Spending nearly four months of constant search and negotiation trying to obtain a Hot Pink Ricordia Yuma; I knew if I was lucky enough at some point to find one I would have to do something other than just take the piece to market. In my spare time I had searched around and asked a few people in the industry if they had experience with the species in captivity and had they witnessed any natural reproduction. I'm sure there are people out there but my search had not turned up anyone. My only game plan at this point was to apply what I had learned in propagation of other mushrooms to the Ricordia Yuma.
Luck turned in my favor one day and I was able to track down two pink Ricordia Yuma from a wholesaler in which I had recently opened an account. For any storeowners out there, sometimes the beginning of the relationship is when you get your best and most rare specimens, so don't be afraid to ask. I was a bit surprised at the wholesale price, but searching around on the web seeing what these specimens went for retail, I eventually saw the big picture.
I promised myself at whatever the final price for this Ricordia Yuma; I will attempt to propagate knowing full well I could lose the investment in twenty-four hours. If there was a loss at very least I would have a documented method of the steps I took so the next bereaved soul could benefit from the knowledge I acquired. With such a diminished natural resource the desire to keep a specimen like this really does not leave many options other than aquaculture. Presently the collection pool seems to be nearly drained so possibly anyone reading this article that may have been keeping one or multiple polyps in captivity may wish to emulate the propagation in hopes to keep the species available on the collectors market.
Necessity often is the drive behind invention, and risk was a certainty in this case. The easier option of releasing the item at retail had absolutely no appeal to me what so ever. I have had tremendous success in propagating the Ricordia Florida and to a lesser extent (demand-based) Rhodactis. I, like most of us out there tinkering with propagation, began with the Discosoma, which seems to be nearly indestructible.
Based on previous experience with Discosoma, watching natural multiplication though lateral fission, I noticed that a very small piece of mushroom, if attached, could mature into a nice-sized specimen in due time. However the same principle had not always been true for me when it came to Rhodactis. From my experience they seem more sensitive after propagation, requiring more care and less light intensity until they heal. Oddly enough I have cut a quarter sized Ricordia Florida into about 16 pieces and saw them mature to small eraser sized polyps in just a short time.
10 May 2008 at 3:24pm
St. John is one of the best places in the world to go snorkeling, but snorkeling gets little respect. Hollywood and television have glamorized scuba diving. Jacques-Yves Cousteau developed scuba diving and was an A-list celebrity. Lloyd Bridges...
10 May 2008 at 3:13pm
St. John is one of the best places in the world to go snorkeling, but snorkeling gets little respect.
10 May 2008 at 5:25am
Looking for a home-design element that packs a one-two punch visually and helps lower your blood pressure? Think aquarium.
11 May 2008 at 3:45pm
Danny seemed startled, but held her gaze. Kayla held her breath, but didn't dare look away.
what I had learned in propagation of other mushrooms to the Ricordia Yuma. 
such a diminished natural resource the desire to keep a specimen like this really does not leave many options other than aquaculture. Presently the collection pool seems to be nearly drained so possibly anyone reading this article that may have been keeping one or multiple polyps in captivity may wish to emulate the propagation in hopes to keep the species available on the collectors market. 
