#button coral

[akettleoffish]

Theres a flesh creature in my tank.

[libutron]

Button Coral - Zoanthus sp.

Marine zoanthids are soft corals widely dispersed throughout the temperate and tropical littoral regions of the Indic, Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Diverse species of these organisms produce a wide array of metabolites, some of which have unique structures and possess significant biological activities. In particular, from the genus Zoanthus (Zoantharia - Zoanthidae), different research groups have isolated a series of alkaloids, known as zoanthamines, from which different biological effects, including anti-inflammatory, antiplatelet and antiosteoporotic activities, have been investigated.

References: [1] - [2] - [3]

Photo credit: ©Andrew Schram | Locality: tank aquarium (2009)

[aquaticcastle-blog-blog]

A Guide to the Corals and Other Reef Inhabitants

A Guide to the Corals is a long-term, ongoing, project where I profile individual corals in blog posts.  This post will be the index for the guide.  It will contain links to all the previous posts in this series and tie them together into one page.  There will be a link to this index page in the sidebar of the Aquatic Castle Blog.

If you know the name of the coral you are looking for, just hit control F and search for it.  Otherwise You can brows the thumbnails.  

Blastomussa Merleti, Pineapple Coral

Catalaphyllia, Elegant, Elegance, or Wonder Coral

Cynarina, Button Coral, Cat’s Eye

Duncanopsammia Axifuga, Duncans

Echinophyllia Aspera, Chalice Coral

Euphyllia Divisa, Frogspawn

  Favites and Favia, War Coral

Goniopora, Flowerpot Corals

Gorgonian, Sea Fan

Lobophylia, Brain Coral

Montipora Capricornis, Caps 

Mushrooms, Discosoma 

Pachyclavularia, Star Polyps

Protopalythoa Grandis, Polyps or Button Polyps

plerogyra and physogyra, Bubble Coral

Sarcophyton, Toadstool Leather coral

Tubastrea, Sun Coral

Zoanthids 

Other Reef Inhabitants

Clownfish, Black & White Ocellaris

Stichodactlya Tapetum, Mine Max Carpet Anemone

Much of the information in this guide comes from personal experience.  Some comes from the reading of Book of Coral Propagation edition 2.  by Anthony Calfo

The photos in this guide are all taken by me in tanks cared for by me.  Most were taken with either an HTC Evo or a Cannon PowerShot SX110.  Some were taken with a Samsung moment.  Cell phones do extremely well with very close, macro photos.  Lighting is usually 10000k florescent mixed with either 420 or 460nm actinic blue or Blue LED moonlights, which I suspect to be in the 420nm area of the spectrum.  Sometimes the camera flash is used.  

[aquaticcastle-blog-blog]

Coral Profile: Button Coral, Cynarina

From the Store:

Great for Beginners and experts alike

These large inflatable polyps are fun to feed and watch as they change shape every night and day cycle.  They come in a variety of colors.  The ones offered here are purple with maybe a hint of green in places.  During the day the polyps inflate like several little balloons.  At night, they shrink up and stick out their feeding tentacles.  In a soft current, cynarnia warble around.    They multiply by breading and producing larva and are not a good species for fragging.That said, a single polyp can grow to a foot in size, so they are capable of growth in your tank.  Once established they are hearty coral with good survivability rates. 

To see them warble around, watch this video.

Lighting: Medium light is all that is required for cynarnia.  A lot of their energy can come from large meals. 

Feeding: Although they have symbiotic algae in them, they like meaty food dropped on them regularly.  Regular feeding is especially important if you have low lighting in your tank.   Cynarina like to eat at night but can be fed during the day.  The presence of fish or shrimp juice in the water will cause them to release their feeding tentacles.  The half-inch long tentacles are hidden under the inner circle surrounding their mouths.  Another daytime feeding option is to just shut your pumps off and drop some food directly on them.  If you chose this method, be careful not to disturb them with water currents from syringes, or even your hand.  This will cause them stress and they will take a defensive posture that is not good for feeding.  A feeding prong may be an option to get food on them without disturbing them.  Sometimes the hole, in which their mouth sits, is large enough to cover the current and food can be placed there without tentacles or shutting off pumps.  They can take on larger food than other corals, such as pieces of raw shrimp (not orange) or fish from the grocery store but they are opportunistic eaters and will also eat zooplankton or substitutes. Sometimes after feeding them, they seem to be asking for more.  After feeding them, they take on a different shape which is more disc-like and rigid.   

Placement: Cynarnia can be placed anywhere that meets their lighting and water flow requirements.  Be sure to allow room between them and other corals because they may cover nearby corals when they grow.  They can be placed on the substrate or a stable rock.  Be sure not to place there were they can’t be damaged by cleaning equipment, by falling, or by other corals. 

Water Flow: Some water current is important for their growth as it brings them food and causes them to warble for display but cynarnia are sensitive to strong current.

Above: Their nighttime look: Deflated with feeding tentacles out. 

To see other corals in this series click the link in the side bar that says, A Guide to the Corals and Other Reef Inhabitants. 

                                 Nov 18th, 2011 1:07pm

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