Zoanthid in home, abbreviated version

Zoanthids are one of the most commonly found "corals" in the home aquarium. Not only they are brightly colored and have a compact size, they are normally really easy to keep, grows and spreads in a steadily fast pace. They are ideal for new marine hobbyists who want to try their hands in invertebrates.

The reason why I put "" around the word coral is because technically Zoanthids are more anemone than coral. And just like anemone, they can be poisonous so handle with care (Personally I have brushed my hand and handled both anemone and zoanthids and have never engaged any harm from them, but please use caution as some people may develop allergic reaction to certain aquatic lives.).

Zoanthids do come in many many different shades and colors. The price can also vary greatly depends on their color and rarity. Generally a colony about 2 square inches would cost between $15-30. But in some occassions you will find stores or breeders selling rare speciments at "per polyp" price. The most rediculous price I have ever heard was $45 per polyp (and it wasn't even that beautiful). Personally I suggest you use your own judgement in how much you want to pay for them. If they are increadibly expensive, it might pay to just wait a while as these critters grow really fast and once the "rare" types becomes more popular the price will eventually come down.

Caring:

Light: They are the most forgiving of all corals I have ever kept when it comes to light. I have the exact same species of zoanthids placed both 3 inches from the water surface with a 250W metal halide blasting over it and another colony at the very bottom and the edge of the tank. The lighting doesn't seem to make them grow any faster, however they do seem to open more generously with lower lighting. In addition, most of them will show and "pop" with the best coloration if you use more "blue" light such as actinic or 420nm bulbs.

flow: I have seen them thrive and extend their tentacles right next to a powerhead, I have also seen them open up and happy at a very still location of the tank. Again, use your judgement, but with either extreme, make sure you do it slowly so they can adjust to them.

Water quality: Obviously in order to keep anything else in your tank happy, the water needs to be free of nitrate and phosphate, But you might want the water to be "slightly" dirty as the zoanthids do absorb a good deal of nutrients from the water. I can tell that my zoanthids had really good growth (ironically) when they are placed in a quarantene tank without skimmer.

Disease and damages: Zoanthids do have a number of natural enemies in the wild ranging from fish to other invertebrates. If you spot a fish nipping at Zoanthids, you are pretty much left with the option of which one you want to keep more in your tank. If you find some small critters (snail, star, crab) nipping on them, you can carefully monitor and remove them as it happens. One good rule of thumb is to do a "Lugol's dip" when you receive them. To do so, get a bottle of Kemps "Lugol's solution", a super concentrated bottle of iodine. Follow the instruction for a coral dip indicated by the product to kill off any hitchhiking parasites that comes with it.

7 Saltwater Fishes you should NEVER buy Part 1

Saltwater fish to never get #1: Cleaner Wrasse (Labroides dimidiatus)

 Cleaner Wrasse belongs to the "reef safe" side of the wrasse family. They are small (never grow larger than 4"), colorful, and has an interesting personality as they dance from one area of the tank to another if you ever possess them. Without knowing what it takes to keep them healthy (or even alive), they do seem to be one of the more fitting candidates for a reef tanks if you are adding color and point of interest to your tank.

An even more attractive reason to get one for your tank is their ability to get into fishes tight cavity parts to pick away their external parasites (as show below, picking an Emperor Angel's gill)

 In the nature, they are known to set up cleaning stations or play "Doctors without borders" to clean other marine neighbors including the moray eel, who usually swallows any fish that fits through its mouth.

Why shouldn't you keep it? Well, from my experiences working at aquarium retail store, they are extremely finicky in what they eat. In order to keep them alive, you MUST have a tank large enough (or with a fish population large enough) to supply a constant population of "sick" fish requiring parasite treatment from a cleaner wrasse. If you do not possess the above, you might need to does a heavy amount of variety of natural food so that they can pick off what they "like" among the things you feed. The uneaten portion of that meal will eventually contaminate your tank and create extra nitrate to poison the water for your reef inhabitants. Almost 100% of the cleaner wrasse from all the retailers I've worked for died from starvation (I was not in charge of ordering at that time) Therefore ever since I took over the ordering duty, I reframe myself from ordering cleaner wrasses even if a customer special requests them. I would educate them substitutes for cleaner wrasse (cleaner shrimp, neon goby, etc) that are more sustainable to the environment and are hardier to keep in their tank.

If you do see one of these cleaner wrasses in your local aquarium store, please be brace and bold to confront the managing staff to stop ordering them as their capture from the ocean is almost 100% the time a death sentence to them. Unless, that is, you have a tank a few thousand gallons in volume with a few hundred fish for it to pick through.