Cali Kid recently got into a colony of zoanthids I had yet to see in the United States. The Cali Kid “Pink Monster” is a very similar strain to the original SBB Ultimate Space Monster released some years ago. For sometime I had the original ultimate space monster and in person it is distinct from Cali Kid’s pink monster.
The original USM had much darker red speckles and green stripes on the lashes compared to the pink monster. The pink monster in contrast has almost magenta colored speckles and teal stripes on the lashes. Besides these color based differences the PM seems to have the same pattern and polyp size as the USM.
An image of the original USM I had – much more orange/red and darker green.
For a number of years, I have been a hard-core collector of zoos. Personally, I have always liked the speckled zoanthids such as Dayglow volcanoes, JF Frankies acid trip, and, of course, the USM the most. When I saw the pink monster for the first time in person in LA, I immediately knew this zoanthid was one I had to have.
Top image – my original USM. Bottom image – Cali Kid Pink Monster. In-person, the pink monster appears pink/magenta, which proved difficult to capture on camera.
Right now, Cali Kid doesn’t have any listed on their site for sale, but you can message them on Facebook or Instagram through their website here or call them at (562) 315 -5758.
Additionally, they often post the pink monster at their weekly auctions or sell it on their live Instagram streams.
