Yellow toadstool questions!

kingfisher62 · #1 03/22/2007, 06:29 PM

I just picked up a yellow toadstool mushroom today and it is not doing much ! I have a 14g biocube with stock 48w pc lights. Right now it is on the sand bed.
Where would be the best placement?What kind of flow is best for it?
Any advice about them would be appreciated, thanks

Illuminati · #2 03/22/2007, 06:36 PM

I would start it on the sandbed and slowly move it up towards the light. They love light and plenty of flow, not to mention great water quality. I can tell when my nitrates are up because it stays closed until I bring them down.

They can also shed and will look po'd for up to a month when it happens.

sir_dudeguy · #3 03/22/2007, 06:58 PM

I've got 2 different types of toadstool (yellow/gold, and a green polyped one). They're both getting quite good flow. The green one is about halfway up and the big gold/yellow one is about a quarter of the way up...both growing very fast.

They can stay shut for a very long time, specially when you first get it or when they shed. Give it time

kingfisher62 · #4 03/22/2007, 08:10 PM

Good to know ,Thanks guys!

kingfisher62 · #5 03/24/2007, 08:00 PM

Ok guys , I am getting a little concerned ! I notice a few polyps starting to open this morning before work. I was hoping to come home and find it in "full bloom" , no such luck ,totally closed.
should i move it to a stronger flow and higher in the tank? right now it is on the sand bed and moderate flow!

sir_dudeguy · #6 03/24/2007, 10:23 PM

personally i still wouldnt even worry about it. This is REALLY common for these corals. My toadstool will open and close from time to time during the same day...It will be open for 3 hours, i'll come home and there will be like 2 polyps out lol. Then i come back 10 minutes later and its fully open again. They're kinda weird like that. Sometimes its a simple matter of a stupid hermit crab walking on it or whatever.

But mine did what yours is doing when i added it....would start opening, i would leave and think it would be open when i get back and its either completely shut or the same.

kingfisher62 · #7 03/25/2007, 05:53 AM

Thanks again for putting my mind at ease. I always freak when I get a new coral and they don't open right away! I'll try to be patient.

michaeldaly · #8 03/25/2007, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by colinadam
I would start it on the sand bed and slowly move it up towards the light. They love light and plenty of flow, not to mention great water quality. I can tell when my nitrates are up because it stays closed until I bring them down.

They can also shed and will look po'd for up to a month when it happens.

I don't think it is really necessary to start it on the sand bed, the tank has only got 48W of pc lighting over it.

benray4fun · #9 03/25/2007, 01:03 PM

Yellow leathers are normally found in shallow waters with intense lighting and tidal surf..."with that said," It needs plenty if not moderate to strong water movement and lighting. Get a small power head if you need it for water movement, but do not point it directly. I think you'll see more of what you're hoping should you do this..."good luck."

kingfisher62 · #10 03/25/2007, 05:12 PM

I have moved it up and into more flow!

Cubman777 · #11 03/25/2007, 06:45 PM

I have had one for about 3 years. FOr the first few months, it looked like crap. I often thought it had like necrosis or something. Today it looks like a star and is a family favorite. Even though they are leathers, they can be kind of tempermental, fussy corals. I have mine about halfway up under about 600 watts, so feel comfortable that they can take just about anything that you can dish out. Mine has always enjoyed strong water flow, as I think many leathers do because it helps them shed. I am sure that yours is fine, just give it time to acclimate and adjust to your tank. They are really great corals, and I think that you made a great choice. It is rare to see a straight yellow coral. Most corals that are claimed to be yellow are more lemon-lime than anything.

Cubman777 · #12 03/25/2007, 06:47 PM

off topic but I am curious, your strawberry dottyback doesnt mess with your peppermint shrimp? I have tried to put 3 shrimp in my tank and my bastard strawberry dottyback has killed and ate them all within 2 days! I am insanely jealous.

kingfisher62 · #13 03/25/2007, 07:09 PM

Thanks, every one!
Cubman777, Yeah, those dottybacks are tough little buggers for their size. I had the shrimp in the tank for 3 months with no problems until recently! My canary wrasse just made a meal of him!The str. dottyback never paid much attention to the shrimp. I even seen the shrimp cleaning him once! I don't know if it mattered but my shrimp was pretty good size!
If you want to talk about mean dottybacks you should have seen My red dottyback. It was 8 inches when I decided to trade him in!

benray4fun · #14 03/26/2007, 12:23 AM

Your yellow should stand and ruffle right up if you have enough flow and lighting. The lower the flow the more of a melted look it will take. With a medium flow it will stand up and start taking a more ruffled appearance. With high flow it will stand, ruffle and the skin will spike up...Here's a few pics...

kingfisher62 · #15 03/26/2007, 04:41 AM

very nice , now I know what it is supposed to look like!
I moved it higher and into more flow so we will see what happens today!

sir_dudeguy · #16 03/26/2007, 09:11 AM

thats a yellow fiji leather tho, not a toadstool. Neither of my toadstools ruffle up that much (they get a couple folds here and there, but nothing like fiji yellows). I've got the 2 toadstools and a fiji yellow just like in that pic above.

benray4fun · #17 03/26/2007, 10:53 AM

[QUOTE]Originally posted by sir_dudeguy
thats a yellow fiji leather tho, not a toadstool. Neither of my toadstools ruffle up that much (they get a couple folds here and there, but nothing like fiji yellows). I've got the 2 toadstools and a fiji yellow just like in that pic above. [/QUOTE

Hmm, correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought a fiji yellow leather and a yellow toadstool is the same thing... "I'm sure I've heard that somewhere before."
Please post some pics and show me the difference..."thanks"

sir_dudeguy · #18 03/26/2007, 02:56 PM

well the one you posted is a fiji yellow where the polyps arent all coming out and extending. I've got one. And then this pic below is my yellow toadstool leather.

I dont have any good pics of my fiji yellow tho.

sir_dudeguy · #19 03/26/2007, 02:57 PM

oh, and here's that same yellow one under different lights about 5 months later. And the one next to it is the little green polyped toadstool that i have...only NONE of the polyps are out

kingfisher62 · #20 03/26/2007, 05:08 PM

great pics!
hey I got good news, it started to open, at least i know I didn't kill it! Now I am sure it will start looking better and better.

benray4fun · #21 03/26/2007, 05:09 PM

nice!

kingfisher62 · #22 03/26/2007, 05:18 PM

Thanks ,it is a start! Do you guys think i have to worry about the placement ? {i'm talking about the neighboring corals}

sir_dudeguy · #23 03/26/2007, 08:53 PM

hm, that sort of looks more like a fiji yellow. How much did you buy that for? I bought my fiji yellow which is about...5 inches when fully open, for only 30 bucks from a store. They had just got them in that day, and the dude didnt even know what it was lol. I asked how much for it, and he said 30, so i was like SWEET!! I went back the next day and they had the rest of the ones they got listed as fiji yellows and were 65 bucks

Gotta get lucky sometimes i guess.

But anyways...i say it looks sorta more like a fiji cuz it looks thinner. All my toadstools are pretty thick looking. And the polyps come out really far. Well you can see how they are in my pics above. My fiji tho...the polyps arent nearly as long and give it more of a "fuzzy" look. Hard to say tho at this point.

If it is a fiji tho, dont put it by shrooms. I put mine by my red shrooms and its just now starting to open back up after like 3 weeks (altho i never did move it lol). Its now just shadowing the shrooms.

benray4fun · #24 03/27/2007, 12:47 AM

sir,
that toadstool could also pass for a yellow flower pot coral, they're so close in appearance..."take a look"...
http://www.marinedepotlive.com/flowe...lyp-stony.html

My yellow fiji only ruffles and spikes up, it doesn't have polyps to extend. I see they're often called the same thing loosely because they're both soft leather corals, but of different orders the fiji is Sarcophyton elegans and the toadstool is Sarcophyton sp. Both requirements are identical.

Here's the link for more info on the difference...
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/s...cfm?pCatId=600

kingfisher62 · #25 03/27/2007, 04:45 AM

As far as I know it is a yellow fiji .It is just under 3 inches and It was priced at 49 bucks but i had a 20$ coupon if i spent 100 so I think of it that I got it for 30bucks. Seems less painfull that way!

I will keep everyone posted on how and what it looks like.