CARING FOR NPS (non-photosynthetic) CORAL!

In todays video, I give a brief overview of some of the most common non-photosynthetic corals found in the aquarium trade. Non-photosynthetic coral are completely aposymbiotic meaning they lack zooxenthellae and therefore are entirely dependent on supplemental feedings. The coral I mention are the black sun coral (Tubastraea micrantha), orange sun coral (Tubastraea faulkneri), yellow and red finger gorgonians (Diodogorgia nodulifera), and a Scleronephthya coral. Scleronephthya are commonly sold under the same names as the Dendronephthya genus which include: carnation coral, cauliflower soft coral, tree coral, flower tree coral, and orange soft tree coral. They appear similar with a few physical differences, however, care in the aquarium is often the same. Over the course of the video, I give an overview of the diet and feeding, water parameters, and placement for these corals. For many of these coral, phytoplankton make up a significant portion of their diet, if you’d like to watch a video on how to setup a phytoplankton culture you can watch the following video: https://youtu.be/2Pcc096ljL8?si=urH7sABL3GZtp4LE

Works cited:

Borneman, E. (2009). Aquarium corals: Selection, husbandry, and natural history. Microcosm Ltd.

Soft coral dendronephthya: Topics by science.gov. (n.d.). https://www.science.gov/topicpages/s/soft+coral+dendronephthya.html

Wijgerde, T. (2021, March 14). Experimental aquaculture of Dendronephthya corals. Reefs.com. https://reefs.com/magazine/experimental-aquaculture-of-dendronephthya-corals/

Wingerter, K. (2023, February 12). Carnation corals in the home aquarium: A new hope of success?. AlgaeBarn. https://www.algaebarn.com/blog/corals/carnation-corals-in-the-home-aquarium-a-new-hope-of-success/