Zooanthid ?

[tat2life]

hey guys can anyone ID what is on my rock ? also i want to know if it will spread and if anymore will grow on the same rock. theres 2 diffrent looking things on it. 2 look like zooanthids or something and the other stuff looks like ... well i have no idea lol. i had the rock about 3 days now and it looks like it has grown in height already. thanks

 

[chrissaysyes]

yup, zoas. My LFS sells those single head rocks as "sand polyp hunks"

 

[tat2life]

thanks mate. the lfs dude did say something about polyp or poly something lol. they had another piece the same size but more heads on it for sale with the coral section. but the piece i got was just classed as rock cus only 2 heads

 

[Lynden]

They could also be palythoas (palys), if I'm not confusing the names zoanthids are distinguished by a connective tissue and are thus a true colony, even transferring food to or "messaging" the other members of it, while palys tend to just be vegetative competitors, who are only attached until they fully divide after budding.

 

[SkiFletch]

They could also be palythoas (palys), if I'm not confusing the names zoanthids are distinguished by a connective tissue and are thus a true colony, even transferring food to or "messaging" the other members of it, while palys tend to just be vegetative competitors, who are only attached until they fully divide after budding.

Exactly correct. Sometimes palys are difficult to distinguish from zoas when growing in really thick mats. Another easy (yet not foolproof) method for distinguishing is to observe the polyps when closed. Palythoa will have little stripes emenating from the center when closed (kind of like a kid drawing a sun), while Zoantids exhibit smooth surfaces with no color pattern.

To the OP, the first pic is clearly a common Palythoa known as "button polyp". Second pic is a Zoanthid

 

[Musho3210]

just be careful, they are both poisonous, the paly is more poisonous. Dont be scared like i was lol, they dont contain much toxin and its not as easy as putting your hand in the tank and dying, open wounds and direct contact. Even if you have and open wound and direct contact, the chance of you getting the poison is still low, but... its best if you dont handle these for fun

 

[chrissaysyes]

Ahh, I assumed the two pics were the same type of polyp. Said zoa because of the mat in the second pic but I dont guess I realized palys matted. Should someone reference the dreaded pinned thread on the poisonous palys and the killer nudibranch? That thread made me affraid of my tank for life, which could be for the best.

 

[Musho3210]

dont be scared, ive touched palys and zoas countless of times, only getting very slightly dizzy the first time i touched it, but im certain that was all physiological....

 

[chrissaysyes]

well...I have had dizzy spells when dealing with my aquarium before but attributed it to blood sugar...coooould be those evil polyps!

 

[1entra]

I often find when handling polyps/zoo'z, if you press them to hard or sonetimes when you sliighty touch them, they release a right slimy sort of mucus. Iv never used gloves and have had this on my hands many times but have never been affected by it in any way!

Tha only time I have found my hands to sting is when I put my hand in the tank after having cur a fresh cut or scratch on it and the saltwater gets on/in the wound!!

 

[chrissaysyes]

<small mistruth>

I used to have a small calico cat...one of the zoas actually reached out of the tank and ate the cat right there...be VERY careful.

</small mistruth>

 

[Lynden]

I used to have a calico too but she disappeared... thought it was a coyote but I did notice the zoas looked a little swollen that day... little bastards must've taken the cat off guard.

 

[chrissaysyes]

you guys all might think of checking this site out if you happen to own both zoas and a cat...http/www.felinedeathbysandpolyp.com It's pretty eye-opening