polyps?!?

[ohioreef]

I've read several posts that refer to polyps and certain animals eating them. This may sound stupid, but just exactly what is a polyp? Are they visible or are the pretty small?
Thanks,
Gary

 

[fender]

Technically all corals have/are polyps.
But generally when someone refers to polyps they mean zooanthids, they are also called button polyps.
GSP are green star polyps.

 

[dreeves]

A polyp is a portion of the tissue of living coral which the animal uses to filter and otherwise gather food for itself along with other means...usually the polyp extends out from the coral main structure and is generally what give a particular coral its beauty...
Corals are generally seperated into two classes...LPS (Large Polyp Stony Coral) and SPS (Small Polyp Stony Coral). The primary differences between the two are the SPS polyps generally have their own digestive tract per animal where as the LPS will have a central stomach which all polyps feed and receive nutrients from.
This is a very short description of the two...and I am sure others will add to and take away from it...as I am no marine rocket sceintist...just a hobbyst...

 

[ohioreef]

Thanks for the explanation. I was thinking that maybe they were "seeds" or something like that.