New Frag score!

[ViktorVaughn]

From the searches that I have done and the various google images I have checked out I gather these to be orange/gold darth mauls possibly. Maybe something different but I really like them. Not one to get really into the names of all the different zoanthids/palythoas as I think it a lot of times gets pretty convoluted and can lead to a lot of hype and crazy pricing ($400+ per polyp). Although, sometimes I feel that being able to narrow down what you have can help with any specific care they may need or specific problems to keep an eye out for. I have maybe 25-30 unique zoanthids/palythoas and know the names of maybe 5. I know that some Zoanthids prefer more light than others and some can succumb to random melting (Mauls) and be more prone to problems than others so if I come across a really special set of polyps I try to find out what they like best.

Anyways here are a couple pictures of when they first opened in my tank, 3 of 12 polyps are open here. I will try to get better pictures later today when the lights are on, assuming my annoying hermits are off of them now. I found it in the $50 frag section at my favorite LFS so they worked out to a little over $4 a polyp.

 

[JJ650]

Nice!
ANnnnddd bubble algae is growing on that rock. :O

 

[ViktorVaughn]

Not anymore! I saw that as soon as I posted the pictures and got rid of it, don't know how I missed it before putting it in my tank.

 

[GKorals]

nice find!

 

[Pife]

They look nice. Great find.

 

[NavyBlueSea]

Nice find!

 

[footballdude2k3]

Those things are gorgeous, having any growth on there yet?

 

[ViktorVaughn]

Thanks guys! Suprisingly, I have been getting really solid growth out of these guys. Initially I had counted 12 polyps when I bought it but after staring at it for a while it seems the number might have been closer to 14 or 15, some small polyps were covered over by the bigger ones. I am guessing the count is somewhere near 20-25 polyps but I will check it out after work.

I was expecting these to be finicky on me but so far they seem very hardy. Hermits, snails, or shrimp can travel right over the Zoanthids and they will only close up until the critter moves on and than they pop right back open. They generally are the first to open when lights come on (brightest Zoanthids I have under Actinics, more so than rastas) and if they are out of the water, some polyps dont even close and the ones that do will open right back up when back in the water. I had to remove the bubble algae from them when I noticed it outside the tank.