List of marine aquarium invertebrate species

This is a list of various species of marine invertebrates, animals without a backbone, that are commonly found in aquariums kept by hobby aquarists. Some species are intentionally collected for their desirable aesthetic characteristics. Others are kept to serve a functional role such as consuming algae in the aquarium. Some species are present only incidentally or are pest species.

Annelids

Common name(s)	Taxonomy	Reef safe	Care Level	Description	Max size
Christmas tree worm^[1]	Spirobranchus giganteus	Yes	Expert	Found living anchored in live coral colonies in nature. Each worm has two crowns, which come in a variety of different colors, and are spiraled in the shape of a Christmas tree.	5 cm (2.0 in)
Cluster duster^[1]	Bispira brunnea	Yes	Moderate	This species grows in groups of up to 100 individual tube worms, living together in a single clump. The clusters of tubes adhere to a rocky substrate at a central point.^[2]	2.5 cm (1.0 in)
Feather duster worm, Fan worm^[1]	Sabellastarte sp.	Yes	Easy to Moderate	A sedentary (but it can scoot around), tube dwelling worm with a fan-shaped crown (radiole) that projects from the end of the tube. This can be white, tan, orange, sometimes with striping. They build their tubes out of sand, mud, and bits of shell.	20 cm (7.9 in)

Arthropods

Cheliceratas

Common name	Image	Taxonomy	Reef safe	Care Level	Description	Max size
Atlantic horseshoe crab		Limulus polyphemus	Yes, with caution	Easy	A bottom dwelling animal that is actually not a true crab. Found burrowing in mud or sand flats in the wild, they need a deep sand bed in their aquarium.	60 cm (23.6 in)
Sea spider^[3]		Pycnogonids	No		Not collected for the aquarium trade, but occasionally seen on live rock and corals as a hitchhiker. They can be pests in a reef tank, preying on soft coral, sponges and anemones.	0.2–50 cm (0.1–19.7 in)

Crustaceans

Common name	Taxonomy	Reef safe	Care Level	Notes
Anemone crab	Neopetrolisthes maculatus	Yes	Easy	It lives in anemones. Also a filter feeder
Arrow crab	Stenorhynchus seticornis	with caution
Hermit crabs	Paguroidea sp.	Will eat snails	Easy
Emerald crab	Mithraculus sculptus	With caution?	Easy	May eat fish
Pom-pom crab	Lybia tessellata	With caution?	Easy?
Sally lightfoot crab	Percnon gibbesi	With caution?	Easy?
Spider decorator crab	Camposcia retusa	With caution?	Easy?	Will get some polyps to use for cover.
Spiny lobster	Panulirus versicolor
Brine shrimp	Artemia salina	Yes	Easy	Kept not as livestock, but rather to feed inverts and fish.
Sexy shrimp	Thor amboinensis	Yes	Easy
Snapping shrimp	Alpheidae sp.	With caution?		Will make loud snapping sounds.
Peacock mantis shrimp	Odontodactylus scyllarus	with caution	Easy	Will eat shelled things and possibly fish. Some people say they will redecorate their tank including moving corals but people have successfully kept them in reef tanks. Not a true shrimp but a stomatapod with the smashing raptorial appendage
Coral banded shrimp	Stenopus hispidus	Yes	Easy	Will eat small fish, in the wild they set up cleaning stations
Camel shrimp	Rhynchocinetes durbanensis	Yes	Easy?	Will nip on soft corals.
Harlequin shrimp	Hymenocera sp.	Will eat starfish	Moderate?	Will only eat starfish.
Peppermint shrimp	Lysmata wurdemanni complex	Yes	Easy	some people think they eat coral but only eat dying coral giving the appearance of eating healthy corals
Skunk cleaner shrimp	Lysmata amboinensis	Yes	Easy	Will clean dead tissue and remove parasites from fish.

Corals

Corallimorphs

Common name(s)	Taxonomy	Temperament	Care Level
Jewel anemone	Corynactis viridis
Knobbly mushroom coral, Florida false coral^[4]	Ricordea florida
Knobbly mushroom coral, Yuma mushroom coral^[4]	Ricordea yuma	Semi-aggressive	Moderate
Mushroom coral, Mushroom anemone, Disk anemone^[4]	Discosoma sp.	Semi-aggressive	Easy
Strawberry anemone	Corynactis californica

Hydrocorals

Common name	Image	Taxonomy	Temperament	Care Level	Description	Max size
Lace coral^[5]		Distichopora sp.
Fire coral^[5]		Millepora sp.

Large-polyp stony

Common name(s)	Taxonomy	Temperament	Care Level
Black sun coral^[6]	Tubastraea micrantha		Expert
Bubble coral	Plerogyra sinuosa	Aggressive	Easy
Candy cane coral	Caulastrea furcata	Peaceful	Easy
Elegance coral^[7]	Catalaphyllia jardinei	Aggressive	Moderate
Flowerpot coral	Goniopora sp.	Aggressive	Difficult
Frogspawn coral^[8]	Euphyllia divisa	Aggressive	Moderate
Hammer coral, Anchor coral^[8]	Euphyllia ancora	Aggressive
Lobed brain coral	Lobophyllia hemprichii	Semi-Aggressive
Open brain coral	Trachyphyllia geoffroyi	Semi-aggressive
Pineapple brain coral, Moon coral	Favia sp.	Aggressive
Sun coral, Orange cup coral^[9]	Tubastraea sp., often Tubastrea aurea	Peaceful	Expert
Torch coral	Euphyllia glabrescens	Aggressive
Whisker coral, Duncan coral^[10]	Duncanopsammia axifuga	Peaceful	Easy

Small-polyp stony

Common name	Taxonomy	Temperament	Care level	Description
Pink bird's nest coral^[11]	Seriatopora hystrix
Cauliflower coral	Pocillopora sp., usually Pocillopora damicornis
Dimpled encrusting Montipora	Montipora verrucosa
Finger coral^[12]	Montipora digitata and Montipora samarensis
Millepora coral, "Milli" coral	Acropora millepora	Peaceful	Moderate	A popular and readily available species that comes in many color forms. It should not be confused with fire corals of the genus Millepora.
Plating montipora	Montipora capricornis	Peaceful	Moderate
Staghorn coral^[13]	Acropora cervicornis	Peaceful	Difficult	A very rare species, it is generally not available to the average hobby aquarist due to its critically endangered status. It would make a good aquarium specimen, but can only be obtained with a special license.

Soft corals

Common name(s)	Taxonomy	Temperament	Care Level	Description
Cabbage leather coral	Sinularia brassica and Sinularia dura	Semi-aggressive	Easy
Clove polyps, Daisy polyps^[14]	Clavularia sp	Peaceful	Easy
Devil's hand leather coral	Lobophytum sp.	Peaceful to Semi-aggressive	Easy
Finger leather coral	Sinularia sp.	Semi-aggressive	Easy
Jasmine polyps, Daisy polyps	Knopia	Peaceful	Easy
Pulse coral, Pulsing Xenia	Xenia sp.	Peaceful	Easy	An easy to care for coral known for its prolific asexual reproduction and polyps that actively move their tentacles in a pulsing motion.
Red chili coral	Nephthyigorgia	Peaceful	Expert
Spaghetti leather coral	Sinularia flexibilis	Semi-aggressive	Easy
Star polyps^[14]	Clavularia viridis, Pachiclavularia viridis, or Briareum violaceum (taxonomy uncertain)	Peaceful	Easy

Zoanthids

Common name(s)	Taxonomy	Temperament	Care Level	Description
Stick polyps, Tree polyps	Acrozoanthus
Button polyps, Zoanthids, "Zoas"	Zoanthus	Semi-aggressive	Easy	Common, but pretty, coral that is a mainstay of the reef hobby. Their diversity of color is almost infinite, ranging from pale to full-on rainbow.
Button polyps, Palythoa, "Palys"	Palythoa	Semi-aggressive	Easy	Palythoa are nearly as ubiquitous as Zoanthus in the reef hobby. Their colors are usually more muted, but still attractive.
Button polyps, Protopalythoa	Protopalythoa	Semi-aggressive	Easy	Similar to Palythoa, these may actually be in the same genus due to taxonomic uncertainty.

Echinoderms

Sea cucumbers

Common name	Taxonomy	Reef safe	Care Level	Max size
Florida sea cucumber	Holothuria floridana
Pink and black sea cucumber	Holothuria edulis	Yes	Easy
Sea apple	Pseudocolochirus axiologus	Maybe	Expert	20 cm (7.9 in)
Tiger tail sea cucumber	Holothuria hilla
Yellow sea cucumber	Colochirus robustus	With care	Expert	7 cm (2.8 in)

Starfish

Common name(s)	Taxonomy	Reef safe	Care Level	Description	Max size
Blue and pink sea star	Astropecten sp.
Brittle star	Ophiomastix	Yes	Easy		60 cm (23.6 in)
Bun star	Culcita novaeguineae	With care?			30 cm (11.8 in)
Chocolate chip sea star	Protoreaster nodosus	No	Moderate?		30 cm (11.8 in)
Blue linckia	Linckia laevigata				30 cm (11.8 in)
Indian Sea Star	Fromia indica	Yes	Moderate		7.5 cm (3.0 in)
Mottled linckia	Linckia multifora				13 cm (5.1 in)
Little red star	Fromia elegans
Purple linckia	Linckia teres, or Tamaria stria	Yes	Difficult		20 cm (7.9 in)
Red Sea Star	Fromia millepora	Yes	Moderate		15 cm (5.9 in)
Red-knobbed starfish	Protoreaster linckii	No			30 cm (11.8 in)
Sand sifting sea star	Astropecten polyacanthus	Yes	Easy	Needs a large sandbed	20 cm (7.9 in)
Tiled sea star, marbled sea star	Fromia monilis	Yes	Moderate		15 cm (5.9 in)

Crinoids

Common name	Image	Taxonomy	Reef safe	Care Level	Description	Max size
Feather star		Himerometra robustipinna

Urchins

Common name(s)	Image	Taxonomy	Reef safe	Care Level	Description	Max size
Black longspine urchin		Diadema setosum
Collector urchin, Priest hat urchin, Sea Egg		Tripneustes gratilla
Globe urchin, Tuxedo urchin		Mespilia globulus
Slate pencil urchin		Eucidaris tribuloides
Purple short spine pincushion urchin		Pseudoboletia maculata
Red slate pencil urchin		Heterocentrotus mamillatus
Reef urchin, Rock boring urchin		Echinometra sp.
Variegated urchin		Lytechinus variegatus

Jellyfish

Common name	Image	Taxonomy	Reef safe	Care Level	Description	Max size (bell diameter)
Blue Blubber Jellyfish		Catostylus mosaicus	No	Expert	This jellyfish actually ranges in color from white to dark purple to reddish brown. It has a dome-shaped bell which pulses at a quick, steady pace, making these jellyfish strong, active swimmers.	25 cm (9.8 in)
Moon jellyfish		Aurelia aurita	No	Moderate to Difficult	A whitish to clear jellyfish with a large dinner-plate shaped bell. They have a fringe of short tentacles around the edge of the bell, and four longer oral arms extending from around the mouth.	50 cm (19.7 in)
Sea Nettles	Sea nettle (Chrysaora fuscescens) 2	Chrysaora sp.	No	Expert	Range in color from white to striped orange and brown to purplish. Long tentacles trail behind the bell, sometimes for several meters.	30 cm (11.8 in)
Upside Down jellyfish		Cassiopea sp.	No	Expert	This jellyfish has a somewhat green or grayish blue coloration due to symbiotic algae living in its tissues. It resides on the bottom, exposing its tentacles (and the algae inside them) to the light. very similar to coral in behavior	30 cm (11.8 in)

Mollusks

Bivalves

Common name	Image	Taxonomy	Reef safe	Care Level	Max size
Atlantic Thorny oyster	Spondylus americanus	Spondylus americanus			10 cm (3.9 in)
Bear paw clam		Hippopus hippopus
Blue clam, Boring clam		Tridacna crocea	Yes		15 cm (5.9 in)
China clam		Hippopus porcellanus
Electric flame scallop		Ctenoides ales	Yes
Flame scallop		Ctenoides scaber	Yes		3 in (7.6 cm)
Fluted giant clam		Tridacna squamosa	Yes	Moderate?	40 cm (15.7 in)
Flying scallop		Promantellum vigens
Gigas aka "Giant" clam		Tridacna gigas	Yes		120 cm (47.2 in)
Maxima clam		Tridacna maxima	Yes	Moderate	20 cm (7.9 in)
Southern giant clam		Tridacna derasa	Yes		60 cm (23.6 in)
Thorny oyster		Spondylus sp.

Gastropods

Common name	Image	Taxonomy	Reef safe	Care Level	Description	Max size
Abalone	LivingAbalone	Haliotis sp.	Yes	Easy		12 cm (4.7 in)
Arabian Cowrie		Cypraea arabica				10 cm (3.9 in)
Astraea snail		Astraea sp.	Yes	Easy		2.5–10 cm (1.0–3.9 in)
Bumble bee snail^[15]		Engina mendicaria	Yes	Easy		1.5 cm (0.6 in)
Cerith snail		Cerithium sp.	Yes	Easy		3.5 cm (1.4 in)
Gold ring cowrie		Cypraea annulus				5 cm (2.0 in)
Lettuce sea slug		Elysia sp., usually Elysia crispata	Yes	Moderate	A sacoglossan sea slug with folded parapodia (side appendages), that give it a lettuce-like appearance. They feed on algae, and incorporate algal chloroplasts into their cells. Color ranges from brownish to green, and can include blues, yellows, and pinks.	5 cm (2.0 in)
Nassarius snail		Nassarius sp.	Yes	Easy		2.5 cm (1.0 in)
Queen conch		Eustrombus gigas	Yes, but may knock over loose rocks and coral.			30 cm (11.8 in)
Sand conch		Strombidae
Sea Hare		Aplysiomorpha sp., usually Aplysia sp. or Dolabella sp.	Yes	Expert		4–10 cm (1.6–3.9 in)
Tiger cowrie,		Cypraea tigris				15 cm (5.9 in)
Turbo snail		Turbo sp.	Yes	Easy		5–10 cm (2.0–3.9 in)

Cephalopods

Common name	Image	Taxonomy	Reef safe	Care Level	Max size
Common tropical octopus	Octopus vulgaris2	Octopus vulgaris	No	Expert	Mantle: 25 cm (9.8 in) Arms: 1 m (3.3 ft)
Dwarf cuttlefish		Sepia bandensis	No	Expert	Mantle: 45 cm (17.7 in)
European common cuttlefish	Dwarf cuttlefish (Sepia bandensis)	Sepia officinalis	No	Expert	Mantle: 10 cm (3.9 in)

Sea anemones

Common name	Taxonomy	Reef safe	Care Level	Description	Max size
Aptasia	Aiptasia sp.	No		A common pest species in marine aquariums which spreads rapidly and harms corals and invertebrates with their sting. Can sting fish, but fatalities are rare. Notoriously difficult to eradicate, but a number of organisms can be used for control, including peppermint shrimp and Berghia verrucicornis.
Bubble-tip anemone	Entacmaea quadricolor	With caution	Moderate	A relatively easy to keep anemone species, it is very colorful, and has distinctive bubble-like swellings on the tips of its tentacles.	30 cm (11.8 in)
Condy anemone^[16]	Condylactis gigantea	With caution	Moderate	Common anemone species in the aquarium trade. The base color is usually brown to white, often with color on tentacle tips. Many color variations exist, including magenta, purple, yellow, and green.	15 cm (5.9 in)
Delicate sea anemone^[17]	Heteractis malu	With caution	Difficult	Also known as the malu anemone or white sand anemone. Color tipped tentacles reach 4 cm in length. This anemone should not be placed on a rock, it prefers a sandy substrate to bury its base in.	20 cm (7.9 in)
Long tentacled anemone	Macrodactyla doreensis	With caution	Moderate		50 cm (19.7 in)
Magnificent anemone	Heteractis magnifica	With caution	Expert	One of the most difficult anemone species to keep healthy in captivity.	1 m (3.3 ft)
Rock flower anemone	Phymanthus crucifer	With caution	Moderate
Tube anemone	Cerianthus sp.	Yes	Moderate	Not a true anemone (actinarian), but a member of the order Ceriantharia. Can make a very colorful aquarium specimen, colored with pinks, purples and sometimes shades of fluorescent green.

Sponges

Common name	Taxonomy	Reef safe	Care Level	Description
Ball sponge	Cinachyra allocladia	Yes	Expert
Branching vase sponge	Callyspongia vaginalis	Yes	Expert
Bee sponge	Acanthella sp.	Yes	Expert
Orange ball sponge	Cinachyra kuekenthali	Yes	Expert
Orange fan sponge	Axinella bookhouti	Yes	Expert
Red ball sponge	Dragmacidon lunaecharta	Yes	Expert
Red tree sponge	Amphimedon compressa	Yes	Expert
Pineapple Sponge	Sycon	Yes		Commonly regarded as a pest species

Tunicates

Common name(s)	Image	Taxonomy	Reef safe	Care Level	Description	Max size
Blue lollipop tunicate^[18]		Nephtheis fascicularis	Yes	Expert		7.5 cm (3.0 in)
Golden sea squirt, Ink-spot sea squirt^[18]		Polycarpa aurata	Yes	Moderate		15 cm (5.9 in)

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Sprung, Julian (14 August 2002). "Aquarium Invertebrates: Featherdusters In The Aquarium". Advanced Aquarist. Pomacanthus Publications, LLC. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
^ "Cluster Duster (Bispira brunnea)". AquariumDomain.com. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
^ Goemans, Bob. "Marine Spiders (Sea Spiders)". saltcorner.com. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
^ ^a ^b ^c Sprung, Julian (14 October 2002). "Aquarium Invertebrates: Mushrooms, Elephants Ears, And False Corals: A Review Of The Corallimorpharia". Advanced Aquarist. Pomacanthus Publications, LLC. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
^ ^a ^b Borneman, Eric. "Venomous Corals: The Fire Corals". Reefkeeping Magazine. Reef Central, LLC. Archived from the original on 3 November 2014. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
^ de Vries, Joost (10 October 2012). "Tubastraea micrantha, the Black Sun, is the most majestic Azoox coral". Reef Builders. Reef Builders, Inc. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
^ "Elegance Coral". FishChannel.com. I-5 Publishing, LLC. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
^ ^a ^b Fatherree, James W. (3 October 2012). "Aquarium Corals: Corals of the Genus Euphyllia". Advanced Aquarist. Pomacanthus Publications, LLC. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
^ Fatherree, James W. (14 December 2011). "Aquarium Corals: A Look at the Sun Corals". Advanced Aquarist. Pomacanthus Publications, LLC. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
^ Hanley, Charles J. "Why Duncan, Your Whiskers are Tickling my Corallite!". QualityMarine.com. Quality Marine. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
^ Thein, Than. "The Perfect Beginner SPS Coral: Seriatopora (Bird's nest)". Saltwater Smarts. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
^ Dana Riddle. "Montipora digitata: A Stony Coral for All Hobbyists". Advanced Aquarist. VII (January 2008).
^ "Staghorn Coral". Animal-World.com. Animal-World. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
^ ^a ^b Fatherree, James W. "The Stoloniferans: Clove Polyps, Star Polyps, and Pipe Organ Corals". Saltcorner. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
^ "Bumblebee Snail". Microcosm Aquarium Explorer. Microcosm, Ltd. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
^ "Condy Anemone - Condylactis gigantea". Fishlore.com. Fish Lore.com. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
^ "Delicate Sea Anemone". Animal-World.com. Animal-World. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
^ ^a ^b Fatherree, James W. "An Introduction to Tunicates". Reefs.com. Reefs Magazine. Archived from the original on 14 December 2014. Retrieved 14 December 2014.

Alderton, David (2005). Encyclopedia of Aquarium and Pond Fish (Second ed.). DK Publishing, Inc. pp. 286–297. ISBN 9780756636784.
Lougher, Tristan (2008) [First Published 2007]. What Invertebrates?: A Buyer's Guide for Marine Aquariums. What Pet? Books Series. Barron's Educational Series, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7641-3741-9. LCCN 2006933016.

[featherduster-1] Sprung, Julian (14 August 2002). "Aquarium Invertebrates: Featherdusters In The Aquarium". Advanced Aquarist. Pomacanthus Publications, LLC. Retrieved 14 December 2014.

[2] "Cluster Duster (Bispira brunnea)". AquariumDomain.com. Retrieved 14 December 2014.

[3] Goemans, Bob. "Marine Spiders (Sea Spiders)". saltcorner.com. Retrieved 26 November 2014.

[Advanced_Aquarist-4] Sprung, Julian (14 October 2002). "Aquarium Invertebrates: Mushrooms, Elephants Ears, And False Corals: A Review Of The Corallimorpharia". Advanced Aquarist. Pomacanthus Publications, LLC. Retrieved 4 December 2014.

[firecoral-5] Borneman, Eric. "Venomous Corals: The Fire Corals". Reefkeeping Magazine. Reef Central, LLC. Archived from the original on 3 November 2014. Retrieved 13 December 2014.

[10_October_2012-6] Vries, Joost (10 October 2012). "Tubastraea micrantha, the Black Sun, is the most majestic Azoox coral". Reef Builders. Reef Builders, Inc. Retrieved 10 December 2014.

[7] "Elegance Coral". FishChannel.com. I-5 Publishing, LLC. Retrieved 13 December 2014.

[Euphyllia-8] Fatherree, James W. (3 October 2012). "Aquarium Corals: Corals of the Genus Euphyllia". Advanced Aquarist. Pomacanthus Publications, LLC. Retrieved 4 December 2014.

[9] Fatherree, James W. (14 December 2011). "Aquarium Corals: A Look at the Sun Corals". Advanced Aquarist. Pomacanthus Publications, LLC. Retrieved 4 December 2014.

[10] Hanley, Charles J. "Why Duncan, Your Whiskers are Tickling my Corallite!". QualityMarine.com. Quality Marine. Retrieved 13 December 2014.

[11] Thein, Than. "The Perfect Beginner SPS Coral: Seriatopora (Bird's nest)". Saltwater Smarts. Retrieved 13 December 2014.

[12] Dana Riddle. "Montipora digitata: A Stony Coral for All Hobbyists". Advanced Aquarist. VII (January 2008).

[13] "Staghorn Coral". Animal-World.com. Animal-World. Retrieved 13 December 2014.

[Stoloniferans-14] Fatherree, James W. "The Stoloniferans: Clove Polyps, Star Polyps, and Pipe Organ Corals". Saltcorner. Retrieved 4 December 2014.

[15] "Bumblebee Snail". Microcosm Aquarium Explorer. Microcosm, Ltd. Retrieved 23 November 2014.

[16] "Condy Anemone - Condylactis gigantea". Fishlore.com. Fish Lore.com. Retrieved 27 November 2014.

[17] "Delicate Sea Anemone". Animal-World.com. Animal-World. Retrieved 28 November 2014.

[Tunicates-18] Fatherree, James W. "An Introduction to Tunicates". Reefs.com. Reefs Magazine. Archived from the original on 14 December 2014. Retrieved 14 December 2014.

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