the octo? The lf aai they could get me an aculeatus so I hope they het the rite kind. The aquirast there knew his stuff.

 

[bluespotocto]

Here are some pics of the corals i got and the whole tank. I am a little worried about the kenya tree coral to the left. So what do you think about 90 watts? Is that bright enough for the coral but not to bright for the octo? The kenya tree coral is about 1.5 in tall. The rock with mushrooms on it is about 5 in across. The zoo stuff is real small about an 1 in.

 

[DWhatley]

I have never used that much wattage with an octopus so I can't give any info. You might try to PM Animal_Mother and ask what he was using (watts per gallon - not the best measure but the easiest one to get an equivalency) on his reef with Kalypso (looking through his thread may say but you will have to divide the watts by the size of his tank to get an equivalent). The biggest objection I have read is that the octopus may not come out with the lights on if they are too bright. Your Kenya should start opening up in a day or two, if it doesn't then more lighting will likely be desirable but I would take a wait and see approach before adding more light.

Zoos of any kind (including the sun polyps I mentioned) do sting but if you keep your small group high in the tank, they are not likely to be a problem. If you see your octo touch them and react, I would suggest swapping them out if you can but an octo seems to learn quickly and one small group in the tank that cannot grab and eat it are not likely a problem.

Nice looking shrooms . If you do change out your tank lighting, a compact two bulb (single plug) with half actinic and half white will help show them up nicely. There have been reports that some octopuses do not like the blue of actinic but I have not noticed this to be a problem with the hummelincki and briareus.

 

[bluespotocto]

I just sent AM a PM. Also is it possible that my current in my tank is to strong? Because I woke up this morning and saw one of the shrooms was missing. The base it just there. Could it have ripped of because of the current?

 

[DWhatley]

Are your mushrooms open and not moving? If so the current should not be too strong. Mine like a little movement and are not typically uprooted but I have seen some that do not attach as tightly. You said there is a "base", is there another part loose in the tank? What you are discribing is unusual.

 

[bluespotocto]

ya i guess i just didnt realize how big that one had opened up. Because all the other ones were open when i got it and then i guess i though it was missing but it must have just opened. I see the shroom now. Also how long does it take for the zoos to connect its self to the rock. I found the zoos when came home today like totaly on another rock way below it.

 

[bluespotocto]

I woke up this morning and i saw my mushrooms realizing this white stuff from them. What is it? Is it bad?

 

[DWhatley]

I can't tell much from the photo but if the "white stuff" is attached and looks like little threads running through them, I have seen mine do this when they have been disturbed/stressed. You should see them settle back down and reabsorb the material. Have you checked your water parameters? Did you move the rocks or touch the mushrooms?

 

[bluespotocto]

Ya your description sounds like what it is. I did move the rock. How long until this white stuff i gone?

 

[DWhatley]

I am not sure how long before they will go back to normal. I am thinking about 24 hours based on my recently disturbed ricordea but I seem to recall seeing the mushrooms do this for longer. DO NOT try to remove it as it is part of their internal structure. I am second guessing but I think it is similar to the defenses of a cucumber (that can spit out its intestines) and likely tastes bad to a fish. In the case of mushrooms, it will simply return to the inside and not be expelled.

I found this picture of my red mushroom doing what I think your are seeing and a second of something else odd I observed only one time and have no idea why it reacted this way. In both situations, the mushroom returned to normal and lived for several years longer (unfortunatley it is now dying, I believe from old age. At its largest it was an unusual 8 inches in diameter).

 

[bluespotocto]

Ya it did that exactly. They are already starting to suck the stuff back in. But some of it looked like it floated away. Like in strands or something. Have you ever seen that?

 

[DWhatley]

I can't remember for sure (picture was taken in 2006) but I recall wondering if it was spawning (it wasn't) so it may have released some into the water column to make me think that.

 

[bluespotocto]

Ya when i saw it i thought right away it was spawning. I have looked and must of the white stuff is gone and it looking better.

Thanks

 

[bluespotocto]

So I am sure that the shroom did rip off because I saw it floating around in the tank. The base is still on the rock but the round shroom is floating around. What should i do?

 

[DWhatley]

Look at what is floating in the tank. Is there a hole in the center? Can you put it in a small dish of tank water and take a picture? It would be very strange to have it in two pieces unless something more than current attacked it. Some mushrooms do not attach tightly so you may be looking at two different things. A photo would be helpful.