Mushroom problem

[BangkokMatt]

Hi. I have a 50g mixed coral reef system. 2 x 150w PC lights (Bulbs - 10 x 10000k, 4 x Actinic mix, 8 x Actinic). Flow = 4000 lph, Skimmer, Chiller at 26 degrees.
All corals (sps included), fish, inverts are doing well except my mushrooms (4 varieties). They never really open and have been established for some time. They are placed at the bottom of the rocks to lessen the lighting load on them.
My parameters are all fine except I am a bit high on Calcium and Magnesium.
I don't understand why it is the mushrooms which are not thriving. Any ideas? Thanks

[Fat Surgeon]

Mushrooms seem to be a little funky when it comes to light. What I mean is, i've been reading posts on here and other forums about some shrooms doing well in brighter areas of the tank vs. the norm thinking of lesser light. So far it seems there is no sure fire formula for where in the tank they will thrive.
As to the opinions others have offered, try placing them in different areas. If they seem to be in low light areas, try bringing them out into the light a little more. And on a final note, I have shrooms in my tank that some times of the day are big and beautiful and other times shrivel a little even though some stay completely open. Shrooms are weird. I'd like to hear what some other people think and maybe a story or two about their own shrooms. Good luck :)

[superman1013]

My shrooms do the same thing. Sometimes big and plump and sometimes all shriveled in the same locale...

[afelder]

My mushroom has in the last week created three new little mushrooms and can never decide how big it wants to be. Within 20 minutes it can be 4 inches across and then will shrivel down to about 1.5 inches across for no reason whatever. The only thing that seemed to actually bother it was an efficient skimmer.

[aztbs]

Mine tend to be picky about flow more than light. If the current is too strong, they will stay puckered up. Or sometimes they will actually let go of the rock.

[BangkokMatt]

Thanks for your comments. I will try and move them into different areas to see what happens.

[toungetwster]

My shrooms seem to love the light! I recently upgraded to MH 2 X 250 watt over a 6 foot tank. I have them on the bottom at first I thought that I would need to shade them but; they actually love the light and with some DT's feeding they have grown tremendously!

[Jon Evans]

mine went crazy after i started feeding my fish freeze dried baby brine shrimp cubes. i guess the uneaten brine shrimp is good food for mushrooms because they have gone banannas.