# Orange fungus?



## scotty1212 (Feb 15, 2016)

So my wife has been taking care of the frogs the past few weeks since ive been working pretty much non stop. Anyways, i got a day off because of the blizzard and decided to check out the tanks. To my surprise i found a tank that had this orange fungus that ive never seen before with a mushroom growing from it. My wife thought it would be fine and didnt tell me but she said its been around for a week or two. I think its fine, but just wanted to make sure this orange fungus isnt anything to worry about. Thanks in advance!










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## kimcmich (Jan 17, 2016)

@Scotty,

Generally speaking, parasol fungi (look like umbrellas) pose no threat to critters and provide food for all kinds of microfauna. This case in interesting because it looks like either a fruiting mushroom with an overactive "root" system or perhaps two fungi growing in close proximity (maybe one feeding off the other). Can you post a close-up of the orange-colored mass? Does it look hairy and has it changed in size? Does it seem to be contiguous with the white mushroom's base - or it the white mushroom just pushing up from underneath?


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## scotty1212 (Feb 15, 2016)

I checked today and the mushroom was gone but the fungus is still there. Managed to get a better pic, it seems almost like "hair" of some sort, i dont believe its a threat but i just want to make sure.










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## kimcmich (Jan 17, 2016)

Greetings again,

The simplest explanation is the "hair" is the mycelial network of the fungi that produced the mushroom. Mushrooms are like the apple on an apple tree - the fungus itself is much larger (though it exists as minute hairlike network) and persistent. I am intrigued because mycelia are usually pale white and when mycelia or mushroom are colored it is usually the mushroom that has color.

The mushroom looks like a Coprinus species. I did some googling and found an image of Coprinus mycelia that are indeed orange like your fuzzy monster:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/6000836201


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## scotty1212 (Feb 15, 2016)

Yea it could be that...its weird i never saw anything like it in my other tanks so i just wanted to get some feedback. Thanks for responses! 

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