More info

Discosoma

Discosoma mushrooms are a great choice for beginner reefers looking for hardy and colorful additions to their aquarium, as well as experienced collectors seeking to add a potentially rare piece to their tank. These corallimorphs come in a wide variety of colors and patterns, some of which are highly sought after by reef enthusiasts.

Location

Discosoma corallimorph mushrooms are found throughout reef barriers. Indo-Pacific – Indo-Pacific islands, including Fiji, Tonga, Solomon Islands, and the Great Barrier Reef.

Lighting

Discosoma mushrooms do not require as much light as some other corals. They can be kept under Low Light without much difficulty. In some cases, they may extend more easily under soft lighting; however, these corallimorphs may display more attractive colors when placed under medium lighting. Overexposure should be avoided. When Discosoma mushrooms receive too much light in the reef, they develop oxide radicals in their tissue that resemble white bubble-like growths.

Low Light

Low light is between 30 and 50 PARs per unit area

Medium Light

Medium light is between 50 - 150 PARs per unit area

High Light

High light is above 150 PAR per unit area

Water Flow

We recommend keeping mushrooms in a relatively low-flow area of the reef tank.

Too much water flow can lead to stress in the Discosoma. Worse yet, the mushroom may detach completely. Once a mushroom detaches, it usually won't have many chances unless it finds another place with favorable conditions where it can reattach.

Feeding

Discosomas obtain much of their energy from their zooxanthellae. Originally, it was thought that these mushrooms did not "feed" on anything but passively absorbed dissolved organic compounds from the water column directly through their "skin".

The (mushroom) discosoma are photosynthetic corals, meaning they have a symbiotic relationship with dinoflagellates living in their tissue, called zooxanthellae. The zooxanthellae are the organisms that perform the actual photosynthesis, but the coral benefits by feeding on the by-products of the photosynthetic activity, i.e., the simple sugars that are produced.

In low-flow reef aquariums, it is possible to feed them directly with ease. Feeding can be a hit or miss, so it's something you'll have to experiment with to find out which foods to feed your Discosoma.