Articles tagged: corals
- Deep dive
Coral heterotrophy and the science of feeding
A deep dive into how much heterotrophy really contributes to a coral — why it has been underestimated, what a coral actually retains from food (nitrogen and fatty acids, not carbon), how digestion works, and how fish excretions feed corals. Recent peer-reviewed research (Communications Biology 2025, Aquaculture Nutrition 2025) and what it means in the aquarium.
- Deep dive
Zooxanthellae and the coral symbiosis
A deep dive into the relationship between a coral and its endosymbiotic algae: the biology and genera of Symbiodiniaceae, nutrient exchange and light-enhanced calcification, regulation of symbiont density, the mechanism of bleaching and the scientific debate around it — and what all of it means in the aquarium.
- Basics
Lighting — the role of light in a reef aquarium
Why corals need light, what PAR and DLI mean in practice, and how to choose the right lighting level for different coral types.
- Basics
Temperature — the invisible foundation of a stable reef
Why temperature is one of the most critical reef aquarium parameters, what the target range means in practice, and how temperature fluctuation affects corals.