Bubble Coral

by Darren

Underwater life can be deceptively benign. This is bubble coral which looks clean and nice and perfectly harmless. On doing some research I was really surprised to see that this is really quite aggressive and can be quite damaging to other corals in the area. When it is light the white polyps cover a hard ridged skeleton and create a pretty, solid structure. When the polyps are deflated they reveal sweeper tentacles which can reach out to steal the food and territory of other corals within the immediate area.

Sadly I’ve picked up most of this from aquarium keepers rather than any specific knowledge of the secret life of the bubble coral in its natural, wild, underwater environment. I hope that one day we’ll have this knowledge from marine life researchers rather than people who watch corals in a small tank in their living rooms.