A tale of two mushrooms

[KayPi]

So, I have two Ricordea Florida mushrooms. The one on the left, which is large and healthy looking, that I just got at the Jan coral farmers market. When I bought it, it was about half the size (cause I’m sure it was stressed from the CFM), but within a day or two it was like this, looking super happy. The other came from a LFS many months ago (say 5), that has never really been great. It had a period in Nov where I thought it was starting to grow, but soon shrunk down and has been like this ever since.

So, the question is, WTH? Is this just luck of the draw? Everything else is essentially the same as they’re right next to each other, and yet, they couldn’t be any different health wise.

 

[Invictus]

There are so many things that are still not understood about corals, but like most living things, despite their current environment they can be affected by where they came from. Was the one on the left aquacultured while the right came straight from the ocean? Is the one on the left young and healthy while the one on the right is actually very old and on its way out? Maybe the one on the right was raised in parameters much different to your tank and is still taking time to adjust, if it ever does.

It can be frustrating of course, why two seemingly identical corals, in identical environments, can act differently; but that's the fickle hobby that we've decided to devote ourselves to.

It must be said that the smaller one does not look unhealthy, just smaller.

 

[KayPi]

The fact that I couldn’t see the foot when I got it (I.e. it’s shrunk on me), makes it feel like it’s unhealthy…but…it wouldn’t be the first time I was wrong…or last…

 

[derek_SR]

Don't try too hard to understand what's going on in the mind of a mushroom. They do what they want, and nobody can explain it.

 

[clownvan]

I moved mine away from heavy flow and on top of rocks to the sandbed and lesser flow and it started to do much better.

 

[PjFish]

Have you tried moving it around the tank different light and flow angles? Sometimes placing them in shade or halfway gets them to start moving and stretching.

 

[KayPi]

Yeah, I've moved it twice now. I started it on the sand, but think I definitely had it in too high a flow area initially. I moved it to a lower flow area (still on the sand) and that's when it started looking happier for a minute...then scrunched itself up again. A month or so back is when I moved it up to where you see it now (only about an inch off the sand), and no change. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[KayPi]

There's actually a green ricordea just out of frame (mushroom garden!) on the left that's doing well too, so it SEEMS like a spot mushrooms like...just not ol' yellow'y orange no-mouth here

 

[PjFish]

Maybe a coral dip will wake it up just in case somethings irritating it..Could be a runt also

 

[KayPi]

Maybe a coral dip will wake it up just in case somethings irritating it..Could be a runt also

Hmmm, never thought of that route. I was thinking I could try spot feeding it, which I don't do for anything atm.