# Mushrooms, do they have a hard skeleton?



## darkangel66n (May 15, 2013)

So I bought a frag plug today that I thought was a mushroom, but I am confused now. Do mushrooms have a hard skeleton? When I first saw this plug I thought it was a plate coral but I was told it was a mushroom. I will post a picture when it opens but in the mean time any ideas?


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

if mushrooms had a hard skeleton they would be a stony coral and not allowed across the border unless they had a permit.

In short, no skeleton 

Yes a pic would work!


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## Patwa (Jan 30, 2014)

yep, soft corals have no hard calcium skeleton as per other types of coral such as SPS and LPS.

However, many soft corals do contain calcium carbonate components that do impart a reinforcing structural component to maintain their shape.

You can witness this in dendroneptheas and neptheas, for example. These calcium carbonate shards are called sclerites, and they're essentially embedded in the tissue. When such corals die, you're left with the tiny shards, in the same way you're left with a skeleton when a LPS or SPS dies

im guessing you may have bought a fungiid....but yeah, post a pic asap


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## darkangel66n (May 15, 2013)

Here it is open. I thought it was a plate but told it was a mushroom. I still think it is a plate though.


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## Patwa (Jan 30, 2014)

sorta looks like cycloceris sp. .....but doesn't seem to be a corallimorph at all....I may be wrong....need a top-down shot if you can 

very similar to the coral on right of the pic

nice sand!


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## darkangel66n (May 15, 2013)

Thanks. It is the Cichlid sand that Big Al's carries. The coral to the right is a plate coral.


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## fesso clown (Nov 15, 2011)

Pretty sure that is a plate coral. Looks exactly like mine but smaller. Same green and purple lines at the edges, same wavy tentacle things. Does it have a mouth in the centre?


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## jkoot (Apr 17, 2012)

Its a baby plate coral

I have there things growing in my tank like wildfire.... just wish they were more colourful


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## Patwa (Jan 30, 2014)

darkangel66n said:


> I thought it was a plate but told it was a mushroom.


who said it was a shroom? it was Big Al's, wasn't it? 

if it's a local reef shop, man, that's sad ....they need to head back to Reef Tanks 101, stat lol


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## darkangel66n (May 15, 2013)

It was a big al's of course.


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## disman_ca (Nov 12, 2011)

Damn Big Al's misinformation!


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## Reef Druid (Jun 27, 2014)

disman_ca said:


> Damn Big Al's misinformation!


LOL, "sure, this tube anemone will host a clownfish".....


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## darkangel66n (May 15, 2013)

On the plus side it is doing great and growing well.


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## johnnyriker (Nov 10, 2013)

Looks in good shape. I don't think it's a mushroom though. Some type of plate or variant.

johnny


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