Yellow Zoanthid (Terrazoanthus sp.)

Yellow Zoanthid Terrazoanthus sp.
Name	Yellow Zoanthid
Name Lat.	Terrazoanthus sp.
Synonym	Parazoanthus gracillis
Family	---
Family lat.	Hydrozoanthidae
Order	Zoanthids
Order lat.	Zoantharia
Origin	Western Pacific
Diet	Autotrophic, planktivore
pH	8.1-8.4
Hardness	6-10 °KH
Lighting	Medium
Current	Moderate
Behavior	Semi-aggressive
Keeping	Colony
Care Level	Easy
Life Span	5-10 years
Protection	No
Metric Units
Size	2-4 cm
Temperature	22-27 °C
Salinity	33-36 ‰
Aquarium	150 l
US Units
Size	0.8"-1.26"
Temperature	72-81 °F
Salinity	1.020-1.025 sg
Aquarium	40 gal

Distribution and habitat

The distribution area of Terrazoanthus sp. is the Java Sea (Indonesia) and the western Pacific Ocean. They colonize rocks and dead corals on shallow water reefs with moderate currents. There they often form dense polyp cushions. The yellow to grayish-yellow corals usually originate from mariculture.

Maintenance

They should be positioned in a place with medium light intensity and moderate, alternating current. A reef structure of live stones that also act as a biological filter provides the necessary habitat for the animals. Only lime-rich, heavy metal-free substrates may be used as substrate

To ensure water quality, filters, skimmers and heaters are necessary, as well as pumps to simulate tides, swells and bottom currents. Lighting must match the species-appropriate day-night rhythm of the animals

Salinity: 33-36 ‰	pH value: 8.1-8.4
Carbonate hardness: 6-10 °KH	Nitrate content: 2-8 mg/l
calcium content: 420-450 mg/l	Nitrite content: 0.0-0.05 mg/l
Magnesium content: 1.250-1.350 mg/l	phosphate content: 0.01-0.1 mg/l

Regular addition of trace elements, especially iodine, is recommended. For salinity, an average value should be aimed for, which may only vary slightly by +/- 0.5 ‰. Ammonia and ammonium must not be measurable. Special attention shall be paid to consistently good water quality and water values.

Diet

They feed mainly on plankton and small particles collected from the water current. In addition to the food produced in the aquarium during fish feeding (mysis, krill, Artemia, etc.), commercially available supplementary food in the form of phyto- and zooplankton should be offered regularly. Zooxanthellae, which are unicellular symbiotic algae, live in their tissues and provide them with assimilation products of their photosynthesis (light requirement). The zooxanthellae promote growth and provide additional nutrition

Regular and varied feeding avoids deficiency symptoms.

Behaviour and compatibility

They live in large colonies and can be well socialized with fish that do not consider them food. A sufficient distance must be kept from corals to avoid encrustation.

Reproduction and breeding

Their asexual reproduction takes place by budding, loose polyp aggregates are carried away with the current and settle elsewhere. Reproduction by fragmentation is quite possible. For this purpose small stones are placed at the edge of the colony and after their overgrowth the junction is separated

Important

Due to their reproduction by budding, uncontrolled spreading in the aquarium may occur, displacing other sessile invertebrates (e.g. stony corals). When removing crustose anemones, make sure that all tissue remnants are also removed to prevent further spreading. Newly introduced animals must be acclimated slowly to the water in the aquarium. If different species are kept together, make sure that fish and invertebrates match each other in terms of water quality and temperature requirements, as well as their social behavior, and that the setup meets the ecological needs of all species kept together

Further literature can be found in your pet store.

References

Text: Werner Winter; Image: petdata

Source: BAENSCH & DEBELIUS (2006): Meerwasser Atlas Bd. 1, Mergus Verlag; KNOP (2013): Lexikon der Meeresaquaristik, Natur und Tier - Verlag; ENGELMANN & LANGE (2011): Zootierhaltung - Tiere in menschlicher Obhut: Wirbellose, Verlag Harri Deutsch