So, what do corals eat? There are many different types of corals. Generally speaking, the larger polyps eat larger prey while Gorgonians eat detritus and zooplankton. The following table lists some common coral foods. Learn about the different types of foods and which ones your corals prefer. You’ll also learn how to make a variety of food sources that corals will accept.
Larger polyps eat larger prey
Polyps feed on phytoplankton, which are microscopic organisms that live in seawater. These organisms require nutrients from the water to survive. In addition to phytoplankton, larger polyps eat bacteria and viruses. Generally, larger polyps are smaller than their prey, but they can grow up to two meters in diameter. These polyps have a ring of muscles around the opening of their mouth.
These animals eat tiny critters that float in the sea, such as plankton and algae. Coral polyps extend their stinging tentacles to catch these critters and digest them inside the mouth. They feed in colonies. During the day, they retract their tentacles, which stun their prey. A single polyp can eat many different types of prey.
The majority of cnidarians are carnivores, and most of them use their cilia to capture food. However, some species do not use their tentacles to chase after their prey. In addition, sessile polyps feed on organisms that come into contact with their tentacles. And colonial corals with minute polyps feed on particulate matter that is impelled to their mouths by their cilia.
Hydrozoan corals eat zooplankton
Known for their voracious appetites, hydrozoan corals feed on a variety of marine organisms, including copepods, algae, and zooplankton. Their tentacles are loaded with powerful cnidocytes and nematocysts, which may cause rashes and intense burning sensations when touched. They contain two different types of polyps: gastrozooids and dactylozooids, with the latter being much longer and more powerful.
Hydrocorals and scleractinian corals both feed on zooplankton. While the rates of these prey consumption are similar, the patterns of capture vary with flow rates. For instance, Acanthogorgia vegae consumes zooplankton optimally at a flow rate of 8 cm s-1.
The proportion of fish bites is significantly higher in corals with hydrozoans, although this may be because Drupella gastropods crawl on the surface to feed. This would put them in contact with poisonous hydrozoan carpets. Possibly, this could explain the lower incidence of skeletal eroding band disease, since less fish are able to bite them, leaving them less exposed to infections. As such, hydrozoan predation by corals is a likely explanation for the reduced incidence of disease.
However, it should be noted that the association between corals and hydrozoans is comparatively recent. It may have been overlooked in the past due to their small size, making detection more difficult. Further, patterns of host specificity between corals and hydrozoans suggest a long-standing co-evolutionary history. The first step is to identify what the exact relationship between corals and hydrozoans is.
Gorgonians eat detritus
Although some people consider gorgonians hard to care for, these creatures can thrive when given the right conditions. They can survive without detritus if they’re anchored to a substrate that’s able to provide brisk, moderate water movement. This helps them to get rid of waxy film and algae, which can build up on their surfaces. Surge devices and turbulent water flow are the best methods of getting rid of waxy film.
Gorgonians can reach lengths of more than one meter in the wild. Most species have thick cylindrical branches with large, fuzzy polyps. They start off as single rods that branch out in a single-planed candelabra pattern. Because they are so resilient, gorgonians can survive a great deal of movement, but if they get too big, they can be pruned with scissors.
The protein in gorgonians’ skeleton contains a significant amount of iodine, so they need supplemental feeds of the mineral to meet their iodine needs. The problem with having too much iodine in the water is that it kills the bacteria in biological filters. In addition to detritus, gorgonians need the light and healthy water flow to survive.
