Gobstopper

Gobstopper is a Palythoa strain that packs a candy-shop palette into one large polyp: a red face, a blue-purple centre and a yellow mouth area. The layers of colour really do recall a jawbreaker changing shades as you work through it. It is a tier 1 paly, widely known and widely kept, because few strains stack three strong colours this cleanly without turning muddy as the colony grows out.

Care

Place Gobstopper low to mid in the tank under medium light with medium flow through the mat. It is an easy keeper that prefers measurable nutrients; zoanthids sulk in ultra-clean water, and big paly polyps in particular stay deflated when food is scarce. Keep alkalinity stable and let it settle. Expect fast growth from a happy colony. Handle with gloves and eye protection when fragging (palytoxin caution).

Keeping and spread

This strain spreads quickly as a connected mat, and fast palys need room: give it about 2 in of space, or its own rock, so it does not overrun and smother slower neighbours. Aggression is moderate, expressed mostly through fast coverage. Fragging is done by cutting the mat between polyps and mounting the section on a plug or rubble, where it will usually attach and resume spreading promptly.