Nidaliidae is a

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

soft corals Octocorallia, along with Hexacorallia, is one of the two extant classes of Anthozoa. It comprises over 3,000 species of marine and brackish animals consisting of colonial polyps with 8-fold symmetry, commonly referred informally as "soft cora ...

in the phylum

Cnidaria Cnidaria ( ) is a phylum under kingdom Animalia containing over 11,000 species of aquatic invertebrates found both in fresh water, freshwater and marine environments (predominantly the latter), including jellyfish, hydroid (zoology), hydroids, ...

. Some members of this family are similar in appearance to gorgonians (sea fans). They are difficult to keep in the

reef aquarium A reef aquarium or reef tank is a marine aquarium that prominently displays live corals and other marine invertebrates as well as fish that play a role in maintaining the tropical coral reef environment. A reef aquarium requires appropriately i ...

because they do not contain

symbiotic Symbiosis (Ancient Greek : living with, companionship < : together; and ''bíōsis'': living) is any type of a close and long-term biolo ...

zooxanthellae Zooxanthellae (; zooxanthella) is a colloquial term for single-celled photosynthetic organisms that are able to live in symbiosis with diverse marine invertebrates including corals, jellyfish, demosponges, and nudibranchs. Most known zooxanthell ...

and therefore need to be fed on

zooplankton Zooplankton are the heterotrophic component of the planktonic community (the " zoo-" prefix comes from ), having to consume other organisms to thrive. Plankton are aquatic organisms that are unable to swim effectively against currents. Consequent ...

. Others, in the genera ''Agaricoidea'', ''Nidalla'' and ''Pieterfaurea'', more resemble members of the family

Nephtheidae Nephtheidae is a Family (biology), family of Alcyonacea, soft corals in the phylum Cnidaria. Members of this family are known as carnation corals, tree corals or colt soft corals. They are very attractive and show a wide range of rich and pastel ...

and these are somewhat easier to keep in the aquarium.The Soft Corals, Order Alcyonacea; Use In Reef Aquariums
Wet Web Media. Retrieved 2014-02-11.

Genera

The World Register of Marine Species includes the following

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

in the family: *'' Agaricoides'' Simpson, 1905 *'' Chironephthya'' Studer, 1887 *'' Nephthyigorgia'' Kükenthal, 1910 *'' Nidalia'' Gray, 1834 *'' Nidaliopsis'' Kükenthal, 1906 *'' Orlikia'' Malyutin, 1993 *'' Siphonogorgia'' Kölliker, 1874

References

Cnidarian families Taxa named by John Edward Gray Alcyoniina {{Octocorallia-stub