Mushroom corals are one of the easiest corals to keep in the reef aquarium and have always been a staple in the beginning hobbyist’s aquarium. These corals have soft bodies and come in every color and size imaginable, almost.

Mushroom corals do not like high intensity lights and, thus, if you’re using metal halides, it is important to keep the mushrooms near the bottom of the tank. Most mushroom corals prefer low flow conditions, although some will tolerate a slightly moderate flow. These corals hold onto rocks using their feet and can move if they decide they would like a better place in your aquarium. They do not produce a calcareous skeleton, so a steady supply of calcium is not important. Dosing your tank with essential elements like Iodine, Strontium and Molybdenum are advised.

Mushrooms use zooxanthellae for photosynthesis, but they will take solid food if it is present in the water. In fact, some are ravenous eaters.

Propogation of these corals occurs by budding. This is a process by which the “mother” coral will produce a smaller coral, called a bud, from her foot and the coral will gradually move away from the mother to its own light source. Once it moves out from under the mother’s canopy and finds sufficient light, it will stop moving and grow into a full mushroom. Budding can happen indefinitely, and this is the reason most mushroom corals are sold as a collection of polyps attached to a rock.

A mushroom coral can be self-propagated by first cutting the coral off at the foot (Leave a small piece of foot on the rock and it will grow into a new mushroom.). With the cap of the mushroom in your hand, cut it into pieces like a pie, trying to leave some of the mouth on each piece. Then, take a tray full of rock rubble and place it in a very low-flow part of your aquarium, dropping pieces of the mushroom onto it. Over time, the pieces will attach themselves to the rubble. At that point, you can take the pieces of rubble with growing mushrooms and glue them in various places in your aquarium.