Mushroom Coral for Sale in Australia

Mushroom corals are the easiest way into keeping coral. They want low light, gentle flow and nothing in the way of dosing, they tolerate water that would sulk an SPS frag, and they come in colours that hold their own next to anything else in a reef tank. If you have a new tank, or a low-light corner nothing else will take, this is the group to start with.

Everything on this page is mushroom coral for sale in Australia, photographed individually, so the piece in the photograph is the piece you buy. Browse the whole current range in the mushroom coral collection, which updates itself as stock comes and goes, or come and look at them in person at the shop in Tingalpa, Brisbane.

What a mushroom coral actually is

They are not true corals. Mushrooms sit in the order Corallimorpharia, which makes them corallimorphs: closer to anemones than to the stony corals, and without the hard skeleton that SPS and LPS build. A mushroom is essentially a single flat disc with a mouth in the middle, attached to rock by a foot.

That anatomy explains most of their behaviour. With no skeleton to maintain there is no demand for calcium, alkalinity or magnesium beyond what the rest of the tank already gets, so mushrooms sit outside the dosing routine entirely. And because the foot is muscular rather than cemented, an unhappy mushroom can let go, drift, and reattach somewhere it prefers. That is not a sign of a dying animal. It is the animal telling you the spot was too bright or too windy.

Three genera cover almost everything sold in Australia, and it is worth knowing which is which because the listings are usually named by genus rather than by the word mushroom.

Ricordea

The bobbly ones. Ricordea are covered in short rounded tentacles across the whole disc, which catch the light and give them a texture the others do not have. They are the most sought after of the three and priced accordingly, especially the multi-coloured rainbow pieces. Two species are in the trade: Ricordea florida from the Caribbean and Ricordea yuma from the Pacific, the yuma generally being the more domed and more expensive.

Rhodactis

Larger, hairier discs, often with branched or furry tentacles and a pronounced mouth. This genus contains the bounce mushrooms, where the tissue carries raised bubble-like vesicles across the disc. Bounces are the high end of the mushroom market worldwide. Rhodactis are also the most enthusiastic feeders of the three and will close over a piece of food.

Discosoma

Smooth, flat, plain discs with no tentacles to speak of, sometimes sold as Actinodiscus. The least expensive of the three and the fastest to spread, which makes them the natural choice if you want a rock carpeted in mushrooms rather than a few showpieces. Give them room to do it.

The mushroom coral we have in stock

These are photographs of our own pieces, not stock library images: what you see is the individual coral you would be buying. Almost all of them are one-offs, so this gallery goes out of date quickly. Stock changes week to week. The mushroom coral collection is always current, so check there for what is actually in, or ring 0420 484 584 before making the trip.

Ricordea

There are usually more Ricordea in the cabinet than we can photograph for a page like this. The current ones are listed as M14, M16 and M17, and the XL Ricordea and green aquacultured frag come back in when we have them.

Rhodactis, including bounce mushrooms

The red bounce, the superman Rhodactis and the wild fluffy Rhodactis move quickly and are worth watching if you are after one.

Discosoma

Why some are priced per mouth

A few of the wild Rhodactis and Discosoma are listed per mouth rather than per rock. A mouth is one individual mushroom, so a rock carrying five mouths is five animals that happen to share a piece of rubble. Pricing by mouth is how you buy a known quantity rather than gambling on how populated a particular rock is. Mushrooms reproduce by splitting through the middle, so a healthy mouth becomes two in time, which is the reason a small starting purchase tends not to stay small.

Wild or aquacultured

Our listings say which they are. Aquacultured pieces are grown on rather than collected, which usually means they are already accustomed to aquarium lighting and aquarium water and settle in with less drama. Wild pieces arrive on their own rubble and can carry better colour for the money, but expect a longer sulk while they adjust. Neither is the right answer for everyone: if this is your first coral, the aquacultured frags are the softer landing.

Keeping them

Light. Low to moderate, and this is where most people go wrong. Mushrooms under strong SPS lighting bleach, shrink, curl at the edges or simply let go. The bottom third of the tank, or a shaded overhang, suits them. If a mushroom is closing up in the middle of the day, the first thing to suspect is too much light.

Flow. Gentle. In strong flow a mushroom cannot stay open, and one that cannot open cannot feed. Aim for a spot where the disc waves rather than folds.

Placement. On rock, not on sand, and not immediately under an SPS colony that is going to grow over them. Give Discosoma in particular a rock they can spread across without touching a neighbour, because they are perfectly capable of shading out something slower.

Feeding. Optional but rewarding, especially for Rhodactis. Small meaty pieces or a coral food dropped onto the disc will be closed over and digested. They will survive on light and dissolved nutrients alone, but they grow visibly faster with feeding. There is a range of coral food if you want to.

Water. Nothing special. Mushrooms are among the few corals that do better in a slightly nutrient-rich tank than a stripped one, which is exactly why they suit a new system that has not settled down yet. No dosing required.

Moving one that has detached

Sooner or later a mushroom lets go and turns up somewhere else, or you want to move one deliberately. Because there is no skeleton you cannot glue them the way you would a frag: the tissue simply will not bond. The usual method is to confine the mushroom with a small piece of rubble in a container until the foot grabs on by itself, which takes a few days to a couple of weeks.

The Mega Morph Hospital Ward and the smaller Morph / Ricordea Hospital are 3D printed holders made for exactly this: they keep a loose mushroom and a plug together in one place instead of letting it tumble around the sump. Useful too if a mushroom splits and you want the pieces to settle where you can find them.

Pickup in Brisbane, or delivery

The shop is at 59/1631 Wynnum Road, Tingalpa QLD 4173, about fifteen minutes east of the Brisbane CBD, open seven days. Coming in is the best way to buy a mushroom, because colour under our lighting and colour under yours are two different things and you can see the whole piece before you commit. Details and directions are on our Brisbane store page.

Coral travels under a dedicated freight arrangement rather than standard courier, and some states and remote postcodes have restrictions. The current detail is on our freighting and packing page, and the wider picture of buying coral in Australia is covered on our coral buying guide.

Common questions

Are mushroom corals good for beginners?

Yes, they are the usual recommendation for a first coral. They need low light and gentle flow, they do not need calcium, alkalinity or magnesium dosing, and they tolerate the less-than-perfect water of a tank that is still settling in.

What is the difference between Ricordea, Rhodactis and Discosoma?

Ricordea are covered in short rounded bobbles across the disc and are the most prized. Rhodactis are larger and hairier, and include the bounce mushrooms with their raised bubble-like vesicles. Discosoma are smooth and flat with no real tentacles, the cheapest of the three, and the quickest to spread across a rock.

What is a bounce mushroom?

A Rhodactis whose tissue carries raised, bubble-like vesicles over the disc rather than lying flat. They are the most valuable mushrooms in the hobby and are priced well above ordinary Rhodactis.

Why has my mushroom detached and moved?

Mushrooms have a muscular foot rather than a cemented skeleton, so letting go and relocating is normal behaviour rather than a sign of illness. It usually means the original spot had too much light or too much flow. Confine it with a piece of rubble somewhere dimmer and calmer and it will attach itself.

Can I glue a mushroom coral to a rock?

No. There is no skeleton for glue to bond to and it will not hold. Confine the mushroom with a small piece of rubble in a container until the foot takes hold on its own, which takes a few days to a couple of weeks.

Do you have mushroom coral in stock right now?

Stock changes constantly and nearly every piece is a one-off, so the gallery above is a snapshot rather than a live list. The mushroom coral collection is generated from live stock and is the accurate answer at any moment. You can also browse the full coral range or ring 0420 484 584 before travelling.

Do mushroom corals sting other corals?

They have no sweeper tentacles and will not sting a neighbour the way an LPS coral does, but Discosoma especially will spread across a rock and shade out anything slower. Leave space around them.