These mushrooms can be difficult to distinguish at first, but if you look closely, you can tell the difference between them. Ricordia yuma By RevolverOcelot – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, It does like to eat meaty things like mysis shrimp, and you may get better growth and color by supplementing it with food. Zooxanthellae is a symbiotic algae that is hosted within a coral that provides the energy that it needs. Ricordia get most of their energy from their zooxanthellae. If that happens, you should move it closer to the substrate where they tend to do well. If you find that it is turning pale or shrinking, it may be getting too much light. Yuma are more sensitive to parameter changes, and as a newer reef keeper, this can be an issue. If you are less experienced in coral care, I would recommend that you hold off on the yuma at first. These anemone are easy to care for, and they can do well in water with mild fluctuations in their parameters. They seem to tolerate higher lighting than most other mushroom corals. A par reading of 30-120 should be an acceptable range. To keep them healthy and bright, they need medium to high lighting, and they tend to do better in low to medium flow. Ricordia flower mushrooms (ricordea) are easy to care for, and they are a great addition to any reef tank. In the wild, they can be found growing in large colonies in shallow waters. The florida species are from the caribbean and the yuma come from the Pacific.

One reason for their popularity is the fact that they are great for beginners, and once you have them in your tanked, you are hooked on these beautiful creatures. These are very beautiful with berry-shaped tentacles, and they come in several different color patterns, but green is the most prevalent. They two most common species are the Ricordia florida and the Ricordia yuma. Plus, you can find some beautiful color patterns that will stand out in your display tank. The color variety and hardiness make this coral a perfect choice for most aquariums, small and large.Ricordia mushrooms are very popular anemone corals in reef tanks because they are easy to find, and they are easy to care for. Overall, I would highly recommend the Florida Ricordea to anyone with a healthy reef tank. The drastic increase should be offset slightly by the import of ricordea from places like Haiti. This should force the price of each polyp to increase noticeably. The limits on collection are going to decrease by more than 50 percent. However, new regulations in Florida that are set to begin in July may cause the price to increase. The Florida ricordea found in the aquarium trade are collected throughout the Caribbean and Florida. However, they will also feed on phytoplankton and zooplankton. Through photosynthesis, ricordea gain a majority of their food. Like many other corals, they will “fight” back if too close to other corals, so give them a little room to grow. They make a great addition to smaller aquariums because they typically only get a few inches in diameter while having very little aggression towards other corals. Try to avoid high, laminar flow, it can cause the ricordea to detach or just to melt away in the worst case. Water flow can be variable, low to moderate and more turbid. You can also force them to divide by cutting them in half or if you are feeling lucky, in quarters. If the ricordea becomes well established and “happy” in your aquarium, they will begin to divide, leaving you with more ricordea than you originally purchased. They can thrive under Power Compact, Metal Halide, and T-5 lighting. Florida ricordea can be expensive, but typically not much more than $50 per polyp, more on the average of $20 to $30 dollars per polyp.Īs far as water quality, a healthy reef system is all they require with an average of 3-5 watts per gallon of lighting. The Florida species are by far hardier and can tolerate a wider range of lighting. They are also more expensive, with some prices topping $100 per polyp. Ricordea yuma are typically the larger variety, but tend to be more difficult to keep alive. The Yuma variety is found in the Indo-Pacific region, while the Florida species is found in the Caribbean and around coastal Florida. Both offer an amazing pallet of colors and vary in size. There are two species of Ricordea readily found in the aquarium hobby the Yuma and the Florida.

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