This little guys has a story to tell : )

[Shawn_epicurious]

1st, the pics are as good as I can do right now... sorry. Gimme a few more days : )

I found this guy in my tank. I have a 200 gallon mixed reef that’s 4 months old now. I have not bought any new stock in well over a month. I’d didn’t really “find” him. He found me : ) so, size... both of those circles are about the size of a pea right now. I saw a rock In my sand under one of the caves in my scape. That had obviously fallen off the live rock... I tried to vacuum it up yesterday when I was doing a water change. He ended up closer to the front of the tank in the sand. Once the water settled after a heavy vacuuming... it had gotten late at night. My lights were already dimming and he was... glowing. So, I took pics and posted a thread on the “critter ID” thread. I was told he might be some kind of Zoa. I took him out of the sand and put his rock in a little hole in my live rock... about 2” from the bottom of the tank. The pics below are one from the front and one from the side.

I don’t know how this guy survived! He went thru an entire cycle process! He went thru a couple of months of really inconsistent water chemistry (I’ve gotten better!) I have him really low in the tank and... no real direct light where he’s at. The rock above him is kind of an overhanging rock. He is in the shade.

I’d like to know exactly what this guy is and how how to properly take care of him so I can keep telling his story : ) He is a fighter!

 

[ndrwater]

Looks more like a mushroom to me. if you're having better water quality and husbandry practices, he'll probably be just fine. Give it some time let it grow out and we'll see what happens

 

[Shawn_epicurious]

Looks more like a mushroom to me. if you're having better water quality and husbandry practices, he'll probably be just fine. Give it some time let it grow out and we'll see what happens

My water chemistry has been very consistant the last 2 months. I am dealing with a diatom bloom right now... it’s thinning out.... hence the heavy vacuuming.

You just described the plan : ) he seems to be thriving in low light and low flow. He was in the sand in a cave for... I dunno... 2 weeks before I really found him. I tried to keep him that way... but he is too small to be in the sand my himself. I have conches and elephant snails down there... fingers crossed : )

 

[TriggerFinger]

They do look like mushrooms! Cool!! They already changed quite a bit in just a day

 

[Shawn_epicurious]

They do look like mushrooms! Cool!! They already changed quite a bit in just a day

They kinna have : ) He... looks happy...? Again... fingers crossed!

 

[Shawn_epicurious]

Looks more like a mushroom to me. if you're having better water quality and husbandry practices, he'll probably be just fine. Give it some time let it grow out and we'll see what happens

You mentioned “husbandry” ...I raised three kids on my own : ) does that count?

seriously... anything I should be doing? I am assuming this guy is a filter feeder... I am feeding phytoplankton daily and a lil oyster feast every two or three days. My current bioload doesn’t need more than that right now.

 

[Shawn_epicurious]

I have a few new pics of this guy... I still have no clue what it is.

 

[CalebWBrink2000]

Looks like a semi-bleached riccordia to me

 

[KrisReef]

Ricordia?

 

[Shawn_epicurious]

Looks like a semi-bleached riccordia to me

Semi-bleached...? he does not get any direct light. The pics may make him look bigger than he is. each of those two heads is about the size of a pea

 

[Billdogg]

I vote for a bleached out riccordia mushroom too. Leave it be. It will go to where it's happy and probably darken up some as it gets used to the light.

Nice find!

https://www.liveaquaria.com/product/658/?pcatid=658 or something similar

 

[Shawn_epicurious]

I vote for a bleached out riccordia mushroom too. Leave it be. It will go to where it's happy and probably darken up some as it gets used to the light.

Nice find!

https://www.liveaquaria.com/product/658/?pcatid=658 or something similar

Thank you. I have been worried about where I have him. No direct light and low flow. He is attached to a very small rock, but he is growing : ) once he attached to the bigger rock he is sitting on, I won’t be able to move him : (

just trying to take care of him : )

 

[Shawn_epicurious]

So.. new question on this guy... based on my observations of him over the last week.

he was getting more direct light where he was laying on the sand in the cave... flow about the same. Before I picked him up off the sand, he would be luminous at night. He hasn’t don’t that since.

it is starting to feel like he needs more light than he is getting.

 

[Nano sapiens]

So.. new question on this guy... based on my observations of him over the last week.

he was getting more direct light where he was laying on the sand in the cave... flow about the same. Before I picked him up off the sand, he would be luminous at night. He hasn’t don’t that since.

it is starting to feel like he needs more light than he is getting.

As mentioned, I agree to leave it be for now. The worst thing you can do with mushrooms is move them around constantly. If the oral disc stays open and it lies somewhat flat on the rock when the lights are on full strength, then it's getting enough light. When they don't get enough light, they tend to curl upward like a trumpet.

That luminosity is likely from being bleached due to the mushie's fluorescent pigmentation showing without the golden brown colored zooxanthellae as part of the normal color mix.

A healthy Ricordia can often be quite fluorescent, but should also have deep, rich pigmentation (the mushie in the extreme lower right corner is actually a Rhodactis):

Feeding sparing once a week is usually sufficient.

 

[Shawn_epicurious]

As mentioned, I agree to leave it be for now. The worst thing you can do with mushrooms is move them around constantly. If the oral disc stays open and it lies somewhat flat on the rock when the lights are on full strength, then it's getting enough light. When they don't get enough light, they tend to curl upward like a trumpet.

That luminosity is likely from being bleached due to the mushie's fluorescent pigmentation showing without the golden brown colored zooxanthellae as part of the normal color mix.

A healthy Ricordia can often be quite fluorescent, but should also have deep, rich pigmentation (the mushie in the extreme lower right corner is actually a Rhodactis):

Feeding sparing once a week is usually sufficient.

You rock! Thank you : )

Any special feeding requirements at his age? My feeding is quite diverse already. My normal daily feeding for my bioload is:

4 scoops (it’s a small scoop, came with the food) dry high nutrient dry “pebbles” ...small pebbles. Then 3 cubes of frozen shrimp... three different ways... based on livestock (I have an eel) I almost always have fresh garlic seaweed... nori sheets? Is that right?

I feed 30ml phytoplankton daily (copepods mostly) My softies love it.

I feed (sparingly) oyster feast, every 3rd day, I also play a little with the fish egg food... (scotch is involved) I can’t remember the name and some Arcti Pods? ...nothing in my ecology appears to get excited about this food. Only been doing a small squirt every 3rd day.

I also direct feed one of my anemones (rehydrated) dehydrated krill

This lil guy seems healthy... I didn’t plan buying him... he showed up : ) survived a lot getting this far. ...without my help...

He has turned into my challenge right now. I want him to make it : )

 

[Nano sapiens]

Sounds like you have the food angle covered I wouldn't worry too much about the little Ricordia as they are quite hardy as long as they are not moved around a lot, overlit and/or receive too much flow.

Good luck

 

[Shawn_epicurious]

Sounds like you have the food angle covered I wouldn't worry too much about the little Ricordia as they are quite hardy as long as they are not moved around a lot, overlit and/or receive too much flow.

Good luck

Cool! That‘s where he lives right now... and honestly, I’d love it if he took over the rock he is on! That’s why I put him there : )

 

[Shawn_epicurious]

Okay so yeah... this guy has a new home now. I just got him moved... I really hope he is okay. I know I just stressed him out hard... He is still near the bottom of my tank. I’d say... more flow than he had, but ...barely. He is getting direct light now, (starting tomorrow) only for the length of time it took me to take the pics. I moved him right after lights out. I glued him to a rock fragment that is...I dunno... the size of two golf balls..? Maybe, a lil smaller... He mobile now.

I feel good about this... still have my fingers crossed : )

 

[Shawn_epicurious]

I know I kind of went against a few people’s advice on this thread when I decided to move him. I almost didn’t move him based on that advice. But... It just didn’t look like he was getting enough light. Also the other considerations that came up in this thread... getting him onto his own “bigger rock”, making him ”movable” in case he needs to be moved... so, yeah, I moved him. I think it was the right choice : )

The pic below is 2 and a half days after moving him. Lights have been out on my tank all night and are still all turned off in this photo. I think he is looking better! : )

 

[Shawn_epicurious]

This little guy is tuuuuuufffffffff to take a picture of when the lights are on. His white fleshy outer edge really reflects light! This pic is 12 hours after the last one... all day direct light... he is near the bottom of my tank. I wasn’t going to post another pic today but it looks like both littles heads are in the process of splitting! Tomorrow there will be 4 heads... pods... I dunno.

This has been fun so far : )