Soft Coral

ID points

• No stony skeleton, soft and springy to the touch
• Swells with water in strong current and shrinks when it is still
• Surface densely covered in polyps, each with eight feathery tentacles

Basics

Family

Alcyonacea

Length

20–100 cm

Depth

1-50 m

Regions

Indo-Pacific reefs · Caribbean & W. Atlantic

Distribution

Tropical coral reefs worldwide

Habitat

Current-swept tropical reefs

Diet

Plankton

Easily confused with

Giant ClamTwo heavy wavy shell edges clamped tight onto the reefSea FanA fan-shaped mesh skeleton growing perpendicular to the currentTube-dwelling AnemoneLives in a long soft tube of its own making

Fun fact

It has no hard limestone skeleton; tiny internal spicules and water pressure hold the body up between them. Wonderfully varied in colour, it sways with the current and is the loveliest decoration on the reef.