Mushroom fragging gone bad

[milab]

I cut up some mushroom polyps (discosoma) the other day and placed them in a plastic container about 3/4" deep with rubble. I then covered the container with the bridal veil netting and placed them in my refugium. To my suprise, in about three days the rubble turned completely black and there were no trace of the mushrooms in the container (I know they melted away). I am sure the shrooms weren't getting much flow because the bridal veil netting was pretty fine and there isn't much flow in the refugium to begin with. However, I don't understand what would have caused the rubble to turn completely black? Maybe some sort of bacteria? I would appreciate any insight concerning this situation. If anyone has had good experiences fragging mushroom polyps using this method please share your thoughts.

[reefnetworth]

since its 2 hours later i cant ask many ?'s but you might be in for a BIG surprise. their spores can travel all over the tank/sump/refugium and produce hundreds of shrooms. 100% cyanoacrylate (superglue gel) will hold them in place until attached completely. they can also be placed in a blender with tank water, pulse 1-2 times and poured into an aquarium and produce thousands more. the cutting point is kinda the issue. if you cut at the base they are probably still alive. if you 1/4rd them (pie) they are probably still alive. i believe its damn near impossoble to kill a shroom. ive found them under LR thats been sitting for a month when lifted and the next day they were 3x's the size they were. REEF-ON!!!

[dollarz81]

The problem was water flow. I have used the same method as you described and had the same results. Nano4brains is right in that you will find tiny mushrooms everywhere in your tank if the spores were released. The best method is to leave the mushroom on the rock and cut it into 4 slices. In a few days you will have 4 new mushrooms. You can cyt those or just cut them off the rock. Make sure they get some water flow.