Zoanthid and Palythoa Coral Care Guide

This guide is structured for reef keepers who want the husbandry targets first, then the inventory. Use it to decide whether the coral fits your system before you buy or move it.

What this coral wants

Zoanthids and palythoas perform best when they stay clean, moderately fed, and free of nuisance pests. They can handle a wider placement window than many stony corals, but color and polyp count improve when nutrients stay measurable instead of stripped out.

At a glance

• Coral Type: Soft Coral
• Scientific Name: Zoanthus spp. / Palythoa spp.
• Care Level: Beginner to moderate
• Light: 80 to 150 PAR
• Flow: Moderate flow that keeps the mat clean
• Placement: Lower to mid-level with room to spread

Target water chemistry

These are Lunar Tide Aquatics holding targets for stability, then cross-checked against peer-reviewed coral physiology literature on flow, calcification, feeding, and nutrient stress.

• Temperature: 76.5 to 78.5 F
• Salinity: 1.025 to 1.026 specific gravity
• Alkalinity: 8.0 to 9.0 dKH
• Calcium: 400 to 450 ppm
• Magnesium: 1280 to 1380 ppm
• Nitrate: 5 to 15 ppm
• Phosphate: 0.03 to 0.10 ppm

Light, flow, and placement

Light: 80 to 150 PAR. Flow: Moderate flow that keeps the mat clean. Placement: Lower to mid-level with room to spread.

Provide enough flow to keep film algae and detritus from collecting between polyps. If the colony stays shut or looks irritated, inspect for pests before you start chasing chemistry.

For color-focused gardens, use placement to tune appearance rather than blasting every colony with maximum light. Many named zoas look better with a little nutrient support and a consistent, moderate energy environment.

Feeding and acclimation

Feeding: Optional fine foods or broadcast nutrition.

Acclimation: Move upward only if the colony is stretching and color remains strong.

What to watch

Stability target: Measured nutrients support color and polyp production.

Watch for: Nudis, spiders, algae overgrowth, and overly sterile water.

How Lunar Tide uses this guide

We use these ranges as decision support, not as random numbers to chase. Stable chemistry, predictable placement, and consistent observation usually outperform aggressive adjustments after a coral lands.

If you are ready to compare this husbandry target against what is currently available, browse the current Zoanthids & Palythoas. There are currently 21 pieces in that group.

Scientific references

• Jokiel PL (1978), Effects of water motion on reef corals
• Anthony KRN and Fabricius KE (2000), Shifting roles of heterotrophy and autotrophy in coral energetics under varying turbidity
• Houlbrèque F and Ferrier-Pagès C (2009), Heterotrophy in tropical scleractinian corals
• Holcomb M, Tambutté E, Allemand D and Tambutté S (2014), Light enhanced calcification in Stylophora pistillata
• Jokiel PL (2013), Coral reef calcification: carbonate, bicarbonate and proton flux under conditions of increasing ocean acidification
• Page TM, D'Angelo C, Wiedenmann J and Foster GL (2025), Changes in host gene expression patterns underpin responses of the coral Stylophora pistillata to nutrient stress