Yuma Ricordea

Care at a glance

Overview

Prized for color combinations that run brighter and more varied than Ricordea florida, but noticeably less forgiving of swings in water quality and lighting, so it suits a tank with stable, mature water more than a beginner setup. It is passive and low sting, safe to place near most other corals, and needs no target feeding, though it will take fine meaty foods sized to about half a mysis shrimp or smaller. Propagation is by cutting or letting a polyp split naturally into two.

In the wild

Ricordea yuma grows on Indo-Pacific reef flats and lagoons, from the Philippines and Indonesia across Micronesia, usually in shallow, well lit water. In the aquarium it wants moderate to fairly strong light, and it colors up best with more light than its Caribbean cousin Ricordea florida needs, but it should be acclimated gradually rather than placed straight under intense lighting. It prefers low to medium flow, since strong current keeps the disc from fully extending and can work it loose from the rock. Place it low to mid in the tank on stable rock or rubble.

Good to know

Ricordea yuma is an Indo-Pacific corallimorph in the family Ricordeidae, distinguished from Ricordea florida by its origin, its generally more saturated colors, and tentacles that are noticeably denser and larger around the mouth. It relies mainly on zooxanthellae for energy and also takes in fine particulate food, and colonies multiply through longitudinal fission, where a polyp develops a second mouth and slowly pinches apart into two.

Did you know

Yuma color morphs are named and traded almost like collector pieces, with a single polyp of a striking combination selling for far more than an entire rock covered in ordinary Ricordea florida.

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