Many of us are inspired to keep marine life for its exotic beauty or interesting behavior. But if we’re being perfectly honest, we have to admit there’s also something intriguing about keeping—and displaying to our friends and family—marine organisms that…
palythoa
Palytoxin from Palythoa zoanthids is really, REALLY dangerous
If we could have your attention please, this is an important public service announcement from your neighborhood Reef Builders to let you know to be very careful when handling your Palythoa zoanthids. Zoanthids are hardy, neigh indestructible flower animals of…
Tyler Bell’s Zoanthid tree is an exquisite concept of coral display
Corals are such adaptive creatures, they are amenable to being positioned and grown into all kinds of shapes and positions. Tyler Bell’s Zoanthid Tree is an impressive collection of many popular strains of Zoanthus and Palythoa species arranged into an unforgettable bouquet…
Zoanthids vs Palythoa Identification
Over the years, we’ve seen hundreds of different Palys and Zoas. In that same time, there were varieties we confidently called Palythoa and others Zoanthids. For example, I can easily point to a Palythoa grandis and say for sure that…
$2,425 two-polyp Palythoa frag sale reminds us that zoanthid collectors mean business
As many of us have witnessed, there are lots of coral ‘fads’ that have come and gone over the years. From the early-on craze over the Australian Acan Lords to the tiniest little frag of a Rainbow Echinophylia, there are…
Zoanthids: Tough as Nails but Powerfully Potent
They belong to genera with names like Zoanthus, Parazoanthus, and Palythoa. They’re sometimes called sea mats, button polyps, or colonial anemones. Reef hobbyists commonly refer to them as “zoas.” Whatever name you apply to them, the zoanthids (family Zoanthidae) enjoy…
Reef Corner lands what might be the best looking Palythoa grandis we’ve ever seen
When most reefers think of Palythoa grandis, the images of bland, brownish polyps growing on the bottom of the tank that are not the prettiest things to look at come to mind. Of course there is a small minority, the…
Steamed Palythoas send well-informed aquarist to the emergency room, nearly to the grave
Palythoa toxin from Palythoa and Zoanthus polyps is widely known to be one of the most poisonous substances in the natural world, gram for gram. Armed with this knowledge a well-informed aquarist suited up for Palythoa removal duty from one of his aquarium rocks…
Cherry Charm Paly is a large looker from Cherry Corals
The Cherry Charm Paly is a gorgeous and jumbo size palythoa with amazing coloration. Cherrie Corals started teasing this polyp strain yesterday and now their website has gone live with some WYSIWYG frags with two polyps of Cherry Charm Palys…