BeginnerRicordea

[Jordani]

Are ricordea a good beginner coral?
http://www.aplusfish.com/images/ricordea6lrg.jpg

[SWINGRRRR]

Yes. Ive heard you can put them in a blender and they will live. There was a vid somewhere.......................................

[chasekwe]

Another question from a ric beginner if you don't mind. Can Rics be grown on the back glass of the aquarium or do they require a more horizontal or rougher surface area?


Thanks!

[Snickersalad]

I'd say they are pretty hardy. Mine seem to prefer rock work, I don't think I've ever seen any growing on glass walls, could be wrong tho.

[pbmatthews]

I would not characterize any coral as an animal for beginners but as corals go ricordea are one of the hardier corals kept in captivity in the right conditions. You should do some reading before keeping them or any corals. Ricordea need decent lighting, low flow and good water quality (no ammonia, no nitirite, 1.022 - 1.26 SG, low nitrates, low phosphates). While some will argue they will do ok or even thrive in "dirty water" I don't subscribe to that belief and even if they will live, they won't thrive and split as you might hope. I have a zoa, ricordea and euphyllia (LPS) dominated tank. I have around 100 ricordeas of various colors as well as an assortment of other mushrooms such as Ricordea Yuma, St. Thomas and a variety of various color non-ricordea mushrooms.

[sacalaitman]

i would try some regular mushrooms before graduating to ricordea. they are easy to keep but most that i have seen havent been in too great of shape and need some coaxing to get to looking top notch.

[DeathWish302]

They are fairly hardy, but care must also be taken when considering water parameters. I have quite a few yumas and floridas in my clown breeding tank which has no skimmer~fairly dirty water for a 12gal. The rics have taken over alot of the surfaces in only a couple months. In my very-low-nutrient (VLN) SPS dominant system, the rics have been stalemate for the last year. So I disagree with pbmatthews and feel the success of my rics in the Black Onyx Clown breeding tank is excess particulate matter, slightly elevated nitrate level & maybe the occassionaly fry that hatches prematurely.

As for the blender comment, there is NO WAY a ric will survive a blender. Most shrooms would survive a blender and create complete chaos in a non-softy tank if you dumped in the contents of the blender. Rics are MUCH more delicate as I have doomed many rics when trying to propogate them by the slicing method.

If you want a truly indestructible coral, I can ship you some zoas if you pay the USPS Priority shipping. Honestly these bad boys have sat in a bucket of SW with some ambient light from a standard CF next to the bucket for over a month, been buried in the sand (= no light), tolerated room temp water (~68F) & fully-recovered from a kalk soaking overnight. These polyps WILL NOT relinquish their footing on one of my favorite pieces of LR. The next method of removal will be just letting the rock sit outside for a month to dry out. I can gather all these up any send your way if you want bullet-proof.

[ShrimpChipGal]

They are fairly hardy, but care must also be taken when considering water parameters. I have quite a few yumas and floridas in my clown breeding tank which has no skimmer~fairly dirty water for a 12gal. The rics have taken over alot of the surfaces in only a couple months.

Could I see some photos please? I have quite a few ricordea floridas myself, but they don't seem to propagate as readily on me even in a high nutrient tank.

[MissNano]

LOVE the color!!

[myaerica]

You could throw salt in you'r toilet and shut the lid and you couldent kill em.

[bpaw]

hey death wish what do these zoas look like?

[SWINGRRRR]

I would not characterize any coral as an animal for beginners

If beginners don't keep corals, where do they begin?

[60Cubed]

If beginners don't keep corals, where do they begin?

Maybe its the chicken first...:hmm1:...or was it the egg???? Dangit...now where do I start.................:lmao:

[SWINGRRRR]

Maybe its the chicken first...:hmm1:...or was it the egg???? Dangit...now where do I start.................:lmao:

Look who's online!!!! Hows Bama? We sure miss you down here.

Its true about the blender. I saw it online so its got to be real. :lol2:

[dread240]

They are fairly hardy, but care must also be taken when considering water parameters. I have quite a few yumas and floridas in my clown breeding tank which has no skimmer~fairly dirty water for a 12gal. The rics have taken over alot of the surfaces in only a couple months. In my very-low-nutrient (VLN) SPS dominant system, the rics have been stalemate for the last year. So I disagree with pbmatthews and feel the success of my rics in the Black Onyx Clown breeding tank is excess particulate matter, slightly elevated nitrate level & maybe the occassionaly fry that hatches prematurely.

As for the blender comment, there is NO WAY a ric will survive a blender. Most shrooms would survive a blender and create complete chaos in a non-softy tank if you dumped in the contents of the blender. Rics are MUCH more delicate as I have doomed many rics when trying to propogate them by the slicing method.

If you want a truly indestructible coral, I can ship you some zoas if you pay the USPS Priority shipping. Honestly these bad boys have sat in a bucket of SW with some ambient light from a standard CF next to the bucket for over a month, been buried in the sand (= no light), tolerated room temp water (~68F) & fully-recovered from a kalk soaking overnight. These polyps WILL NOT relinquish their footing on one of my favorite pieces of LR. The next method of removal will be just letting the rock sit outside for a month to dry out. I can gather all these up any send your way if you want bullet-proof.

Damn, sounds like these are some of the ones I need :( I've unfortunately lost 2 zoa frags in my tank already to melting, but my ricordea, xenia and frogspawn are doing great

[60Cubed]

Look who's online!!!! Hows Bama? We sure miss you down here.

Its true about the blender. I saw it online so its got to be real. :lol2:

I need to stay off this site...really wanting my tank back right now:sad1: but now"s not the time.....

[DeathWish302]

Its true about the blender. I saw it online so its got to be real. :lol2:

I hear ya! :thumbsup:

[Reefer577]

One of the best beginner corals, very tolerant of a whole range of lighting and water quality. They come in all sorts of colors, much more than the standard orange, blue, and green that most people sell. They are easy to propagate and grow well.

[Jordani]

Thanks Everyone! I narrowed it down to two ricordeas help me choose:) http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1862718