Price for frag with 10 polyps
Zoanthus, commonly known as "zoas" or "button polyps," are a genus of colonial, polyp-forming anthozoans, related to sea anemones. They are popular in the aquarium hobby due to their vibrant colors and relatively easy care. Zoanthids are characterized by their encrusting growth form, spreading across surfaces like a mat, with individual polyps connected by a fleshy tissue called a coenenchyme.
Here's a more detailed description:
Colonial Structure:
Zoanthus colonies are made up of numerous individual polyps, each with a central mouth surrounded by tentacles. These polyps are connected by a mat-like structure called the coenenchyme, allowing for nutrient and energy transfer throughout the colony.
Growth Form:
Zoanthids typically grow in a flat, encrusting pattern, often resembling a carpet or mat on rocks, sand, or other surfaces.
Appearance:
They exhibit a wide range of colors and patterns, with many hobbyists naming specific color morphs (e.g., "Watermelon," "Miami Vice"). Some zoanthids also possess proteins that cause them to fluoresce under certain lighting conditions.
Habitat:
Zoanthids are commonly found in coral reefs, where they can tolerate a wide range of light and water flow conditions. They are often found in shallow, high-light environments, but some species can also be found in deeper waters.
Aquarium Care:
Zoanthids are generally considered relatively easy to care for in captivity, making them a popular choice for reef aquariums.
Toxicity:
It's important to note that some zoanthids contain palytoxin, a potent toxin that can be harmful if ingested or if it comes into contact with skin or eyes. Some aquarium hobbyist sites say to handle them with care and avoid contact with the toxin.
Price per branching frag
Cladiella are a genus of soft coral belonging to the family Alcyoniidae. They are known for their distinctive finger-like projections, which can be round or cone-shaped, extending from a short stalk. These projections branch in various directions and have polyps extending from their tips. Cladiella are hardy, fast-growing corals that can grow up to 41 cm in height. They are often pale in color, with contrasting brown or greenish-brown polyps. They are also known to be slimy to the touch due to the production of mucus.
Here's a more detailed description:
Appearance:
Cladiella have a leathery, smooth base tissue, which can be pale or white, often with an orangey-pink central column. The finger-like projections are the most noticeable feature, with polyps extending from their tips.
Color:
The base tissue is typically pale or white, while the polyps can be brown or greenish due to the presence of zooxanthellae (symbiotic algae). Some species, like Cladiella australis, are known to appear brown with extended polyps but turn white when the polyps retract.
Growth:
Cladiella are relatively fast-growing corals, with some species reaching up to 41 cm in height.
Habitat:
Cladiella are commonly found in the Indo-Pacific region.
Care:
Cladiella are relatively easy to keep in a reef aquarium and are often recommended for beginners. They prefer a moderate to strong current and are adaptable to varying water parameters.
Other notable features:
They are known for their hardiness and can be found in a variety of colors, including pink, red, and purple.
Ricordea yuma is a vibrant, soft coral species known for its distinctive, often bright colors and irregular, bubble-like tentacles. They are a popular choice for reef aquariums due to their relatively easy care and beautiful appearance. Ricordea yuma are native to the Pacific Ocean and are known for their ability to thrive in a variety of lighting conditions. They can reproduce both sexually and asexually through budding.
Key Characteristics:
Shape: Ricordea yuma typically have a rounded or lobed shape, with a large mouth disk.
Color: They come in a wide range of colors, including neon greens, oranges, and blues.
Tentacles: Their surface is covered with an irregular mat of short, bubble-like tentacles.
Care: They generally prefer moderate to high lighting and moderate water flow.
Growth: They can spread by budding, allowing them to colonize areas quickly.
Hardiness: They are relatively hardy and suitable for both beginner and experienced reef keepers.
Distinguishing Features from Ricordea Florida:
Ricordea yuma tend to have a higher concentration of tentacles around the mouth, while Ricordea florida have a more random distribution of tentacles.
Ricordea yuma also tend to have alternating rows of large and small tentacles radiating outwards from the mouth.
Gorgonia, or sea fans, are a genus of soft corals found in marine environments, particularly in areas with strong water currents. They are characterized by their fan-like shape and often have a purple hue, though other colors like brown or yellow can also occur. Sea fans are colonial invertebrates, meaning they are made up of many individual polyps, which are small, fragile, white "flower-like" structures.
Key Features:
Colonial Nature:
Gorgonians are colonies of polyps, which are attached to a central axis composed of gorgonin and calcite.
Fan-like Structure:
The polyps are arranged in a fan-like pattern, creating the distinctive shape of sea fans.
Color Variation:
While often purple, sea fans can also be brown, yellow, or even pink, depending on environmental factors and the presence of pigments in their spicules (needle-like parts of calcium carbonate).
Filter Feeders:
Sea fans are filter feeders, meaning they capture small particles of food from the water current using their tentacles.
Geographic Distribution:
Common sea fans (Gorgonia ventalina) are found in the Caribbean Sea and tropical western Atlantic, including areas like the Florida Keys, Cuba, Belize, and Venezuela
Briareum is a genus of soft corals in the family Briareidae.The coral is cultivated by aquarium owners (under the common name "green star polyp" or GSP) for its fluorescing polyps, which reveal themselves under actinic light. The genus is in need of extensive examination, as many specimens sold by marketers display unique and similar characteristics, but are often labeled as one species, Pachyclavularia violacea.
Green Star Polyps (GSPs), also known as Pachyclavularia violacea or Briareum, are a popular soft coral known for their vibrant green or yellowish-green tentacles and a purple or blue base. They form a mat-like colony and are generally considered easy to care for. GSPs are popular with reef aquarium enthusiasts.
Here's a more detailed description:
Appearance:
GSPs have multiple polyps attached to a rubbery, purplish-red mat. Each polyp has eight thin, smooth tentacles that can range in color from pale to fluorescent green. They often have a contrasting color (like white or yellow) at the center of the polyp.
Size:
While they can reach a colony size of up to one foot in diameter, the individual polyps are typically less than 0.5 inches across.
Behavior:
GSPs are generally open during the day and may retract their tentacles at night or when disturbed.
Habitat:
They are found in shallow to moderate depths along reef edges in the Indo-Pacific Ocean.
Diet:
GSPs are filter feeders, absorbing organic matter from the water column and also hosting zooxanthellae, which provide them with nutrients through photosynthesis.
Reproduction:
They can reproduce by forming new polyps at the edge of the mat or by brood larvae
Priece per colony of 10 polyps
Zoanthids, also known as sea mats or button polyps, are a group of colonial cnidarians belonging to the genus Zoanthus. They are prized in the aquarium hobby for their colorful, spreading, and easy-to-maintain nature.
Key characteristics of Zoanthus:
Colonial structure:
Zoanthids form colonies of many small polyps, often growing flat and encrusting surfaces like rocks and substrates.
Diverse coloration:
They exhibit a wide range of colors and patterns, making them visually appealing.
Nematocysts:
They possess nematocysts, the stinging cells characteristic of cnidarians.
Feeding:
Zoanthids can feed on both detritus and zooplankton, and also benefit from photosynthesis with zooxanthellae.
Growth and distribution:
They can grow to cover large areas, and are found in various reef environments.
Maintenance:
Zoanthids are generally considered easy to maintain in reef aquariums, tolerating a range of lighting and water conditions.
Price per branching frag
Cladiella are a genus of soft coral belonging to the family Alcyoniidae. They are known for their distinctive finger-like projections, which can be round or cone-shaped, extending from a short stalk. These projections branch in various directions and have polyps extending from their tips. Cladiella are hardy, fast-growing corals that can grow up to 41 cm in height. They are often pale in color, with contrasting brown or greenish-brown polyps. They are also known to be slimy to the touch due to the production of mucus.
Here's a more detailed description:
Appearance:
Cladiella have a leathery, smooth base tissue, which can be pale or white, often with an orangey-pink central column. The finger-like projections are the most noticeable feature, with polyps extending from their tips.
Color:
The base tissue is typically pale or white, while the polyps can be brown or greenish due to the presence of zooxanthellae (symbiotic algae). Some species, like Cladiella australis, are known to appear brown with extended polyps but turn white when the polyps retract.
Growth:
Cladiella are relatively fast-growing corals, with some species reaching up to 41 cm in height.
Habitat:
Cladiella are commonly found in the Indo-Pacific region.
Care:
Cladiella are relatively easy to keep in a reef aquarium and are often recommended for beginners. They prefer a moderate to strong current and are adaptable to varying water parameters.
Other notable features:
They are known for their hardiness and can be found in a variety of colors, including pink, red, and purple.
Lobophytum is a genus of soft corals, also known as devil's hand or finger leather corals, found in the Indo-Pacific region. These corals are characterized by their fleshy, finger-like outgrowths forming an umbrella-like structure on a short stalk. They are often tan or purple, but can also be brightly colored.
Key features of Lobophytum corals:
Appearance:
They resemble Sarcophyton (toadstool leathers) but have thick-fleshed, finger-like outgrowths.
Distribution:
Found in shallow water throughout the tropical Indo-Pacific.
Identification:
Accurate species identification requires microscopic examination of sclerites (calcareous needles).
Care:
Lobophytum corals require moderate to high lighting to support zooxanthellae, filter-feed, and may benefit from plankton supplements.
Aggression:
They are moderately aggressive, potentially releasing a toxin that irritates other corals.
Propagation:
Lobophytum corals are known for easy propagation and "fragging".
Microbiome:
Research suggests that the soft coral microbiome is relatively resilient to short-term environmental stressors.
Lighting:
Lobophytum corals are not particularly picky about lighting, but low to moderate light is generally preferred.
Salinity:
Maintaining a salinity between 34/35 per mille (1.022 and 1.024 density) is crucial for their health.
Sarcophyton is a genus of soft corals, commonly known as toadstool or mushroom leather corals, belonging to the family Alcyoniidae. They are popular in reef aquariums and are known for their fleshy, soft, and often ruffled appearance, resembling toadstools or mushrooms.
Here's a more detailed description:
Appearance:
Sarcophyton corals typically have a stalk and a flat, often ruffled or folded cap (capitulum). They come in various colors, including brown, white, and gold.
Soft Coral:
Unlike stony corals, Sarcophyton corals lack a hard, stony skeleton. They are made of soft tissues and do not contribute to reef building.
Habitat:
They are found in various reef environments, particularly in the Indo-Pacific and tropical to subtropical climates.
Care:
They are generally considered easy to care for and can thrive in a wide range of conditions, including moderate to strong water flow and light, and can tolerate some fluctuations in water parameters.
Symbiotic Relationships:
They host symbiotic algae (zooxanthellae) that provide them with nutrients, contributing to their growth and coloration.
Growth:
Sarcophyton corals can grow rapidly, sometimes shedding some of their outer skin as they mature
