Zoanthids

Zoanthids & Palythoas are colorful, colonial polyps that spread quickly and pack a ton of color into a small footprint — one of the best ways to add impact to a reef tank without breaking the bank. Most of our coral is aquacultured or conditioned in our Key West systems. Product listings identify the source when known.
Care Level: Easy (Beginner Friendly)  |  Lighting: Low-Moderate  |  Flow: Moderate  |  Placement: Low to mid tank
New to zoas, or want to avoid the most common mistakes (zoa melt, faded color, pests)? Read our full Zoanthid & Palythoa Care Guide before you buy.
Pairs well with: TUG Phyto Plankton to boost color and polyp extension, and CorAffix Coral Glue to mount your new frag securely.Buying zoas without buying a problemJudge a zoa frag by the polyps that are open, not the count on the label. A frag sold as six polyps with two open is a frag with two healthy polyps and four question marks. Look for skirts that are fully extended and evenly colored across the colony; a single closed polyp in an otherwise open frag is normal, a whole frag closed is not.Zoanthids want moderate light and moderate indirect flow. They tolerate a wide PAR range, roughly 75 to 200, and morphs color differently across that range — the same zoa can look completely different on the sand bed than it does high on the rock, so give a new frag a few weeks in one spot before deciding you dislike the color.Two things kill more zoa collections than lighting. The first is zoa pox and nudibranchs, which is why every frag should be dipped before it goes in your display. The second is palytoxin: never boil, scrape or cut rock carrying zoanthids or palythoa without gloves and eye protection, and never do it in a closed room.Frags here ship UPS Next Day Air on Tuesdays and Wednesdays out of Key West, with free livestock transportation at a $349 livestock subtotal.Named zoa morphs, and why the same name looks different everywhereZoanthid morph names are collector trade names with no governing body behind them. Nightmare, Blue Hornet, Gorilla Nipple, Halle Berry, Utter Chaos and the hundreds of others describe a specific look — skirt color, mouth color, ring pattern — that came from one original colony. Two sellers can honestly list very different animals under the same name, and lighting makes the gap wider still.The practical advice: buy from the photograph, not the name, and buy from a photograph taken under normal reef lighting. A zoa shot under heavy blue actinic will not look like that on your rock. Every frag on this page is photographed under the light it actually grew under.Zoanthid or Palythoa? Palythoa are generally larger-polyped with the tissue mat connecting polyps more visibly, and they carry higher palytoxin risk. Both are sold as “zoas” in the trade. Handle both the same way.Zoanthid care, in numbersLight: 75–200 PAR. Wide tolerance, but color changes substantially across that band. Give a new frag two to three weeks in one place before judging it.Flow: moderate and indirect. Zoas need enough flow to keep detritus off the polyps and not so much that they stay closed. If a colony sits closed in strong flow, move it before assuming a pest.Placement: anywhere from sand shelf to upper rock. Zoas spread onto adjacent surfaces, so give them a rock you are happy to lose.Water: zoas are the most nutrient-tolerant corals we keep and usually look best in tanks that are not stripped bare. Nitrate in the 5–15 ppm range is fine.Pests, and the safety rule that mattersPalytoxin. Zoanthids and especially palythoa carry one of the most toxic substances in the hobby. Never boil, scrape, cut or pressure-wash rock carrying them. Wear gloves and eye protection when fragging, work in a ventilated space, and never do it with an open cut on your hands. This is not a theoretical risk — people have been hospitalized.Zoa pox. Small raised white or yellow bumps on the stalk with polyps closing. Treatable, but isolate first.Zoa-eating nudibranchs and sundial snails. Both are small, well camouflaged and will clear a colony. Dip every frag before it enters your display and inspect the plug underside.Questions we get askedWhy is one polyp closed? Normal. A single closed polyp in an otherwise open colony is usually nothing. An entire frag closed for more than a few days after shipping is worth investigating.How fast do zoas spread? A healthy frag puts out new polyps around the edge within weeks. Growth rate varies enormously by morph — some common morphs double in months, some prized ones stay slow, which is part of why they stay expensive.Are zoas good for beginners? Yes, with the palytoxin caveat taken seriously. They tolerate a wider range of conditions than almost anything else and they show you clearly when something is wrong by staying closed.