Sun coral

Care at a glance

The sun coral is one of the few corals without symbiotic algae: it does not live on light but entirely on food it captures itself. By day it sits on the rock as a closed cluster of orange buds; when it senses food it unfolds into a bouquet of radiant yellow polyps.

That is exactly what makes it labour-intensive: every polyp wants to be fed individually, several times a week. Place it in a shaded spot, preferably upside down under an overhang, and use a pipette or feeding dome so fish do not snatch the food away.

Good to know

• Hard to wean onto dry food
• Active at night

Related species

• Black sun coralTubastraea micranthus
• Chalice coralEchinophyllia sp.
• Elegance coralCatalaphyllia jardinei
• StylophoraStylophora pistillata
• Cynarina coralCynarina lacrymalis
• PocilloporaPocillopora damicornis