Sun corals

[bear27]

Just a couple of questions

1. Do sun corals sting like other corals

2. When feed ing them do you have to feed each head or are they all conected and a couple is enouf

[LostMind]

I dunno about the sting.

I've heard that if the sun coral is healthy then you dont have to feed each mouth. but if the flesh is receding, you have to feed each mouth individually...

[EmilyB]

They are each individual animals, unlike many other polyped corals. At first, yes, make sure they are all fed. In a mature, well fed, tank, they all compete equally, much like the rest of your corals.

[Chad]

Originally Posted by bear27

Just a couple of questions

1. Do sun corals sting like other corals

I am not sure if this is considered "stinging" but it does seem to be some sort of self defence. My green suncoral has these long yellow strands that attached to nearby corals or if there is some sort of tissue damage they seem to converge on that spot.. They seem to come from nowhere.. really interesting actualy. If the strands are in contact with a coral you can tell that the offending coral does have some tissue damage from the yellow stingers (?).

Has anyone else noticed this before?

[Samw]

I remember reading that Sun corals have strong nematocysts in Eric Boreman's book. Also, the fact that the polyps are quite sticky and that this coral is non-photosynthetic and has large polyps and likes to eat meat might indicate that there are lots of nemotocysts.

http://www.fishprofiles.com/interact...d.asp?id=26209

"Aggressiveness: Medium – High. Although slower growing than a lot of other corals, Tubastrea polyps contain powerful nematocyst cells that are capable of stinging other corals that are within their reach."