How much light and flow does Button polyps need?

Soft coral, medium light at roughly 80–150 µmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹ PAR, with medium flow. Light and flow must match: high light with weak flow burns tips, strong flow with weak light thins the tissue.

Will Button polyps attack neighbouring corals?

It releases chemicals that suppress its neighbours, worst in a small tank with weak flow and stale carbon. Increase flow, change carbon often, and place it downstream.

Does Button polyps need feeding?

Optional. It survives without feeding, but regular small doses improve growth and colour.

What water parameters does Button polyps need?

24–26 °C, specific gravity 1.023–1.026, 7–9 dKH, 400–450 mg/L calcium, 1250–1350 mg/L magnesium. That is only 2 dKH wide, so stability matters more than hitting a particular number.

Is Button polyps a good beginner coral?

Difficulty: beginner. Growth: fast. Place it in the foreground / midground. Spacing: it spreads fast, so give it its own rock; anything it touches is beaten by toxins and overgrowth together.

G-03 / 17Marine

Button polyps纽扣珊瑚

Zoanthus spp. · Zoanthidae

Button polyps: small polyps growing in mats, available in countless colour morphs — toxic, and an underrated aggressor.

Illustration to come

G-03 / 17 · Button polyps Zoanthus spp.

SpecificationsCoral atlas

Name: 纽扣珊瑚
Scientific name: Zoanthus spp.
Family: Zoanthidae
Origin: Shallow reefs and intertidal flats of the Indo-Pacific and the Caribbean
Type: Soft coral
Light: Medium light
PAR: 80–150
Flow: Medium flow
Aggression: Chemical toxins
Feeding: Optional feeding
Alkalinity: 7–9 dKH
Calcium: 400–450 mg/L
Magnesium: 1250–1350 mg/L
Salinity: 1.023–1.026 SG
Growth: Fast
Placement: Foreground / Midground
Level: Beginner

Water requirementsMarine

Temp.24–26 °C

pH8.1–8.4

Salinity1.023–1.026 SG

Alkalinity7–9 dKH

Units: temperature in °C, hardness in German degrees (dGH / dKH), marine salinity as specific gravity at 25 °C, volume in litres. These are the values recorded for the species and do not follow the site unit switcher.

Keeping notes

1Spacing: it spreads fast, so give it its own rock; anything it touches is beaten by toxins and overgrowth together.
2Flow: medium; in strong flow they clamp shut against the rock, and in weak flow they collect detritus.
3Feeding: optional — light is enough, though some morphs split faster with a little food.
4Water tolerance: extremely tolerant and a staple of beginner and frag tanks; wear gloves and eye protection when cutting, as some species carry palytoxin.
5Growth form: creeping coenenchyme spreads across the rock in mats — one of the corals that is easy to put in and hard to get out.

Frequently asked questions

How much light and flow does Button polyps need?: Soft coral, medium light at roughly 80–150 µmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹ PAR, with medium flow. Light and flow must match: high light with weak flow burns tips, strong flow with weak light thins the tissue.
Will Button polyps attack neighbouring corals?: It releases chemicals that suppress its neighbours, worst in a small tank with weak flow and stale carbon. Increase flow, change carbon often, and place it downstream.
Does Button polyps need feeding?: Optional. It survives without feeding, but regular small doses improve growth and colour.
What water parameters does Button polyps need?: 24–26 °C, specific gravity 1.023–1.026, 7–9 dKH, 400–450 mg/L calcium, 1250–1350 mg/L magnesium. That is only 2 dKH wide, so stability matters more than hitting a particular number.
Is Button polyps a good beginner coral?: Difficulty: beginner. Growth: fast. Place it in the foreground / midground. Spacing: it spreads fast, so give it its own rock; anything it touches is beaten by toxins and overgrowth together.