Lighting
30-120 PAR is a low-to-moderate starting range; shrinking, bleaching, or detaching often means light or flow should be reduced.
MushroomBeginnerCare score 3/10
Florida Ricordea
Ricordea florida
Florida Ricordea mushroom coral guide for identifying beaded disc, choosing low placement with low flow, and managing disc shrinking or detaching when kept near Ricordea Mushroom and Yuma Mushroom.
Compare beaded disc, care range, and nearby lookalikes while checking an ID.
Snapshot
Quick Care Snapshot
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Care score
- 3/10
- Placement
- Low
- PAR range
- 30-120 PAR
- Flow
- Low
- Aggression
- Low
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Minimum tank age
- 1 months
- Minimum tank size
- 5 gallons
Images
Reference Photos
Photos are shown only when a source includes reusable license metadata. Always verify appearance against the coral in your own lighting and flow.
Primary reference: Nhobgood (talk) Nick Hobgood
Source: Wikimedia Commons. License: CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Pauline Walsh Jacobson
Source: Wikimedia Commons. License: CC BY 4.0
Photo: Pauline Walsh Jacobson
Source: Wikimedia Commons. License: CC BY 4.0
Ranges
Water Parameters
These ranges are approximate starting points from the coral database and should be adjusted to the stability and history of your system.
- Temperature
- 76-80 F / 24.4-26.7 C
- Salinity
- 1.024-1.026
- Alkalinity
- 8-9.5 dKH
- Calcium
- 380-460 ppm
- Magnesium
- 1250-1400 ppm
- Nitrate
- 2-25 ppm
- Phosphate
- 0.03-0.2 ppm
Care
Care Notes
Flow
low flow should be gentle enough that the disc stays attached and inflated.
Stability
For Florida Ricordea, avoid frequent moves and check light, flow, and salinity first when discs shrink, stretch, or detach.
Variability
Florida Ricordea requirements vary by specimen, aquaculture history, shipping stress, and tank maturity; use these ranges as starting points, not guarantees.
Feeding
Feeding
- Benefits from feeding
- Yes
- Food types
- fine meaty foods, powdered coral food
- Frequency
- optional every 1-2 weeks if food is accepted
ID
Identification
Key features
- beaded disc
- usually multiple colors
- mouth often less covered by vesicles
Common colors
- Orange
- Blue
- Green
- Pink
Similar coral references
How to tell apart
Separate Florida Ricordea from Ricordea Mushroom and Yuma Mushroom by checking beaded disc, usually multiple colors, and mouth often less covered by vesicles in normal white light. Then confirm disc texture, vesicles, mouth position, attachment behavior, and response to new light; avoid using a trade name as the only ID evidence. Lighting can change mushroom color and vesicle size; disc texture, mouth structure, and attachment behavior are better ID anchors.
Placement
Compatibility
Compatibility depends on specimen size, flow, growth, aggression, and spacing. Use these references conservatively and watch for contact over time.
Usually compatible with spacing
Use caution near
Avoid close placement with
Spacing recommendation: keep about 2 inches of clearance, then adjust based on extension and neighboring coral response.
Troubleshooting
Common Problems
Use these as troubleshooting checks, not a diagnosis. Symptoms may point to more than one issue.
Florida Ricordea disc shrinking or detachingOpen for symptoms, likely causes to check, and practical next steps.
Symptoms that may indicate it
- the disc curls, shrinks, or releases from the rock
- Florida Ricordea shows less normal extension, inflation, or feeding response than its recent baseline
- changes are localized rather than a confirmed single-cause condition
Likely causes to check
- light increase, strong flow, rough handling, or recent shipping stress
- recent placement, lighting, flow, or chemistry changes affecting Florida Ricordea
- possible irritation from neighbors, pests, detritus, or handling depending on the coral group
Quick checks
- move Florida Ricordea to gentler light or indirect flow if the disc stays curled
- let detached tissue settle on rubble in a low-flow container
- avoid repeated handling while the mouth and foot look intact
Checklist
Common Mistakes
- start Mushroom corals in lower light and let them attach before moving them
- placing Florida Ricordea before confirming beaded disc and its spacing needs
- using Florida Ricordea color or trade name alone instead of comparing it with Ricordea Mushroom
- changing light, flow, and chemistry together when Florida Ricordea looks irritated
- ignoring low-light acclimation when keeping Florida Ricordea
Compare
Similar Corals
Neighbors
Compatible Corals
These corals are usually compatible with spacing, observation, and stable conditions. This is not a guarantee.
Usually compatible with spacing
Zoanthids
Zoanthus spp.
- Category
- Zoanthid
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Aggression
- Low
Usually compatible with spacing
Ricordea Mushroom
Ricordea florida / Ricordea yuma
- Category
- Mushroom
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Aggression
- Low
Usually compatible with spacing
Green Star Polyps
Pachyclavularia violacea / Briareum violaceum
- Category
- Soft Coral
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Aggression
- Low
FAQs
FAQs
Is Florida Ricordea beginner friendly?
Florida Ricordea can be beginner friendly in a stable reef, but still needs acclimation, space, and observation after moves.
Where should Florida Ricordea be placed?
Start Florida Ricordea low in the tank or on the sand/low rockwork when its tissue form allows it. Use 30-120 PAR and low flow as a starting point, then adjust from tissue extension, color, and nearby coral response.
Should I target feed Florida Ricordea?
Florida Ricordea may take fine meaty foods and powdered coral food, with this database frequency: optional every 1-2 weeks if food is accepted. Keep feedings small and occasional; shrinking, detaching, or stretching is more often a light, flow, or stability check than a feeding-only issue.
How much room should Florida Ricordea have if it expands or moves?
Give Florida Ricordea about 2 inches of clearance as a starting point. Its database aggression level is Low. Use caution near Acan Coral and Blastomussa. Avoid close placement with Torch Coral and Elegance Coral. Compatibility is not a guarantee, so check contact points as colonies expand.
What should I check if Florida Ricordea looks stressed?
Use this as a troubleshooting check. For Florida Ricordea, the disc curls, shrinks, or releases from the rock and Florida Ricordea shows less normal extension, inflation, or feeding response than its recent baseline can indicate Florida Ricordea disc shrinking or detaching. Likely causes to check include light increase, strong flow, rough handling, or recent shipping stress and recent placement, lighting, flow, or chemistry changes affecting Florida Ricordea. Start with these database checks: move Florida Ricordea to gentler light or indirect flow if the disc stays curled and let detached tissue settle on rubble in a low-flow container.
What should I check if Florida Ricordea shrinks or detaches?
For Florida Ricordea, avoid frequent moves and check light, flow, and salinity first when discs shrink, stretch, or detach. The database lists 1 month as the minimum tank age and 5 gallons as the minimum tank size. For mushroom-style corals, light and flow are often the first checks before assuming feeding is the issue.
Coral Identifier
Identify Florida Ricordea.
Compare likely matches.
Use the app to compare photos, lookalikes, and key visual clues when you want a second pass on an ID.
Compare beaded disc, care range, and nearby lookalikes while checking an ID.
Photo-based coral IDReference photosLikely matches
