Terrible Advice Tuesdays (T.A.Tues): The Easy Way To Get Rid of Mushroom Corals
Terrible Advice Tuesdays (T.A.Tues): Eradicating mushroom corals requires simply cutting the top of the coral off. With the top removed, the base will die.
The rest of the story: Whoever said that must have fantastic luck or be completely delusional.
The only way I’ve ever successfully eradicated mushroom corals from a tank is by cutting the top off, then completely covering the base with epoxy. If the smallest amount of the base is left uncovered, it will regrow a new top and the coral will start growing again. I’ll also add enough epoxy such that I cover an extra inch (1″) of the rock around the base of the coral to make sure it doesn’t somehow find light and start growing again.
Other mushroom eradication methods I’ve tried include supergluing over the base, which doesn’t work as the coral will slime. The slime makes the glue not stick and fall off. Kalk slurry bombs also are ineffective as the slurry won’t stay in place long enough to kill the coral. Injecting the coral with a kalk slurry takes skill and luck as the coral usually retracts quicker than you can inject the kalk slurry. Finally, while you can completely remove the rock the mushroom coral is on, but sometimes that rock is a central part of your aquascaping and can’t be removed.
Update: Several readers informed me they’ve had luck with the aiptasia/majano wand for mushroom removal.
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This is good advice. You could also use a two part reef safe epoxy putty (modeling clay) Cover over the area with a thin layer pressing down lightly, and then remove a week later.
with the luck ive been having lately just send it my way and i’ll find a way to kill it.
Not that I like killing mushrooms I would rather give them away just scrap them off with your finger nail. I have used Aptasia X directly in the mouth and it has always worked
I must be such a newbie 🙂 I am wondering why kill off someting you deliberately added to your tank in the first place? I am approaching my first foray into coral, so the idea of something actually growing is a good thing. I guess I will learn though right? 🙂
I totally disagree with more of the opinions expressed here today! I am almost in shock! why you have to kill something that you brought to your tank? we all know they are aggressive and invasive, so if you don’t want them don’t buy it!
I specially enjoy my purple, greens, and red mushrooms and I won’t kill them. I appreciate what mother nature let me enjoy everyday! so remember if you don’t want them don’t buy them!
I’ve had a nano 5 gl just for shrooms… Love the look, I agree if you don’t want them don’t buy them. Sometimes you don’t always see the small things and one shows up. I have several types in my 125GL Long with 55GL sump. Enough room for everyone 🙂
Can you show picture of what mashroom you are talking about please.
Mohammed…here’s a link to a picture of the mushroom coral I am referring to
Thank so much Mark:) now it is clear. I need to remove it now before it kill my coral.
All mushrooms must die! I bought a small “shroom rock” a few years ago. I hadn’t done my research and did not know I was bringing a plague into my tank. Yes, that one is on me for not researching properly. That is a mistake I have not repeated. I learned a hard lesson. Research anything and everything you are considering placing into your tank! Make sure you understand not only the care it requires but also its behavior and temperament. Is it aggressive towards others? Is it a voracious reproducer? Ask as many questions as possible and get as many points of view as you can. As Mark has said many times, patience is the key to success in a reef tank. Impulsive behavior has no place here. The only thing that has kept the wave of mushrooms from advancing completely across my reef is my RTBA. They will not approach her. I just hope she never decides to move. She hasn’t in over two years.
Mark, is there any known natural predator to the mushroom coral that won’t eat other corals? It sure would be nice if there was a version of Berghia nudi’s that liked mushrooms…
Weatherman…I haven’t heard of a mushroom coral predator that won’t eat other things in your tank. It wouldn’t surprise me if certain angelfish would eat mushrooms and if they did, they’d like eat other corals in your tank!
After I originally commented I seem to have clicked the -Notify me when new
comments are added- checkbox and now whenever a comment is added I recieve four emails with the same comment.
Perhaps there is an easy method you can remove me
from that service? Thank you!
Is it correct that if you isolate your mushrooms to a rock island surrounded by substrate–they shouldn’t spread to other areas of your tank?
Bedlamer…no. Mushrooms can detach themselves and float around your tank. Isolating them can delay their spread, but not prevent it
I have a few clients tanks with mushrooms, 1 I have regular mushrooms isolated on a rock and have had pretty good success but I have some drifters that I have been lucky enough to get rid of them before they attach.
But I have another client with elephant mushrooms that are currently the bane of my existence.