Living corals have been on Earth for more than 240 million years and are related to sea anemone and jelly fish.
Living corals are difficult to keep and require good water quality. The National Aquarium uses filtration systems involving UV sterlisation and protein skimming for this purpose. Behind the scenes there is a mini propagation area where coral cuttings are grown for replacements which helps avoid the difficult process of importing new corals. Some soft corals wander about the reef. These soft corals are colonies of polyps without a hard skeleton. As coelenterates,
living corals are related to jellyfish and sea anemone. The reef is home to many creatures: sponges, anemone, mollusks, bryozoans and fish. Our collection changes regularly.
Anemones have stinging cells in their tentacles to stun their food – and most fish are considered potential food.
Anemone fish exude mucus which protects them from the poisonous stings of the anemone, and receive protection from predators while within the tentacles of their host. In return the anemone benefits by sharing some of the food brought to it by the fish. Example: Clown (Amphiprion oscellaris) Brightly coloured and will scuttle back to their host anemone when frightened. This fish is the star of the hit Disney movie ‘Finding Nemo’.
