FMC Zoanthus Alien Explosion 3-4 Polypen V

"FMC Coral Frags" Several branches from this coral are available. These animals differ only slightly in form. You will receive an offshoot similar to the animal depicted in the photo.

If you have any further questions, please check our Fauna Marin Support Forum and our  Fauna Marin Reefing Group at Facebook. Useful tips + tricks about marine aquaristics are available on our Fauna Marin YouTube channel. 

General information about Zoanthus corals:

• Scientific: Zoanthus sp.
• Common: Zoanthus
• Size:
  up to 1cm
• Temperature:
  75.2 °F - 80.6 °F (24°C - 27°C)
• Feeding: 
  Zooxanthellae / Light, 
  Liquid food, like the Fauna Marin Coral Plankton, as well as dust food like Coral Dust. 
• Tank:
  >50 Liter

Since the mid-2000s, crustacean anemones have experienced a strong growth in popularity due to their color diversity and their growth propensity.

Rather rarely, very special Zoanthus with names like "Rasta" and "Hornets" in extremely beautiful color combinations mostly come from the USA to the German saltwater specialist trade. In the USA a few hundred dollars are paid for a single rare crust, a new hype has arisen.

Usually crustacean anemones are easy to keep and do not require special care. They live mainly on light, but also on dissolved nutrients and small food particles. They also benefit from feedings such as dust foods.

They can therefore cope with both less and more light and often reproduce well. In many cases too well, so they may well become competition for slower growing corals.

Just about all crustose anemones are more or less poisonous, though most aquarists usually don't even realize it. Either it happens due to a very strong overstock in the aquarium, or due to human induced manual injury of the animal and contact. The poison Palytoxin has become known through the Palythoa / Protopalythoa species, published by the media, even on TV it was reported. We don't know any case which is connected with Zoanthus species, but we want to mention it. Therefore, always be careful when dealing with the Zoanthus species.

The keeping of Zoanthus corals is possible with today's technology, such as with the use of, for example, the Fauna Marin Balling Light method.

If you provide the right current, good lighting and the right water values, successful keeping with good growth and great colors is feasible in a marine aquarium.

In contrast to small poylp stony corals (SPS), which require rather lower nutrient values, the Zoanthus-corals usually still cope well with higher nutrient values.

Nevertheless, like LPS and SPS corals, they require clean and clear water. To successfully maintain corals in the long term, stable water and nutrient levels should be aimed for.
This can be well controlled with various phosphate adsorbers. With filtration via activated carbon, such as Fauna Marin Carb L long-life carbon, the water remains crystal clear. Phenols, protein compounds, dyes and nettle toxins are filtered out of the water and rendered harmless.  

Light intensity also affects the coloration and growth of the corals. At Fauna Marin Corals we successfully keep our corals under a mix of T5 tubes (50/50 white/blue), in combination with the LED lamps.

Important for the care of all corals is the constant maintenance of the salinity, as well as the use of a good sea salt, such as Fauna Marin Professional Sea Salt. The salinity should always be between 34/35 per mille, respectively 1.022 and 1.024 density. 

A regular check of the density is an absolute must in marine aquaristics. Our salt calculator helps to calculate the correct amount of salt.

Pay attention - especially in summer - to the temperature in the aquarium. Corals do not tolerate temperatures exceeding 30 degrees for longer periods of time.

We recommend a regular control of the water values with our ICP water analysis. 
Based on the results of the analysis, the water values can be adjusted correctly with the help of our dosage recommendations on our laboratory website.