1. Home
  2. Home & Garden
  3. Saltwater Aquariums
Stan & Debbie Hauter

Stan & Debbie's Saltwater Aquariums Blog

By Stan & Debbie Hauter, About.com Guides to Saltwater Aquariums

Corals Need More Than a Lot of Light

Wednesday September 9, 2009

Rick Herring's Sunflower Coral
Contrary to popular belief, a vast majority of corals are not autotrophic, requiring only light to survive. Autotrophs produce their own food from inorganic material they extract from their surrounding environment, usually using sunlight to synthesize it with the aid of zooxanthellae algae. Giving your corals some extra food can really perk them up and increase their reproduction rate.

More: Exactly What Do Corals Eat?? Corals, for the most part, are carnivorous, feeding mostly on small animals (zooplankton) suspended in the water column of the ocean ...

More: When Do Corals Eat?? You might be surprised... While you are sleeping, guess what your corals are doing?

Photo © Rick Herring

Comments

June 25, 2008 at 7:54 am
(1) Weng Demuth says:

I have just set up a reef aquarium,and still learning about salt water…
I notice that some of my live rocks are turning white,Why is that?and what can i do to prevent it,is it dying?

July 2, 2008 at 4:49 pm
(2) Elena says:

Hi Weng,

I’m assuming when you say “just set up” that it is still going through the cycling process. You didn’t give much info about your tank, gallon size, lighting, living inhabitants or quality of your water. Do you have any cleaning crew? I think that your tank is exactly where it should be and in a few weeks you will see the coralline that has turned white will grow its color back. Don’t do ANY water changes or substrate clean ups while your tank is still cycling. A good cycle will probably be at around 3 months. Hope this helps some.

October 14, 2008 at 11:49 pm
(3) Fish Lover says:

Hi guys, I would like to say thank you for this wonderful article. It will help me alot in aquarium keeping.

Sincerely,
John
aquatropicalfish.com/forum/index.php

Leave a Comment

Line and paragraph breaks are automatic. Some HTML allowed: <a href="" title="">, <b>, <i>, <strike>

Explore Saltwater Aquariums

About.com Special Features

Home Allergy Center

Banish mess, reduce allergens, and maintain a clean, healthy home. More >

Home Improvements Made Easy

Inspirational ideas and expert tips to help you pull off your next DIY project. More >

  1. Home
  2. Home & Garden
  3. Saltwater Aquariums

©2009 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company.

All rights reserved.