Frag Junky’s Maui Wowi mushroom highlights the recent discosoma and rhodactis craze

You may have noticed a dramatic uptick in the amount of colorful and exciting mushroom anemones being collected and propagated for the marine aquarium hobby lately. Between the Shroom Room, Jawbreaker Discosomas and more juicy corallimorphs than you can shake a stick polyp at, “shrooms” are back in the reef aquarium collector’s wish list and nowhere is that more evident than in the release of Frag Junky‘s incredible Maui Wowi Rhodactis mushroom anemone.

We are always loathe to post about a particular reef animal when it is being offered for sale at auction but the reefing world has to know that there are super sexy mushroom anemones hitting the scene. As of this writing the single Maui Wowi Rhodactis is listed at $405 and climbing and while there is no doubt that this mushroom anemone is one to remember, it is also endowed with a perfect trifecta of great health, cutting edge LED lighting and flattering photography settings.

We’ve seen a deluge of increased Rhodactis rocks being imported in the last few years, many of which have incredible blues, reds and green or yellow highlights but the Maui Wowi is currently the hottest mushroom we’ve seen in a long while. But whether this single mushroom is worth more than ten colony rocks of high quality Rhodactis is up to the true collector to decide; if you peruse enough Rhodactis rocks online and at the LFS, we guarantee you’ll find an ample amount of gorgeous looking corallimorphs.

Furhthermore, once the single polyp grows out into a sprawling colony of fuzzy mushrooms in a big reef aquarium it likely won’t be nearly as eye-catching as when it is perfectly lit, under the most flattering camera settings and angle. That being said, now that we’ve poo-pooed the idea of spending so much coin on a single polyp, why not pay beaucoup bucks for an exciting reef animal?

Whether it’s a mushroom anemone, a rare fish or a colorful fuzzy stick, if you are personally excited about a particular specimen of reef life, go for it! We for one are pleased to see the stupendous variety of Discosoma and Rhodactis mushroom anemones getting their fair share of the spotlight and we’re glad people are “discovering” and propagating strains like the Maui Wowi.

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Jake Adams

Jake Adams has been an avid marine aquarist since the mid 90s and has worked in the retail side of the marine aquarium trade for more than ten years. He has a bachelor’s degree in Marine Science and has been the managing editor of ReefBuilders.com since 2008. Jake is interested in every facet of the marine aquarium hobby from the concepts to the technology, rare fish to exotic corals, and his interests are well documented through a very prolific career of speaking to reef clubs and marine aquarium events, and writing articles for aquarium publications across the globe. His primary interest is in corals which Jake pursues in the aquarium hobby as well as diving the coral reefs of the world.