| Difficulty | Very easy |
| Time Required | 10 minutes |
| Healing Time | Days to 2 weeks |
| Best Method | Cut through the mouth, or rubble cup |
| Coral Type | Corallimorphs (Discosoma, Rhodactis, Ricordea) |
Overview
Mushrooms are the closest thing to un-killable frags in the hobby — in nature they reproduce by tearing themselves in half as they crawl. You have two methods: the scalpel method (fast, more frags) or the rubble-cup method (zero cutting, zero risk). Ricordea are the slowest and touchiest of the group; Discosoma barely notices being quartered.
What You’ll Need
- Sharp scalpel or new razor blade
- A small cup or container of coral rubble (rubble-cup method)
- Plastic mesh or a bridal-veil square and a rubber band (optional, to hold cut pieces down)
- Coral dip
Step-by-Step
- Scalpel method: peel or slice the mushroom off its rock (get the foot if you can) and lay it flat.
- Cut through the center of the mouth into halves or quarters — every piece that includes a bit of mouth tissue regrows fastest, but even edge pieces usually make it.
- Drop the pieces into a cup of rubble in a low-flow spot, with mesh over the top if your flow or fish will scatter them. In one to two weeks each piece attaches to a rubble chip — glue that chip to a plug.
- Rubble-cup method (no cutting): place a whole mushroom, or its rock, in the cup and let it wander/split on its own; collect attached babies from the rubble.
Aftercare & Healing
Cut pieces look like sad deflated blobs for a few days, then re-inflate as tiny complete mushrooms. Keep them in low-to-moderate light and gentle flow while they attach; a fresh cut piece in strong flow becomes a drifting pizza topping somewhere behind your rockwork.
What Can Go Wrong
Pieces disappear: flow carried them off — use the mesh. A piece melts: rare, usually Ricordea cut too small; halve Ricordea rather than quartering. Parent detaches and floats: normal escape behavior after disturbance; put it in the rubble cup and let it re-foot.
Related Care Guides
Discosoma Mushroom · Ricordea Mushroom · Rhodactis Mushroom · Yuma Ricordea
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I frag mushroom corals?
Cut the mushroom in half or in wedges through the mouth with a sharp blade. Each piece with mouth tissue regenerates into a new mushroom. Place the cuttings in a low-flow container with rubble until they attach.
Do mushrooms regenerate after cutting?
Yes. Mushrooms are very regenerative, and even pieces without a mouth often grow a new one. Low flow while healing keeps the cut pieces from blowing away.
Are mushrooms good beginner corals?
Excellent. They are hardy, tolerate low light and low flow, and multiply on their own, which makes them one of the best first corals and easiest to frag.