My Clementine

My Clementine is a Zoanthus strain of small polyps in solid orange, face and skirt alike, like a patch of tiny tangerines growing on the rock. The small polyp size is part of its identity: colonies form a fine, dense orange carpet rather than a few large heads, and the colour is warm and citrus-bright. It is a tier 2 strain, a go-to orange for zoa gardens where it often supplies the pure orange note other patterned strains only hint at.

Care

Place My Clementine in the bottom to middle of the tank under medium light with medium flow through the mat. It is easy and fast growing in water with measurable nutrients; zoanthids sulk in ultra-clean water, and small polyps can seem to vanish when a colony is starving and staying closed. Keep alkalinity stable, keep detritus from settling in the dense mat, and a settled colony should carpet outward steadily.

Keeping and spread

This strain spreads fast by mat growth, its small polyps filling in tightly as the edge advances. Allow about 2 in of space around it, and more foresight than the tiny polyps suggest: a fast, moderately aggressive mat can cover and smother slower neighbours before you notice contact. Frag by cutting the mat between polyps, lifting a section, and mounting it on a plug where the small heads can heal and multiply.