Orange sun coral is an absolutely breathtaking coral that will no doubt be one of your favorite additions to any reef tank. This coral may be delicate, but it’s also hardy and well worth all of the work that goes into keeping it healthy. The polyps on this coral resemble sunbursts or sunflowers, so the coral is also sometimes referred to as the Sunflower Coral.
Orange sun coral is a large polyp coral with stars at the end of each tubular extension. While the skeleton is extremely delicate, once it has been placed in the tank, there should be no issues. As little handling as possible of this coral is recommended. This particular coral may not open up during the day, but when the polyps yawn during the night, they are spectacular.
There are some difficulties to raising this coral however. The initial hurdle is actually receiving the coral with no problems. It is difficult to ship because it is so delicate. Another issue is feeding. This coral isn’t photosynthetic, so it’s going to need to be fed several times each day. More particularly, each polyp on the coral must be fed individually. Owners recommend an eye dropper for this onerous task. An interesting fact about this coral is that in the wild, it grows upside down because that is the easiest way to catch food. Pretty cool, huh?
A few other things about orange sun coral that you should be aware of are especially it’s living conditions. As mentioned earlier, this coral isn’t photosynthetic, so little to no light is necessary. The coral requires only medium current to thrive. There are also several things you should watch for in regard to the coral’s health. Be on the watch for hair algae, because it can easily kill the coral. You should also be aware that when purchasing orange sun coral parasitic nudibranches and Wentletrap snails will often hitch a ride. Keeping the coral in a quarantine tank for several days should allow you to get rid of these nasties.
Do you have experience with an orange sun coral? If so, let me know by posting a comment today!