The "People Eater"

[gitsoe]

Hi, I would like to know what makes a people eater a "People Eater"?
Also does anyone know how many PEs are out there? i would love to collect them all!
Thanks

[Sar]

I think its four colors: Red, Purple, Black and Green PE's. At least that all the colors I have seen.

[MikeandNicole]

A people eater has a green "mouth" in the middle of them. They are also bigger than a typical zoa (but are not a paly). There are dozens of varities of people eaters out there, the classics being the purple, red, orange, and green. It seems a lot of them come out of Hawaii. Here is a quick link with some of the more exotic ones:

http://www.zoacollector.com/wysiwyg.html

[gitsoe]

Originally Posted by MikeandNicole

A people eater has a green "mouth" in the middle of them. They are also bigger than a typical zoa (but are not a paly). There are dozens of varities of people eaters out there, the classics being the purple, red, orange, and green. It seems a lot of them come out of Hawaii. Here is a quick link with some of the more exotic ones:

http://www.zoacollector.com/wysiwyg.html

Oh i always thought they were palys...

[MikeandNicole]

They are called people eater palys but they are not palys. It is a very very common misconception, I forget exactly what the scientific name is.

[ficklefins]

Zoanthus gigantus - All shots in here are molecularly confirmed as Z. gigantus - enjoy! These are known in the reefkeeping world as "people eaters". Like Z. sansibaricus lots of morphological variation within this group, but white vertical stripes on the outside of the polyp, massive polyps (compared to other Zoanthus spp.), and a fluoro green mouth slit are all nice hints that you're dealing with Z. gigantus.

http://zoaid.com/index.php?module=Ga...g2_itemId=2459

[SUGO]

Great question, I've always wondered myself.

Since they are not Palys, can they morph with Palys? I placed my PE's with Palys(assumed PE Palys would morph with other Palys).

[ficklefins]

Originally Posted by SUGO

Great question, I've always wondered myself.

Since they are not Palys, can they morph with Palys? I placed my PE's with Palys(assumed PE Palys would morph with other Palys).

Have you seen any evidence that zoas can "morph" with other zoas? It would be an interesting read.

[gitsoe]

gotchya! so only people eaters show white streaks when the polyp is closed ?

[ficklefins]

Originally Posted by gitsoe

gotchya! so only people eaters show white streaks when the polyp is closed ?

Nope, it isn't a cut and dry IDing method. Some zoas (non-PE) will have white watermelon streaks on the stalk but no green mouth and vice versa. But if your zoa has both than you are that much closer to having a PE.

[XSharkboyX]

Originally Posted by gitsoe

gotchya! so only people eaters show white streaks when the polyp is closed ?

You are not ever really going to get an adequate answer here... As it seems there are exceptions to every rule, of the "naming fad"...

"People Eaters' are just a silly name someone came up with for marketing purposes of Zoanthus gigantus. You said yourself, you would like to "collect them all..." I will sum it up for you, "True People Eaters" are the ones people are sellling as "True People Eaters" Strictly for marketing purposes, they are all Zoanthus gigantus.

Think of it in terms of Zoanthus gigantus, and you will be all set. There are literally thousands to millions of morphs of Zoanthus gigantus. Some of which have not even been discovered yet I am sure.

Here is a nice little real life senario that i hope drives the point home for you. Last week I picked up a colony of 350 polyps of Zoanthus gigantus at my LFS. I knew they had potential so I said "bag em up." The $30 price tag was enough to make up my mind for me. Upon arriving home and placing the polyps under good lighting, they opened. The polyps are all bright red, with a neon green mouth. My lfs did not call them "people eaters" as this description is no where in an id book, they called them zoanthids.

[rogersb]

Originally Posted by XSharkboyX

... Last week I picked up a colony of 350 polyps of Zoanthus gigantus at my LFS. I knew they had potential so I said "bag em up." The $30 price tag was enough to make up my mind for me...

You mean 35 polyps? I would imagine the rock for 350 would be worth more than $30.

[XSharkboyX]

Originally Posted by rogersb

You mean 35 polyps? I would imagine the rock for 350 would be worth more than $30.

No, I meant it as it was originally posted. 350 polyps on a single rock. That is almost unheard of anymore with all the chop shops these days.

[MDP]

It's a shame. Thankfully the chop shop mentality doesn't apply over here. I managed to pick up a Magician colony with over 50 polyps on for $35 yesterday; a colony with 50+ blue hornets and the same of purple hornets for $30 last month. That said, you do have some crazy colours in the US, quite jealous of the selection.

[gitsoe]

Originally Posted by MDP

It's a shame. Thankfully the chop shop mentality doesn't apply over here. I managed to pick up a Magician colony with over 50 polyps on for $35 yesterday; a colony with 50+ blue hornets and the same of purple hornets for $30 last month. That said, you do have some crazy colours in the US, quite jealous of the selection.

wow thats a deal! i paid about $100 for a colony of 50+ happy people eaters