Zoanthus sp. (Button Polyp)

Source: liveaquaria.com

QUICK STATS

• Care Level: Easy
  
• Temperament: Semi-aggressive
  
• Lighting: Moderate to High
  
• Waterflow: Medium
  
• Placement: Middle to Top
  
• Water Conditions: 72-78° F, pH 8.1-8.4, sg 1.023-1.025
  
• Color Form: Red, Tan
  
• Origin: South Pacific
  
• Family: Zoanthidae
  
• Insert Date: 10 July 2009

The Zoanthus Button Polyp Corals are also referred to as Sea Mats, or Colonial Polyps. Their most common color is green, but are also found in other colors, such as light pink to lavender. They are colonial animals with multiple individual polyps attached to a piece of live rock.
These polyps have the ability to sting other polyps or corals. While the sting is not strong, they are semi-aggressive and need to have space between their colony and any neighbors since they tend to crowd them out. They are easy to maintain, making them a good choice for beginner reef aquarists. They require a high light level combined with a medium water movement within the aquarium. For continued good health, they will also require the addition of iodine and other trace elements to the water.

They will reproduce easily in the reef aquarium by budding (splitting off a portion of their base or mouth), which will increase the size of their colony.

They contain the symbiotic algae zooxanthellae which provide almost all of their nutritional requirements. Especially if the lighting is not optimal, they should be fed micro-plankton or baby brine shrimp.

Links:
http://www.fishlore.com/coral/zoanthids-button-polyps.htm

The rock with buttons and mushroom moved a little more to the left.

2 months ago we bought several small rocks with buttons and mushrooms. This rock also came with a bunch of buttons and one purple mushroom. In the two months the buttons expended rapidly, especially in the last 2 weeks. The mushroom seems to have given up, can’t be found underneath the buttons anymore. Maybe he detached and moved or something, who knows…time will tell.

Someone in our aquarium doesn't like the buttons and where they are located. This evening I found it on the sand for the second time. I've put it back again, see how it goes

The rock fell down again, this time it was our fault. My wife knocked it over when trying to inject the Anemones with boiling water. No permanent damage seems to have occured.

The rock keeps getting knocked down, but it doesn’t seem to bother much. Not that it is growing much, but it’s staying strong.

Seems that the Kenya Tree below is giving a bit of a problem.

I cut off the Kenya Tree located underneath the orange buttons. It was messing with the buttons too much. There is still a piece remaining, so I’m sure it will grow back. But till then the buttons can grow again, and by that time hopefully I don’t have any Kenya Tree fragments left.

Rock been thrown down again!

I went to investigate why all the buttons on the sand where doing so poorly, well…I found out. All the rocks with buttons on the bottom had bristleworms on them, some of them where pretty large as well. All where bright red with a part black on them. I started removing them one by one from each of the button rocks. Unfortunately this rock keeps getting thrown down in the sand.

Since it got thrown down every time I decided to place it somewhere else. It's now located next to the Toadstool.