Are these at all 'rare'?

[msn711]

I bought some blue mushrooms with purple stripes not too long ago at a LFS that has decent livestock but I usually don't trust much of anything they say. Basically, they do know what they're doing, but they'll say anything to customers to make a buck. Anyway, the owner claimed these shrooms were rare. I doubt it, but I bought them because I happened to like how they look. So I figured I'd ask the experts: Rare or No?

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a211/msn711/100_1206.jpg

And a FTS:
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a211/msn711/100_1233b.jpg

[lessthanlights]

nope not too rare but quite nice. i'm always up for some good shrooms!

[msn711]

I didn't think so. Glad I buy corals that I like and not just stuff somebody gives a fancy name to and claims is the latest rare find/must have.

[nano7joy]

Very nice I have seen similar shrooms many times but stripes seem almost black as compaired to purple which would be a new sighting for me

[msn711]

They do look a little black in the picture. I'll double check during the day when the lights are back on.

[nano7joy]

I've also seen a few in bright green and red with similar stripes

[Palani]

Don't feel too bad. the blue mushrooms aren't rare, but are harder to come by than all of the other colors. I'm sure they are "rare" in nature, but here in captivity these colors are propagated constantly and aren't as rare as they were say 10 years ago.

[msn711]

nano7joy: The shrooms look blue or purple just depending on the angle, and maybe it's my 14k Phoenix lights. It's hard to tell what color the stripes are. Definitely darker than the rest of the shroom, but I'm thinking it's more of a texture thing than an actual black stripe, if that makes sense.

Palani: I don't feel bad. I think they're beautiful shrooms. Lately, I've been looking at pictures and sites I've saved of tanks that have always inspired me, and while I've learned a lot trying sps frags in this tank, I really think I'm going to go for more soft/lps corals from now on. The same beautiful colors, a lot more fun, and corals that actually sway in the current. The "sticks" have been a great challenge, but I want to get back to looking at my tank in awe instead of always working on it.

[syrinx]

There are few rare shrooms- however these are not dime a dozen. That pattern in the green color is, but in that shade it is not as common as folks would lead you to believe here. Rare no, but compared to most of what you see everyday- less common. If people are just talking about blue shrooms generically then- no they are super common!

[msn711]

Thanks for the info and input everyone. Like I said, I don't trust much of anything this particular LFS says, but they do sell decent stuff and the shrooms looked good to me. I just wanted to know if they were trying to pull another quick sell here.