Zoanthids
Zoanthus spp.
Vibrantly colourful and robust, Zoanthids are beginner-friendly colonial corals beloved for their endless array of fluorescent colour morphs.
Ideal Conditions
- Temperature
- 23 – 26 °C
- pH range
- 8.1 – 8.4
- Hardness
- 14 – 21 dGH
- Salinity
- 1.023 – 1.026 SG
- Adult size
- 1 – 3 cm
- Nano tank
- 20 litres+
- Lifespan
- 5 – 50 years
- Diet
- Photosynthetic and filter feeder
- Water flow
- Moderate
- Preferred setup
- Live rock or frag plugs for encrusting
About the Zoanthids
Zoanthids, affectionately known as 'zoas' in the aquarium hobby, are a cornerstone of marine reef keeping. These colonial anthozoans form mat-like encrustations over rockwork, presenting individual polyps that bloom in virtually every colour of the spectrum. Unlike stony corals, they lack a hard calcium carbonate skeleton, placing them within the hexacorallians. This structural simplicity makes them highly adaptable and remarkably forgiving of the minor water parameter fluctuations that often challenge novice reef keepers.
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Where Zoanthids comes from
Native range
Indo-Pacific, Caribbean Sea, Red Sea
Countries / regions
Australia, Indonesia, Fiji, Bahamas
Habitat
Shallow reefs, lagoons, and reef crests with high light and moderate flow.
Cosmopolitan distribution across tropical marine environments globally.
Similar species
Palythoa
Palythoa spp.
Yellow Colony Polyp
Parazoanthus gracilis
Green Star Polyps
Pachyclavularia violacea
We’re adding more full species guides as the catalogue grows.
Compatible tank mates
Reviewed guidance based on this species' recorded traits.
- Great
Ocellaris Clownfish
Amphiprion ocellaris
Completely reef-safe and will ignore the zoanthids, occasionally even adopting a large colony as a host in the absence of an anemone.
- Great
Skunk Cleaner Shrimp
Lysmata amboinensis
A peaceful invertebrate that safely scavenges around the coral colonies without damaging the polyps.
- Great
Yellow Tang
Zebrasoma flavescens
A strictly herbivorous fish that will diligently crop nuisance algae growing between the zoanthid polyps without harming the coral.
- Compatible with caution
Coral Beauty Angelfish
Centropyge bispinosa
Dwarf angelfish are notoriously unpredictable and may occasionally nip at the fleshy skirts of zoanthid polyps.
- Compatible with caution
Peppermint Shrimp
Lysmata wurdemanni
While useful for controlling Aiptasia anemones, hungry peppermint shrimp have been known to acquire a taste for zoanthids.
- Not recommended
Threadfin Butterflyfish
Chaetodon auriga
Butterflyfish are facultative or obligate coralivores and will actively graze on and destroy zoanthid colonies.
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