Ricordea Florida

Ricordea florida is a mushroom coral that lives in the Caribbean, with a disc covered in small, round, bubble-like tentacles. The disc is usually 2–5 cm across. Its colors are very vivid: fluorescent green, orange, blue, pink and purple tones, often seen together; the mouth and the tentacles around it may be a different color. An easy way to tell it apart from its Indo-Pacific relative Ricordea yuma is to look around the mouth: in R. florida the mouth usually stands on its own, separate from the tentacles.

Since mushroom corals are not stony corals, they are not covered by CITES. Choose aquacultured individuals over colonies collected in Florida; they adapt to new conditions more easily.

It lives in groups on rock and dead coral on the shallow reefs of the Caribbean, the Bahamas and Florida, in places that get sunlight but are sheltered from wave action.

• Light: Moderate light (about 80–150 PAR). It tolerates more light than Discosoma, but shrinks and loses color under sudden strong light.
• Flow: Low to moderate, indirect flow. The disc closes in strong flow.
• Placement: The middle or lower-middle zone of the rockwork, on a ledge that gets light.
• Water parameters: Salinity 1.024–1.026; KH 7–11 dKH, calcium 400–450 mg/L, magnesium 1250–1350 mg/L. It shrinks in very stripped water; a little nitrate and phosphate is good.

It is photosynthetic but catches food well. Small mysis, chopped krill or powdered coral food placed on the disc 1–2 times a week speeds up growth and division. Reduce the flow briefly during feeding.

It has a mild sting; it can make the tissue of corals that touch its disc recede. Keep it 10 cm away from stony corals and zoanthids. It can be kept with other Ricordea and mushroom corals.

It is compatible with fish and the cleanup crew. Some dwarf angelfish and butterflyfish may pick at the discs.

In the aquarium it multiplies on its own by dividing, though slowly. To propagate it by hand, the disc is cut in two or four with a sharp scalpel; the pieces are kept in a container on small rocks, covered with mesh, until they attach. Within a few weeks the cut pieces form a new mouth and become complete individuals.

• Disc closed or shrunken: Too much light, strong flow or a new placement; watch it for a few days and move it lower if needed.
• Color loss: Seen when the light is too strong or the water is too stripped.
• Mouth swelling and protruding: A sign of a sudden water change or stress; check the parameters.