Mushroom Anemones

Mushroom corals display a wide variety of colors, textures, and patterns. Some are solid colors, such as the blue specimen pictured below, whereas, others are striped or spotted. They are hardy and moderately easy to maintain, and under the right conditions, will multiply and spread very rapidly though lateral fission. In general, they need a medium light level, and should be placed lower in the tank if the light intensity is high.

Mushrooms prefer a low to medium water flow within the aquarium, although different species may have different requirements. They are semi-aggressive and require adequate space between themselves and other corals and sessile invertebrates. Mushrooom receives most of its nutritional requirements through the photosynthesis of the symbiotic algae zooxanthellae which it hosts. It also feeds on other nutrients and particulate matter and benefits from additional food in the form of micro-plankton or brine shrimp fed to each polyp of the colony.

Ricordia is an nother type of mushroom that has tentaicles that terminate into round balls. The are generally larger and require more light than the discoma species.