Your hairy mushroom coral started splitting, and you don’t know whether it’s good or bad? You don’t need to worry because, in this article, I will explain everything you need to know about mushroom corals splitting.
You will learn why mushroom corals split, how long it takes, and how to propagate mushroom corals.
When I started the saltwater aquarium hobby, people told me that mushroom corals are easy to keep, can tolerate a wide range of conditions, and multiply fast.
In essence, everything I needed as a beginner reefer. The first one I bought was a green hairy mushroom coral. It’s the mushroom in the picture above. It was doing okay until one day it started to act weird.
I noticed a small hole in the middle of the hairy mushroom. I knew that mushrooms reproduce by splitting, but I wasn’t sure whether it was splitting or dying. Luckily it was the former.
Now I have two beautiful and big hairy mushroom corals. In this post, you will learn why mushroom corals split, how long it takes and what to do when that situation occurs.
Without furder ado, let’s get started!
Contents
Why do mushroom corals split?
There are many reasons why mushroom corals split. If the conditions in your reef tank are optimal and there are enough nutrients, it might induce mushrooms to divide.
On the other hand, mushrooms may split because the water parameters in your reef tank are off, and with splitting, they have a better chance to survive.
Whatever the reasons for splitting are, you will get two mushrooms instead of one. These types of corals are very hardy and almost impossible to die.
In my case, I believe the green hairy mushroom coral split due to stress.
The day before I noticed the hole in my mushroom coral, I had a lot of guests in my apartment. The excess of Co2 in my room caused a severe bacterial bloom in my reef tank.
All my corals were closed for days and didn’t look good, including my hairy mushroom.
That was the first time I noticed the hole, which probably was caused because of the bacterial bloom. Luckily, everything turned out well.
See Also: Mushroom Coral Care Guide
How long does it take for a mushroom coral to split?
It will usually take a day or two for the mushroom to separate. In some cases, it might take a week.
You don’t need to worry because this is a natural process. You can accelerate it by manually dividing it, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Lets nature takes its course.
In my case, the hairy mushroom coral split in a couple of days. I didn’t do anything; I just watched and enjoyed the process.
How do you propagate mushroom coral?
The green hairy mushroom coral propagates through longitudinal fission. It means that it first develops two mouths, then it splits into two halves.
The two halves are now two different mushroom corals. You can speed up this process by manually cutting the mushroom into two halves when it gets bigger.
This process is not always ideal because the mushroom coral may get an infection and die. That’s why it is best to let nature do its thing.
See Also: Why Is My Montipora Coral Turning White
Final Thoughts
I hope you find this article useful and learned something new. As you can see, there is nothing to worry about when you see your mushroom coral split. In fact, it’s a great thing. Now you have more than one coral.
Green hairy mushrooms are ideal coral for a beginner reefer. They look great under actinic lighting, tolerate a wide range of conditions, and grow fast. What could you ask more from a coral?