Mushroom Anemone, Discoma species

(Phylum Cnidaria, Class Anthozoa, Order Corallimorpharia. See Overview of Cnidarian Diversity)

About mushroom anemones:

 

Mushroom anemones are broad flattened polyps that often have highly reduced tentacles. They have photosynthetic algae within their tissues that provide them with much of their nutrition. They occur in a wide variety of sizes, textures, and colors. Most types thrive in areas with lower light and less water flow than what is generally preferred by stony corals.

 

Contact with mushroom anemones is often deadly for stony corals that come in contact with them. If you are able to visit our aquaria in person, look to see if there are places where mushrooms are touching small-polyped stony corals. Almost certainly you will find a patch of bare skeleton where the stony coral tissue has been killed.

 

Click for more information on muhroom anemones

 

About Corals, Anemones, and their Kin