Red mushrooms not reproducing

B

Birder

I purchased 3 Red mushrooms in June of 2005 and after 9 months now have 4 Red mushrooms. The reason I purchased, I really liked them and from my reading this forum, they would really reproduce fast! Can anyone pinpoint why they are not reproducing/growing for me?

Feeding - Kent MicroVert 3-4 times a week
Lighting - 252 watts PC and tube lighting on 58 gal tank. Over 9 months, I have moved these mushrooms all over tank, from shade to 6" below lights with no improvement in growth. Also had MH on for 6 months, but did not make any difference in growth.
Tank parms : PH 8.0, ALK 2.5-3.0 m/l, Calcium 350 (these readings have always stayed constant over the last year)
Water changes : 20% every 1 to 2 weeks on a regular basis, mostly with Kent, now IO.

I have added iodide from time to time, but this does not help and at times has really hurt the other mushrooms in tank.

I have some Purple mushrooms which do multiply, but not fast. Also Bullseye mushrooms which has reproduced many times.

If the 'MicroVert only' is the problem, can someone give me specific instructions on how and what to feed?

Thanks for help!
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d96/mjonken/DSCN9911.jpg
 
I'm not sure what is wrong with yours - other than being moved around a lot :wink:

I have mushrooms all over the tank. But the most growth is at the bottom of a (tall) tank, not as much flow as the rest of the tank, and the more I dig out to sell or give away, the more of them I end of having.

You can split a mushroom with an exacto knife, and have two or four more in a short time, especially if you leave them on the rock to do so.
 
I would stop dosing the microvert all together or to to a maximum of once a week. I dont think you will need to directly feed them. It may be just fouling up the water with that many feedings. I pretty much leave mine alone and they grow.

The ph and alkalinity are pretty close to ocean water, but you could improve the ph and alkalinity a bit... No worries where you are at though. I do dose the following on a regular basis in my aquarium...

Magnesium
iodine(be careful)
Calcium (You man want to get up to around 400-425ppm)
Strontium & Molybdenum

If you are performing 20% water changes every two weeks, you will probably not have to deal with suppliments....depending on your bioload..

I would concentrate on good water parms including temp, constant salinity, amonia, phosphates... and I'm sure it will grow... It may be a late bloomer.
 
My red shrooms won't reproduce either. My green ones have been going nuts. I have 2 red shrooms, one is a watermelon shroom. I got them in october, still only have 2. As of today, my greens have gone from 7 to about 15, maybe more, I got them in february. I think my reds like being lonely.
-Chuck
 
My green watermelons have reproduced a bit, but nowhere near as much as my green with spots. Every night when they shrink up a bit, I look for new little guys under them. I've seen 6 or 7 new ones in the couple of months I've had the rock.

I have had random red ones pop up in the strangest places, but nowhere near the rate of the greens.
 
Now that's funny! My greens haven't grown any that I can tell in ~9 months, but I've got so many reds I hafta scrape 'em off the overflows...
 
Use a razor and slice them while they are attached to the rock and they should split. Then when you have shrooms all over you tank you will regret it. :D
 
out of curiosity..when you guys say split it down the middle, do you mean a clean cut right through so that it's in two..? Or just a little knick?
 
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