‘Purple Death Palythoas are a popular and widely available palythoa colour morph. They have an electric purple face with a light blue skirt. Like most palys, they have fairly large polyps and have short stalks that cause them to protrude from the rockwork, rather than sitting flat against the rock like zoanthids. They are a colonial coral and grow by budding, with each polyp being connected to the others in the colony by a fleshy tube. While many palythoas will secrete a slime coat when stressed, the Purple Death Paly is said to have a particularly toxic slime coat so care should be taken when handling them.
Palythoas are found throughout the world’s oceans, but are most commonly collected from the waters of Fiji, Tonga and the Great Barrier Reef. While all morphs of palythoas were initially wild collected, the vast majority of what is available for sale in the reefing hobby today is aquacultured. This has a number of advantages, including reducing stress on natural ecosystems as well as reducing the likelihood of introducing pests into the tank. Palythoas are found in a wide variety of aquatic habitats, but in a home aquarium they are most commonly placed on rock islands on the substrate. This helps to prevent them from taking over the main rockwork.
Like other types of palythoa, the Purple Death variety prefers moderate to low lighting. Placing them on a rock island on the substrate is usually a good way to ensure that they are receiving the appropriate levels of lighting. If the coral appears to be “reaching” towards the light it may be an indication that it is not receiving enough light. Flow should be strong enough to prevent detritus from settling on the coral, but not so strong that the polyps are blown around aggressively. Flow that is too strong may cause the polyps to remain closed, which interferes with feeding.
All palythoas are photosynthetic, but they can be fed foods such as Reef Roids or Vitalis Soft Coral food. This will help to increase their growth rate and may improve colouration.
Propagating palythoas is a bit of an art form since they do not have a branching skeleton that can be cut. One common method is to encourage the coral to grow over a piece of rubble rock or frag disc that can then be removed. Regardless of what method is used, it is a good idea to wear gloves, eye protection and possibly a mask because some species release a potent toxin when handled.
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