SpaceGhost white PE

[SpaceGhost]

Hi! I picked these up because I have never seen anything like them before. I was told (from the seller) that they had retained their white color and that they had multiplied and the babies were white too. I have had them a couple of months and they seem to be staying white. I risked them being bleached but, that seems not to be the case. Any ideas what they are called?

 

[Piper27]

I think they could have been bleached so bad that they may take longer to color up. At least that is what I am seeing in the pic. I am no expert though...

 

[lhm nole]

Looks bleached to me only time will tell.. I bought a colony that was very similar in color and turned out to be bam bams

 

[SantaMonica]

So are there any real white zoo's ?

 

[Magpies]

i've seen some hawaiian white pe but they are more cream than white

 

[A. Grandis]

Hi! I picked these up because I have never seen anything like them before. I was told (from the seller) that they had retained their white color and that they had multiplied and the babies were white too. I have had them a couple of months and they seem to be staying white. I risked them being bleached but, that seems not to be the case. Any ideas what they are called?

The polyps in the picture are bleached for sure.

Grandis.

 

[Mael]

Interesting...

"White Zoanthid {Parazoanthus anguicomus}


Most zoanthids are found in tropical waters, but the white zoanthid is common in the north Atlantic. Its white polyps arise from an encrusting base and it has two circles of tentacles around the mouth. One circle is usually held upward while the other lies flat. As well as covering rocks and wrecks, this species also encrusts worm tubes and Lophelia reefs.
"

from Oceana.org

 

[A. Grandis]

The picture shows probably a Zoanthus gigantus, though.

Grandis.

 

[A. Grandis]

Here is a true white Parazoanthus sp.:

Photo by Tim Wijgerde.
From:
http://www.reefs.com/forum/reefs-magazine/151538-marine-life-macro.html

Grandis.

 

[SantaMonica]

Yes those are amazing; corals attached to sponge.

 

[A. Grandis]

Oh no... they aren't corals.
Those are zoanthids.

Grandis.

 

[SantaMonica]

Yes I believe that they are soft coral polyp growing on sponge. That's what lightning sponges are.

 

[A. Grandis]

Yes I believe that they are soft coral polyp growing on sponge. That's what lightning sponges are.

Nope, they aren't soft corals.
They are actually zoanthids! Yes, they are growing on sponge.
That's one of the biggest mistakes in this forum: to think zoanthids are soft corals. :spin2:

Zoanthids are cnidarians, like anemones, soft and hard corals, but they aren't corals. They do have a very similar body structure. :thumbsup:

Grandis.

 

[A. Grandis]

Please take a look to understand the difference:

From:
http://www.afcd.gov.hk/english/conservation/con_mar/con_mar_cor/con_mar_cor_intro/con_mar_cor_intro1.html

Many sites through the internet are wrong.
Many coral dealers don't even know that.

Hope that helps!
Grandis.

 

[SantaMonica]

This taxa stuff has always confused me :O

Still very fascinating to have polyps growing on sponge

And from what I have seen, is similar to the blueberry in that there are (almost?) no success stories.

 

[A. Grandis]

:thumbsup:

 

[Patwa]

oh man, here we go.

I hear what you're trying to do, but you're just generalizing where you shouldn't and being too specific when you need not.

Oh no... they aren't corals.
Those are zoanthids.

Yes they are.

Corals are marine invertebrate animals - nothing more and nothing less. Anthozoa are a class of marine invertebrates, of which the subclass zoanthidaria are found (your palys and zoas!).

Exactly as the taxonomic tree you posted relates.

Nope, they aren't soft corals.

correct! zoas and palys are most definitely not soft corals (that is, soft corals such as sarcophyton, xeniids, neptheas, etc)

They are actually zoanthids!

yes! ....stating the obvious, but yes, they are zoanthids because they come from the exclusive order zoanthidae! (which are from the phylum cnidaria, which are marine inverts of which all corals belong)

zoas, palys are are 100% corals, but in the most general sense, of course.

Zoanthids are cnidarians, like anemones, soft and hard corals, but they aren't corals. They do have a very similar body structure. :thumbsup:
Grandis.

that's like saying a 2014 Nissan GTR is essentially not a car, it's a form of transportation

of course zoanthids are corals! they're just not soft corals, LPS or SPS, they have their own branch on the taxonomic tree

Many sites through the internet are wrong.
Many coral dealers don't even know that.

you're fighting the good fight and I applaud you for that, but you're muddying the waters of the very taxonomic info you're referencing.

 

[A. Grandis]

Nope, they aren't corals at all.
They are Zoanthids.
Corals are the "soft" and "hard" corals we know.

The term Anthozoa means "flower animals", not "corals".
People call corals "flower animals" and zoas are also "flower animals".
So people tend to call zoas corals because of that.

Zoanthids, soft corals and hard corals are under Anthozoa.

Please note the difference between Scleractinia and Zoanthidea.
That shows they're not the same.

What about Actiniaria?
Are anemones corals? Nope, they are "flower animals".

I posted that to show how the term can be confusing.
Internet has lots of that all around.

Some of the sites do have good info though:
"The name comes from the Greek words άνθος (ánthos; "flower") and ζώα (zóa; "animals"), hence anthozoa = "flower animals", a reference to the floral appearance of their perennial polyp stage."
From:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthozoa

Thanks for the input. :thumbsup:
Cheers!
Grandis.

 

[Patwa]

OK, you don't get it. It's a generalization/specificity issue in your argument that is your problem. But that's OK.

FWIW, i'm not talking about anemones, why ask me if I think they're corals, too? lol

im talking about colonial polyp animals - corals...anemones have nothing to do with this

oh well.....let's agree to disagree before the nerd-o-meter goes off the scale

z

 

[A. Grandis]

I mentioned anemones (Actiniaria) because they are also under the Anthozoa (flower animals - mistakenly and generally named "coral"), just like the zoanthids (Zoanthidea) are.

I think the main reason they call Actiniaria corals is because there are many types of corals there (stony, soft, blue, organ-pipe, black).

Please note that Sea Pens, Sea Fans, anemones and zoanthids aren't corals.

We're talking about colonial anemones (zoanthids), not corals.

Zoanthids aren't corals.
They are classified in their own place, like the anemones are, and the corals too.
If one wants to use a "general" or "usual" name for their classification it should be "colonial anemones", not corals.

BUT, because of the great mess and billions of internet people giving the nickname "corals" to zoanthids, that is "acceptable" by many, but not correct.
I'm sorry.

Just like the cartoon names for the many zoa/coral species.
Acceptable as they are, probably indispensable for the market now.

But this is just a hobby.

Before we used to sick for the right nomenclature and that was the correct thing to do IMO. Now to preach the nick name is the deal.

It's aways good to expose our thoughts.
I'm not worried about trying to proof anything.

It's all good.
:thumbsup:

Grandis.