Lemon Lime Star Polyps Coral

Lemon Lime Star Polyps are colonial octocorals characterized by small star-shaped polyps that extend from a spreading mat. This WYSIWYG specimen displays bright fluorescent yellow to lemon-colored centers with greenish tentacles and vivid yellow tips, creating a strong lemon-lime appearance under reef lighting. Each extended polyp has eight tentacles, consistent with octocoral anatomy, and the colony can gradually spread across nearby hard surfaces under favorable aquarium conditions. These polyps contain symbiotic zooxanthellae that provide much of their nutritional needs through photosynthesis, while they can also capture very fine suspended organic material. Based on appearance alone, species-level identification is not reliable, so a conservative designation such as Star Polyps, Pachyclavularia sp. is appropriate.

Care Guide: Pachyclavularia sp. is generally hardy and well suited to beginner and intermediate reef aquariums. Provide low to moderate lighting and moderate, indirect water movement that keeps the polyps gently moving without being continuously blasted. Because star polyps can spread rapidly across adjacent rockwork, placement on an isolated rock can help control growth. Maintain stable temperature, salinity, alkalinity, calcium, magnesium, nitrate, and phosphate. Most nutritional requirements are supplied through photosynthesis, though the colony may also benefit from dissolved nutrients and very fine suspended foods. Keep the colony free of detritus and nuisance algae, particularly along the growing mat.