Green Mushroom Corals (Actinodiscus sp.) are hardy and easy to maintain species, which is also very colorful and enjoyable to keep. Green Mushroom Corals are also referred to as Mushroom Anemones, Actinodiscus Mushrooms and Disc Anemones. This variety of mushroom coral varies in color from a light blue/green to an emerald green depending on lighting and aquarium conditions. They will also fluoresce when kept under actinic lighting. Green Mushroom Corals are a wonderful coral for bottom placement in the reef aquarium, which over time will reproduce forming a carpet covering the rock work and nearby sand in a brilliant fluorescent green.
Care Level
Easy
Water Flow and Lighting
Green mushroom corals are all easy to maintain in the reef aquarium. They prefer a low to moderate water movement, and a low to moderate lighting level. Lighting can be Power compacts, T5's, LED's or even Metal Halides. All lighting can grow Mushroom Corals as long as the proper level of light is provided. If a Par meter is available the appropriate lighting level is anywhere from a Par 80 all the way to a Par 200. Which is a wide range of acceptability. For lighting spectrum use between a 14-20K color spectrum for your bulbs for best coloration.
Placement
>All mushrooms are semi-aggressive and require adequate space between themselves and other corals. Placement can be any where in the aquarium as long as it receives adequate water flow and lighting levels and leaves enough room around your corals that they have room for growth without infringing on another corals growing room or lighting.
Diet and Feeding
Mushroom corals receive the majority of their nutritional requirements through the process of photosynthesis, which simply means their lighting creates symbiotic algae called zooxanthellae in the body of the coral which provides its nutrition. We do recommend providing supplemental food such as micro-plankton or foods designed for filter-feeding invertebrates.
|