Ricordea Mushroom

Ricordea florida

The jewel of the mushrooms — bubbly, fluorescent discs that are hardy and beginner-easy.

Difficulty: BeginnerSoft coral (beginner)

Ricordea (Ricordea florida) is the jewel of the mushroom corals — a disc studded with fluorescent bubble-like vesicles in electric greens, oranges and blues. It has the hardiness and low demands of a mushroom with far more colour, making it a prized but genuinely beginner-friendly coral. Give it low-moderate light, gentle flow and a calm spot, and it'll multiply.

Good to know: Low-moderate light + gentle flow; handle gently (it can detach if disturbed).

📊 What keepers actually ask: Bought for colour; the recurring issues are "my ric lost its colour" (too much light) and "it won't stay attached or open" (too much flow, or being moved).

Care at a glance

Colony / form	A rounded disc covered in bubbly vesicles; splits into new discs once happy.
Lighting	Low to moderate (≈50–120 PAR) — too much light washes out the colour.
Water flow	Gentle to moderate, indirect — strong flow keeps it from opening and can detach it.
Placement	Low rock or the sand-rock interface in a calm, slightly shaded spot; let it attach and settle.
Temperature	75–82°F (24–28°C).
pH	8.1–8.4.
Specific gravity	1.023–1.026 (reef-standard ≈35 ppt).
Other targets	Soft corals and mushrooms don't draw down calcium and alkalinity like stony corals — just keep salinity and the usual reef parameters stable.
Feeding	Mostly photosynthetic; will take tiny meaty foods — an occasional feed boosts growth and colour.
Growth & spread	Multiplies by splitting once happy — a single ric can become a colourful colony.
Natural range	Caribbean / Western Atlantic.

Beginner-friendly, done right. A hardy, beginner-friendly coral with the colour of something far fussier. The keys are gentle conditions: low-to-moderate light (bright light bleaches the colour it's prized for), gentle indirect flow (strong flow stops it opening and can blow it loose), and a calm spot to attach. Handle it as little as possible — rics can detach and sulk when moved. Feed the occasional small meaty morsel and it'll split into a colony. Keep parameters stable.

Keep those numbers steady. This coral's alkalinity, calcium and magnesium only keep it safe when they're stable. If one reads low, our free reef dosing calculator works out exactly how much to add for your water volume — and splits it safely over days.

Where does it go? Light, flow and placement make or break a coral. Our free coral placement guide shows the PAR, flow and tank zone this coral wants — and what else thrives in the same spot.

The fish store gets these wrong

Common myths, kindly corrected — no shame for having believed them.

"More light = better ric colour." The opposite — bright light bleaches ricordea; low-to-moderate light keeps the fluorescent colours it's collected for.
"Mushrooms are boring beginner corals." Ricordea have all the hardiness of a mushroom with jewel-like colour — beginner-easy AND collectible.

Before you buy

Low-to-moderate light and gentle, indirect flow.
A calm spot to let it attach — and minimal handling afterward.
Stable water; an occasional small meaty feed for growth.

Signs something's wrong

A struggling coral is almost always telling you about light, flow or water — here's what to watch for:

Fading or bleaching colour — too much light; move it lower or shadier.
Not opening fully or detaching — too much flow, or it's been disturbed; give it a calmer spot.
Shrinking or melting — a water-quality problem; test and stabilise.

Never

Never blast it with strong flow — it won't open and may detach.
Never keep it under intense light — it bleaches the colour.
Never keep moving it around — rics resent handling.

Common ricordea mushroom questions

Why is my ricordea losing its colour?

Almost always too much light. Ricordea are low-to-moderate-light corals, and bright light bleaches the fluorescent greens and oranges they're prized for. Move it lower or shadier and the colour usually returns.

How much flow does ricordea want?

Gentle to moderate, indirect flow. Strong or direct flow stops it opening fully and can blow it off its rock — give it a calm spot.

Is ricordea a good beginner coral?

Yes — it has the hardiness and low demands of a mushroom coral with far more colour, so it's both beginner-friendly and collectible. Low light, gentle flow, stable water.

Do ricordea mushrooms need to be fed?

Not strictly — they're mostly photosynthetic — but they'll take small meaty foods, and an occasional feed boosts growth and colour and helps them multiply.

How do ricordea reproduce?

They split — a happy ricordea divides into new discs (and can drop bits that grow), so a single polyp can become a colourful colony over time.

Sources & further reading

This guide was written and fact-checked against these authorities. It's honest, general guidance — not a diagnosis, and not a substitute for an aquatic vet or your own test kit:

Saltwater Aquarium Blog — Ricordea Mushroom Care — light, flow, feeding, placement
Extreme Corals — Ricordea Mushroom Care Guide — PAR, flow, colour
Top Shelf Aquatics — Mushroom Coral Care Guide — hardiness, placement

Written and fact-checked by The Coralkin Team against marine-aquarist sources — if your ricordea mushroom is struggling, it's almost always a light, flow or water-chemistry issue — check those first and ask an experienced reefer. We never guess a care number.

🔬 Review status: team-written and fact-checked against cited sources · not yet reviewed by a marine vet. How we research & fact-check →

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