Why and How Leather Corals Shed

The Second Phase of Shedding

Leather Coral Shedding - Second Phase

Photo © Debbie and Stan Hauter

In the second phase of shedding, here you can clearly see a thin, slimy-like membrane peeling away from the surface of the Toadstool Mushroom Leather Coral. In the area where sloughing already occurred, the coral's polyps started to come out again.

This and the next picture were taken about an hour apart.

• Why and How Leather Corals Shed
• The First Phase of Shedding
• The Second Phase of Shedding
• The Second Phase of Shedding Continues
• The Shedding Process Completed