Size: 1.75 inches
This Red Jawbreaker Mushroom is "WYSIWYG" What you see is what you get so this one is yours!
There are several corals that are commonly refer to as Mushrooms. These easy to keep soft corals include Discosoma (smooth), Rhodactis (Bumpy or bubbling) and St Thomas (frilly) Mushrooms, plus Ricordea florida (Caribbean origin) and Ricordea yuma (Pacific origin).
Mushrooms are available in a wide variety of colors, shapes and sizes. Some of the frilly or hairy types can grow to 6 or more inches, but generally most Mushrooms stay about 1-2 inches.
Mushrooms are easy to keep because they are very adaptable to a variety of lighting, flow, and water parameters. Generally, they do best under moderate lighting--approximately 100-150 PAR. Coloration is best under predominantly blue LED lighting. Higher levels of light will tend to bleach them, especially Ricordea yuma. There should be enough flow to prevent detritus from settling on them, but not so much to make them constantly flutter. Random indirect flow is better than blasting them with constant single directional flow.
Mushrooms do not require specific feeding, but will accept many common fish foods and will replicate faster if fed. Live foods such as enhanced brine shrimp and copepods are excellent, along with a variety of other foods such as fish eggs, pellets, etc.
Most Mushrooms replicate rapidly on their own or can be cut with a razor blade or scissors. Attaching them can be difficult since they produce mucus and will slough off traditional glue or epoxy. They must be place in a low flow area in a container with some rock rubble and will usually attach to the rubble within a few days. Special acrylic Mushroom boxes are made for this purpose.They shrink in size when distubed such as when shipped, so much so that occasionally they may fall off their mount and the above attachment process must be used.
Mushrooms are great additions to a new or established reef. Beginners and seasoned pros love keeping and collecting all the colors and types.
I recommend these saltwater parameters for optimum health:
Specific Gravity 1.026-1.028
Alkalinity 7.5-8 dKH
Calcium 400-450
Magnesium 1250-1350
Iodine is a critical element for Mushrooms and may need regular dosing. Recommended level is 60-90 ug/L verified via ICP testing.
Nitrate level of 5-10 and Phosphate of .02-.04 are best.
Low nitrate and phosphate combined with higher alkalinity or Iodine levels out of range will lead to bleaching or mortality.
