Please help, is my Mushroom Toadstool dying ??? see attached pic

[Viajeque]

Please help is my mushroom toadstool dying? Its been more than two weeks that it is closed. I see some white mucus coming out of it. Also yesterday my Zoanthids did not open at all in the whole day. See the attached picture of my toadstool and the zoanthids. My pararemeters are normal, my salinity is 1.025 and my PH is 8.4. Thanks in advance for your comments!

[Frogmanx82]

I'd say you have a problem, how to fix it though is beyond me. pH seems a bit high. I'd maybe consider running some carbon on the chance there is something in the water they aren't liking. If the zoas weren't closed up I'd think it was just a problem with the toadstool. As it is I think there is a water issue.

[Viajeque]

Yeah once I saw the zoanthids closed I got worried. I have an emperor 400 in my sump. I will change the carbon, but you think that would fix it? Thanks for your comment!

[Viajeque]

Here is another pic of my Xenia and my other coral (which I am not sure what its name is) they did not open yesterday aswell.

[Misled]

How long has your tank been up? I would think a while because you have a nem in there but, I've never seen a leather look quite like that, and I have one like it. Take a full tank shot please. I'd like to see what the other things look like. I also see some "stuff" growing under the zoas which could be why they're not opening. It also looks like there's some stuff on the leather's stalk???

[Viajeque]

The tank was set in July but then it was moved to a 90 g in september. Attached is a pic of the entire display. What can I do before start seeing more losses? I lost two turbo snails, one yesterday and another one 3 days ago, would that be an indication?

[89Foxbody]

Start doing water changes ASAP. Also run carbon. It's possible the Leather is ****ed and is poisoning your tank. The carbon should neutralize it.

[Crustman]

Sorry Zoas and toadstool look bad. You may have a nitrate or phosphate problem. Watch out with Magnesium additives. I totally bleached mine but it came back.

[Frogmanx82]

Xenia are good indicators of water quality. If they're closed you have an issue. I agree with foxbody. Carbon and get the leather out, they do produce toxins when stressed. Do you have a QT tank? If not get it in a bucket. You don't want to lose everything else.

[89Foxbody]

BTW the other coral is a Kenya Tree. It looks as bad as everything else. Definitely time to start doing water changes.

[Viajeque]

Yes, I have 2 QT tanks. Should I put the toadstool in the QT tank, or the other corals?

[Just2Many]

I go with Rule #1, Then #2, Then #3
Water Change, Water Change, Water Change

[Viajeque]

What percentage of water change should I make to ensure the safety of the other creatures in my tank?

[Hemlock71]

I would do a large 50% wc and run heavy carbon and change it every couple of days until thing start looking better.

[Viajeque]

Ok I will do so. Should I consider the Toadstool to be dead and take it away? or should I put it in a QT Tank?

[Sk8r]

The toadstool is just having a leather-war moment. I don't think it's dying: it's squeezing out every bit of spare water, and probably with it some nasty keep-away chemicals. Carbon and a water change is a very good idea, and change out the carbon every 3 days: that fellow is going to discharge a lot of spit. I don't think I'd bother to move him, actually, but a qt tank if he won't calm down soon is a good idea.

If it were my tank I'd run the following tests: alkalinity, temperature, and salinity, and if the readings weren't at least 8.3-9.3 alk, 79-80 temperature, and 1.024-1.026 salinity, I'd adjust the water until they are in that range. Since ph and alk are somewhat related, I rarely even check ph: if my alk is ok, most everything is. My notion is that that nem and that toadstool are having disagreements, or there's another leather in the tank also contributing. I used to run a tank with a lot of leathers, and they'd occasionally go ballistic and close everything up until I ran enough carbon. Had one fellow who'd go from bubblegum pink to dark lavender, he'd get so mad.

[Misled]

I agree with Sk8r. I don't see it realy dying. For it to be putting those bumps up, it has to be getting ready to let something go. The carbon will be one of the most important things right now. I didn't see anything about a skimmer. Do you have one? What's it doing?

[Viajeque]

Guys,

I just did a full water test and the results are as follow:

Phosphate: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
Salinity: 1.025
dkH: 8
pH: 8.2
Calcium: 480
Temp: 81.4 F

The pH last week was 8.4, should I use a buffer?

I was told to do 50% water change, should I do so? so should I keep my toadstool inside? Please let me know and thanks in advance!

[Viajeque]

Yes I have a skimmer in a sump with a big chaeto. The skimmer is working awesome it take so much junk and I clean it weekly.

Yes I just filled both of my extra media loads with new carbon on my emperor 400 so I will start doing water changes. If I do not have a R/O water filter should I go and buy water from the LFS or can I use tap water? I usually buy water for regular water changes

[Misled]

Please don't use tap water.

[Viajeque]

I wont. Thanks for the comments guys!

[chewdoggie]

Pop the corals out one by one on your next water change. In a 5 gallon bucket dip them in either 1) Lugol's 2) Brightwell's Medicoral or 3) Sprung's Revive. Not a combo...pick one. I use Revive or Coral RX to dip all new corals before they go into the reef to eliminate pests and either Lugols or Medicoral for anyone that looks bad or got stung by a neighboring coral.

Does the tank have a chiller? Do you run it that high all the time? If the temperature is swinging around that could be a stressor.

Also, from your pictures...which may be limited to one shot...I would re-aquascape that rock to open it up a bit so you have better flow around each rock. Detritus tends to settle more when you have a wall or tightly stacked rocks...thus causing issues further down the line.

I have brought numerous leathers back from the "edge" that customers give up on simply by dipping them, improving or stabilizing their water parameters and not freaking out. But you seem to have a mass reaction amongst your soft corals which leads me to agree that one or more of the softies is releasing its toxins into the water.

Do the water changes weekly with a good carbon. See Eric Borneman's Aquarium Corals book as a reference regarding the toxicity of the softies. I find a lot of LFS/online retailers do a poor job educating people on them and the general chemical warfare that occurs amongst all corals. Another good article on this is in a recent RHM - Volume 4 of 2010 I think.

And do not rule out a softie predator...but most like a water parameter issue. Never hurts to dip the coral though.

[Viajeque]

I did 50% water change 2 days ago and my corals are still closed, I took the Toadstool to my QT tank. My green flower coral is a little bit open and the anemone seems doing fine. I dip the corals in Lugol's solution and I added Kent Iodine.

Now my question is: "Is the Toadstool Leather Mushroom Poison"? My LFS told me is not and that I should put it back and that I should get a Kent Coral-Vite instead of Kent Iodine. I bought a buffer because my alkalinity dropped from 11 o 8 and my PH is still at 8.2...The temperature went down to 78 when I did the water changes so I am planning to keep it. It used to be 80

All my 3 Turbo Snails died, my anemone looks a little bit whiter (used to be greener) and my macro-algea I feel is softer. Could that be an indication of something? Please advise and thanks in advance!

[kduen]

I would leave the Alkalinity at 8 and your PH is just fine at 8.2. Lots of people will say that temp needs to remain rock solid or bad things will happen. Others say a 2-3 degree swing during the course of the day is better in the sense that if something happens say a heater go bad, power outage, forgetting to turn off the canopy fans before going to bed your corals will already be used to the temp swings and not react as badly.

[Frogmanx82]

Ocean temperatures can vary quickly as currents change. Marine animals are not that sensitive.