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Stunning Ricordea Mushroom Corals for Sale Online

Ricordea mushroom corals are a type of soft coral that are also sometimes called flower mushroom corals, yumas, floridas, and a few other names but all these species fall under the Ricordea genus. Ricordea yuma mushroom corals are found in the Indo Pacific region and Ricordea florida are a Caribbean species. The yumas tend to be more brightly colored but the floridas are hardier and a better choice for beginning and intermediate level coralheads. Both species feature a traditional round mushroom polyp but have rounded, stubby tentacles, which host the photosynthetic zooxanthellae, which provide most of the nutrition the mushroom coral needs.

Ricordea Coral Care Guide

Experience Level

Ricordea florida mushrooms are a good choice for beginning coralheads that have a little experience to guide their decisions and Ricordea yuma are recommended for intermediate keepers, as they are a bit more challenging. However, if you are just starting out, you can add yumas to an established and fully cycled reef tank as long as you are careful and follow the recommendation in our Ricordea mushroom care guide.

Optimal Water Quality Parameters

Temperature: 77-82F, 25-28C
pH: 8.1-8.3
dKH: 7-11 (125-200ppm CaCO3 equivalent)
Calcium: 375-450ppm
Magnesium: 1275-1350ppm
Salinity: 35ppt
Ammonia (NH3): less than 0.1ppm
Nitrite (NO2): less than 0.2ppm
Nitrate (NO3): less than 0.2ppm
Phosphates (PO4): less than 0.03ppm

Lighting Preferences:

Ricordea florida tend to prefer lower levels of direct or indirect lighting to keep their zooxanthellae healthy while Ricordea yuma prefer moderate to higher levels of lighting to make their colors really pop. However, as always, it is highly recommended that you initially select an area with low, indirect lighting after acclimation and slowly move your Ricordea into areas with higher levels of light over time, You’ll also want to make sure that you allow plenty of time for the algae living in your Ricordea to adjust to the new lighting level with each move. Too much light too quickly will likely stress your coral by killing its symbiotic zooxanthelae and could harm it badly.

Water Flow Preferences:

No matter which species of Ricordea you choose, these flower mushroom corals prefer areas with low, indirect flow. If placed in an area with too much flow, the coral will become stressed, mostly or fully retracting their colorful tentacles, which will starve their symbiotic algae for light. If your Ricordea gets inadvertently blown or moved by one of your animals into a higher-light area, gently place it back in your preferred location and consider shielding it until it gets a chance to re-attach to the rock or substrate.

Placement Considerations:

Although beautiful, Ricordea are fairly aggressive corals and will sting pretty much anything nearby to guard its living space. The sting of these corals can be pretty lethal and can easily kill other coral species, clams and other sessile inverts. If you see discolored or retracting tissue on a neighboring animal, they’re probably getting stung. We recommend that you place your Ricordea in an area away from anything that they could harm. If they can, they probably will. They can also get stung by other aggressive soft corals and hard corals, so keep an eye for misshapen discs with discoloration on the margins.

Feeding Considerations:

Although their zooxanthellae provide most of the nutrition your Ricordea mushroom needs, you can also feed the tentacles directly when they are extended and turgid. Foods formulated for soft corals, as well as brine and mysis shrimp, small chunks of fish, shrimp and other small pieces of protein occasionally are also fine. Whether you are using a pipette, baster or placing the food directly on the oral disc of the coral, take great care to do it gently, as an aggressive burst of food can cause the feeding tentacles to retract. Also consider that the tissue of your Ricordea is delicate, so never press food down onto the tentacles. Although feeding your corals is fun, having good water chemistry makes for a healthy system. Always test your water quality regularly to ensure that you’re not overfeeding your system and trashing your water chemistry!

Online Ricordea Flower Mushroom Corals for Your Reef Aquarium

Almost all our Ricordea are propagated in-house from broodstock we’ve had in our collection for years. When we acquire new specimens, they are carefully quarantined for at least 60 days to protect our coral broodstock (and your collection) from unwanted parasites and other hitchhikers. This is one of the many ways that distinguishes our online Ricordea mushroom polyps from other online coral retailers. We believe that once you’ve given us a try, you’ll understand why more and more coralheads rely on CoralFrags.com for superior coral frags, selection and customer service!

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