Embarrassed to ask

[icycoral]

I'm a lil embarrassed to ask but the only stupid question is the one you don't ask. I've gotten mixed answers from poeple at lfs what the difference between zoanthids and palythoas. I welcome answers ranging from: tell me like I'm a moron, to treat me as a noobie, or lets get technical about things. I know this is kind of a newcomer question I don't mean to waste your time if you can't be bothered with such simple things I just thought y'all would be the people to ask.

 

[Zire]

As far as I know they are two different genera(singular: genus) within the same family of animals. Superficially palythoas tend to have longer stems and usually larger "disks"(this the right word?) than zoanthids. Not a dumb question at all, although my answer may be less than satisfactory it might get others to chime in with better ones.

 

[Pink Coralline]

Palys are bigger than zoas...

Palys

Zoas on top, palys on bottom.

 

[Pink Coralline]

Dont be embarrassed to ask questions, whats what we're here for. Just remember we all had to start somewhere. Heck, I've been doing it for the last 5 years and I still come across stuff I dont know. Less now than then of course. There is just so much to learn about the hobbie. Hope this post helps. If you need anything else feel free to PM me.

 

[icycoral]

cool so palys are larger do they also have intricate markings and patterns like zoas, ie rings and colored skirts? oh and thank you for being understanding.

 

[ddwbeagles]

cool so palys are larger do they also have intricate markings and patterns like zoas, ie rings and colored skirts? oh and thank you for being understanding.

Sure they come as colorful as your wallet allows. I will add another characteristic or trait. Not a universal truth, but Paly tend to have longer lashes in addition to being bigger in size. I also see way more color morphing in Palys than in my ZOAs.

 

[ingtar_shinowa]

ive done alot of searching for that answer myself lately. the only real way to tell is if they draw sand particulates in their mats and stem. Other than that if it takes food and is 'bg' its labeled a paly. Scientists are still classifying and reclassifying polyps into and in between these genus. But i may be wrong since ive done my research on the net and my degrees are in aviation and ancient languages ;-P

 

[scuba guy ron]

these are true Palythoa:

these are zoanthids:

 

[sdime0]

I don't know if it's true but I have heard that paly have more of a straight mouth and zoa's have more of a round mouth. Once again just what I have heard. If I am wrong please someone tell me.

 

[Antonais1391]

there are no stupid questions also isnt there a type of smaller plolyp paly?

 

[Scopus Tang]

Palys (aka palythoa) have polyps embedded in a mat or tissue matrix called a coenenchyme, an oral disc with a "œmouth" in the center which is generally surrounded by two rings of tentacles typically occurring in multiples of six. Unlike other zoanthids, they have slimy thick tissue with sand grains trapped on the lower portions of the columns of each polyp, so their coenenchyme actually appears grainy. While they do use sand grains in building their coenenchyme, they do not have to placed on the sand bed in order to acquire what they need; evidence suggests they uptake the material they need from debris and dust stirred up into the water column. They also exhibit a strong feeding response.

J. Sprung indicates that "they occur as loosely connected polyps or individual polyps in small clumps with a sand encrusted body column . . . tentacles can be long or short, but they always are thin with pointed tips." And, "polyps of uniform color in most cases;"

Size can be an indicator, but is not always accurate. Many people commonly refer to PE zoanthids as palys when in fact they are truly Zoanthus giganticus.

HTH

 

[Reefer577]

Julian Sprung said that what we reefers refer to as zoanthids and palythoa are the same thing. Scubaguyron has the right idea when talking about scientific difference.

As for the things we crazy reefers like to call corals, zoanthids are generally smaller, whereas palythoa tend to grow bigger and have a double set of tentacles. But this really varies on who's doing the naming.


Typical "zoanthids"

Typical "palythoa"

 

[PACHY-FAN]

Where can I get true Palythoas? I find them interesting and cannot find them anywhere

 

[ihavtats29]

''the only stupid question is the one you didnt ask''

one rule i live by

 

[icycoral]

scopus and reefer tanks for your input totally like the scientific description really what i was looking for . and it really being up to the person naming them totally makes sense. like the dune quote btw. and tats29 that's exactly where I'm coming from.

 

[PayasoDelMar]

Other than that if it takes food and is 'bg' its labeled a paly.

My zoas take food too.


Other than that i can not contribute anymore seeing as what i would say is jst repeating whats in this thread already.

the more you ask the more you learn! if you ask the right questions of course

 

[icycoral]

couple more questions is it true zoas and palys grow faster on smooth surfaces like acrylic squares and glass or is that a myth. also i'm setting up a dedicated zoa + paly tank as I'm catchin the craze was gona do t-5 lighting more to the low side 3 watts per gallon however it looks like a lot of the people who keep the more high end stuff use 20K halides. will my zoas grow and keep their colors under the lower light? kind of a noobish question i know. its ok to laugh

 

[Reefer577]

Pachyfan if you really want true palythoa like the brown ones in the picture you should just go snorkling in S Fla. For nicer palys there's plenty of good vendors that sponsor RC.

Icy, I have zoo colonies that grow fast and some grow slow. I find it doesn't really matter whether the surface is smooth or not. Putting them on a smooth surface is just convenient if you ever want to frag some off once they grow out.

I have my zoos under an ATI fixture with 4: T5 bulbs and they love it. My montis really like T5's too. They grow just as well under these as they do under my Radiums.

 

[PayasoDelMar]

How many T-5 bulbs are you going to use. And also how deep is your tank. The deeper the tank the less light the zoas/palys get and the slower they will grow. The 20k bulbs are more for looks than for growth, but it sure looks cooler and brings out the colors of corals. 10k bulbs are better for growth but the lack of blue will make the coral less visually appealing.

Yes they will grow and color could vary depending on the bulbs you use and to some extent water chemistry.


I personally think its cheaper to use MH than T-5s. I had a T-5 fixture with 4 bulbs and at $30 a bulb got more expensive than a single $60 bulb (for the MH)
- Side note, i dont pay the electric bill so i don't factor that in, and that makes a difference as well-

 

[icycoral]

well the set up i have put together so far consists of a 20gal long with a water level 2 1/2" from the rim and the rack i have made is 4" under the surface of the water. so the polyps will be 6" away from the light fixture and 4 " under water . this setup is independent of my larger mixed reef and is still cycling. i was hoping because of the shallow depth i could get away with a twin bulb t-5 like one of the newer coralife ones