This guide is structured for reef keepers who want the husbandry targets first, then the inventory. Use it to decide whether the coral fits your system before you buy or move it.
What this coral wants
Mushroom corals do best when they are allowed to settle under controlled light and moderate nutrients instead of being pushed too hard too fast. Color and inflation usually hold better when the system has a little nutrient availability and the coral is not being blasted by direct flow.
At a glance
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Coral Type: Soft Coral
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Scientific Name: Corallimorpharia spp.
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Care Level: Beginner to moderate
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Light: 50 to 120 PAR depending on morph
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Flow: Low to moderate indirect flow
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Placement: Lower rockwork, shelves, and lower-energy zones
Target water chemistry
These are Lunar Tide Aquatics holding targets for stability, then cross-checked against peer-reviewed coral physiology literature on flow, calcification, feeding, and nutrient stress.
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Temperature: 76.5 to 78.5 F
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Salinity: 1.025 to 1.026 specific gravity
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Alkalinity: 8.0 to 9.0 dKH
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Calcium: 400 to 450 ppm
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Magnesium: 1280 to 1380 ppm
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Nitrate: 5 to 15 ppm
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Phosphate: 0.03 to 0.10 ppm
Light, flow, and placement
Light: 50 to 120 PAR depending on morph. Flow: Low to moderate indirect flow. Placement: Lower rockwork, shelves, and lower-energy zones.
Low to moderate flow helps keep the disc clean without lifting the coral off its perch. If a mushroom keeps walking, it is usually responding to excessive light, too much flow, or an unstable mounting spot.
For bounce and higher-end corallimorphs, the right move is often restraint. Avoid blasting them with SPS light, keep nutrients from bottoming out, and let the coral tell you when it wants more exposure.
Feeding and acclimation
Feeding: Mostly photosynthetic; occasional fine foods can help some morphs.
Acclimation: Keep the coral low and let it plant before testing brighter placement.
What to watch
Stability target: Prefer stable salinity and non-zero nutrients.
Watch for: Over-lighting, detaching while settling, and overly sterile water.
How Lunar Tide uses this guide
We use these ranges as decision support, not as random numbers to chase. Stable chemistry, predictable placement, and consistent observation usually outperform aggressive adjustments after a coral lands.
If you are ready to compare this husbandry target against what is currently available, browse the current Mushrooms. There are currently 11 pieces in that group.
Scientific references
- Jokiel PL (1978), Effects of water motion on reef corals
- Anthony KRN and Fabricius KE (2000), Shifting roles of heterotrophy and autotrophy in coral energetics under varying turbidity
- Houlbrèque F and Ferrier-Pagès C (2009), Heterotrophy in tropical scleractinian corals
- Holcomb M, Tambutté E, Allemand D and Tambutté S (2014), Light enhanced calcification in Stylophora pistillata
- Jokiel PL (2013), Coral reef calcification: carbonate, bicarbonate and proton flux under conditions of increasing ocean acidification
- Page TM, D'Angelo C, Wiedenmann J and Foster GL (2025), Changes in host gene expression patterns underpin responses of the coral Stylophora pistillata to nutrient stress
Current availability
Use this guide against live inventory
The care guidance lives here. When you're ready to compare it against the corals currently available from Lunar Tide, jump straight into the matching collection.
