Zoanthids are anemone-like. Their polyps form upright, hollow columns crowned by tentacles around the mouth. Unlike anemone, they are colonial, their polyps being joined basally by a sheet-like coenenchyme, forming continuous carpets on subtropical and tropical shores.
Zoanthids capture tiny prey but, like corals, most depend on microscopic symbiotic algae (i.e., zooxanthellae) in their tissues for much of their nutrition.
