Mysterious polyps- Zoas, nems, etc?

chopdrop · Feb 18, 2019

Hi, I'm a total noob to reefing- Tank has been up for about 6 weeks and everything is doing well-
Initially on my LR I saw some small white polyps develop, and over time they grew but remained white- recently I have begun feeding Reef Roids and using a better light and they have colored up, grown considerably, and their tentacles have become much longer. Their numbers have been increasing, so something is making them happy I guess.
I asked over on another site and people had some speculation from zoas to NPS to just general mystified.
But then I found this forum, so I will ask again. Thank you in advance!

James M · Feb 18, 2019

Welcome to reef2reef !!!
Those are palys and can be invasive

chopdrop · Feb 18, 2019

Thanks James, this site has a ton to explore. Excited to be here.
I'll keep an eye on them, I think they're kind of cool and it's been fascinating to watch them develop but do you have any tips for keeping their numbers in check should they get a little crazy?

Mastiffsrule · Feb 18, 2019

James M said:
Welcome to reef2reef !!!
Those are palys and can be invasive

I wish I knew u 10 years ago. ;Joyful

And this is only 2 of my colonies

Mastiffsrule · Feb 18, 2019

Ok, 1 more I’m on a roll

Weird thing is it only a 5 gallon tank

chopdrop · Feb 18, 2019

Wow.. mine haven't really come together colonially like that, each one is a distance away from the others but I guess they're working on it. Pretty cool actually. My wife wants to start her own tank and just let the hitchhikers do their thing, I think that would be interesting.

James M · Feb 18, 2019

Cut down on feedings and fragging them.
Be careful with “paly toxin” though

Mastiffsrule · Feb 18, 2019

James M said:
Cut down on feedings and fragging them.
Be careful with “paly toxin” though

+1. Just came across a thread where the paly actually squirted in his eye. He had to go to er. They flushed his eye for hours I think.

I never fragged mine or feed my corals. I think they justed like their new hotel. They checked in, but never checked out.

chopdrop · Feb 18, 2019

I'll be careful. Incidentally, what's the difference between zoas and palys? They look pretty much the same to my uneducated eyes.

Orko · Feb 18, 2019

Yes the grow like weeds and take over everything if not careful with them they need to be on an Island if ya really love them and then be watched for the ones that blow off...

James M · Feb 18, 2019

The true difference between palys and zoas is much harder to distinguish. It is in the coenenchyme (or mat tissue); palythoa (protopalys included) take up sand and other small particles to build their structure (particularly noticable in the "stem" of the polyp or course texture of the oral disc). Zoanthids (such as those pictured above) do not.

Polyp, colony form, and oral disc shape and color are all highly variable between members of these two genera.

If you have a question as to which you have, take a picture of the of the polyp. If it shows the sand grains like this out of focus shot of a Palythoa grandis, it is a paly not a zoa.

Copied and pasted from: @Wy Renegade

Mastiffsrule · Feb 18, 2019

James M said:
The true difference between palys and zoas is much harder to distinguish. It is in the coenenchyme (or mat tissue); palythoa (protopalys included) take up sand and other small particles to build their structure (particularly noticable in the "stem" of the polyp or course texture of the oral disc). Zoanthids (such as those pictured above) do not.

Polyp, colony form, and oral disc shape and color are all highly variable between members of these two genera.

If you have a question as to which you have, take a picture of the of the polyp. If it shows the sand grains like this out of focus shot of a Palythoa grandis, it is a paly not a zoa.

Copied and pasted from: @Wy Renegade