Polyps, and buttons and GSP's...oh my.

[SeanT]

Three quick questions.

1. Are yellow polyps, button polyps, GSP's all considered zoanthids?

2. Do yellow polyps sting corals, mushrooms etc.?

3. Do other Zoo's sting?

[Eric Boerner]

1. GSP is not a Zoanthid sp. It comes from the Genus Clavularia, Family Clavulariidae, Order Stolonifera (Pipe Corals).

Yellow polyps and button polyps are not true Zoanthids, but they do come from the same Order Zoanthinaria (Sea Anemones).

Button Polyps (Palythoa sp) come from the Family Sphenopidae, and yellow polyps (Parazoanthus gracillis) come from the Family Parazoanthidae. Where Zoanthids come from the Family Zoanthidae.

2. Yellow polyps are the lowest on the agression chart. Your mushrooms (specifically ricordea) will sting your yellow polyps. In most cases, zoanthid types are very communal with most corals and will grow around them.

3. Zoos don't sting. They are the lowest on the totem pole.