Mobile Bay Reef Keepers

I didn't think they propagated this way, we will see what ya'll say about this. I recived a green striped mushroom from someone (Karen) that was attched to a tiny tiny tiny piece of LR. I glued the mushroom to a larger piece of live rock that was already in my tank. About an inch away from the mushroom a baby mushroom of the same kind is starting to grow and about 1/2 inch from that baby another baby is starting to grow, they are both about the size of a pencil eraser. I thought the only way they propagated was either they split or I had to split them to make them grow another one. Enlighten me.

Actually, the most common means of reproduction for most mushrooms is pedal laceration (Ricordea are a notable exception for the most part). All they need to do is allow a tiny portion of tissue from their "foot" to be torn away and that tiny piece will become a new mushroom. There is also sexual reproduction, but that isn't terribly common with these.

Thanks for the reply, I was wondering how it was done. I was waiting for it to split which it never did and then saw the two new babies. I thought it was atipisa growing, lol but the bigger they got the more they looked like the adult mushroom growing near by.

I split my superman mushrooms with a #11 blade scalpel. They heal in about a week. As long as you get even the smallest piece of the mouth in the new portion it should be fine....same goes for anemones . Some people think this is cruel but I think aquaculture is beneficial to reef populations and reduces harvesting of wild caught specimens. To each his/her own I guess.

rkelley_10 wrote:....same goes for anemones

Only some anemones, like H. magnifica, and E. Quadricolor, try it on a carpet and you'll be out $100. I've only heard of success with E. Quadricolor.

I believe Anthony Calfo had some success with carpet species, specifically Stichodactyla haddoni.

I was speaking mostly for BTA's (Entacmaea quadricolor). If I'm correct in some cases, directing higher flow water current will stimulate the cloning process as well. I just didn't think most would be brazen as to try to split a carpet. The thought of cutting my RBTA in half sends chills down my spine; plus, my maroon would turn my hand into hamburger meat. Thanks Amphiprion, you certainly the go-to guy when it comes to all things marine biology and reef husbandry.

Heh, I didn't say I was crazy enough to try it myself, but only that it has been done. You wouldn't catch me manually splitting one. Heavy feeding alone should give you more clones than you'll ever want.

Cutting a mushroom up is rather messy. They excrete a lot of slime when you try to split them. I totally agree, just give them what they need and they split on there on.