Skittles Yuma Mushroom (Ricordea yuma) 3.5″ – Conditioned in Key West

Description

You are buying the exact animal in the photo — a 3.5″ WYSIWYG Skittles Yuma (Ricordea yuma) photographed under blue spectrum reef lighting. The disc is packed shoulder to shoulder with fat, rounded electric blue vesicles, and a band of burnt orange and gold runs through the centre where the shorter tentacles cluster around the mouths. A single lime green flare sits just below centre. The blue reads almost pastel against the orange — that contrast is where the Skittles name comes from.

About Yuma Mushrooms (Ricordea yuma)

Ricordea yuma is the Indo-Pacific cousin of our native Florida Ricordea, and the more sought after of the two. Its vesicles are larger, rounder and more densely packed, and it holds multiple fluorescent pigments on a single disc instead of one flat colour. That is what makes a good Yuma expensive: you are paying for how many colours the animal can hold at once.

Yumas divide on their own schedule rather than on demand — they cannot be cut to order the way a leather or a zoa colony can. Multi-colour morphs like this one come into the country in small numbers and are usually spoken for before they hit a rack.

Skittles refers to Yumas carrying three or more distinct colours across one disc. This piece runs blue, orange, gold and green, with the colour break falling in a band rather than a speckle — it stays legible from across the tank instead of muddying.

Conditioned in our Key West systems, fully expanded and attached at the time of photography. Yumas settle themselves onto rock — this one ships on the piece of rubble it has taken to.

Care Guide

• Lighting: Low to Medium — PAR 50–100. Yumas need real blue spectrum to hold colour but will shrink and bleach under high intensity. Acclimate to light slowly.
• Flow: Low — just enough to keep detritus off the disc. Direct flow makes them detach and wander.
• Placement: Sand bed or a low shaded ledge. If it is unhappy it will let go and move itself, so give it somewhere it can settle undisturbed.
• Feeding: Largely photosynthetic. Small meaty foods or Reef-Roids once a week will speed growth and encourage it to split.
• Aggression: Peaceful — no sweepers, but it will creep across neighbouring rock over time.
• Water Parameters: Temp 76–80°F | Salinity 1.025–1.026 | dKH 8–10 | Ca 400–450 | Mg 1250–1350 | Nitrate 5–15ppm

Shipping & Live Arrival Guarantee

Ships UPS Overnight every Tuesday and Wednesday from Key West, Florida. Packed in an insulated box with a heat or cold pack appropriate for current conditions. The specimen is carefully secured to prevent movement during transit.

Live arrival is guaranteed. If your coral arrives DOA, photograph the animal inside the unopened bag within 4 hours of delivery confirmation and contact us through eBay messages. We will work with you on a resolution.