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Rarely seen in the pet industry, I was able to acquire 4 of these corals. At this point I only have 3 for sale as i would like to study its behavior. Its similar to a Balanophyllia, but it stands alone on the sand floor of the ocean. They form an almost “shell” shape to the bottom of the corals.
These fascinating little corals share a common characteristic of having a symbiotic association with a small invertebrate called a sipunculid or peanut worm, which gives the corals mobility and the ability to stay on the surface of the soft sediments in the environment where they live. The symbiotic association begins when the larval coral settles on a small snail shell as the first phase of the coral’s adult life. As the coral grows and its skeletal deposition nearly engulfs the shell, the peanut worm takes up residence inside the shell and through its own activity maintains a channel through the coral skelton to the outside. By the eversion and retraction of its feeding proboscis into or onto the soft sediment, the peanut worm can move the coral to a new position and keep it from being buried.
Here is what they look like!
If you would like to purchase one of these, please visit our online store at www.fragexpress.com
These fascinating little corals share a common characteristic of having a symbiotic association with a small invertebrate called a sipunculid or peanut worm, which gives the corals mobility and the ability to stay on the surface of the soft sediments in the environment where they live. The symbiotic association begins when the larval coral settles on a small snail shell as the first phase of the coral’s adult life. As the coral grows and its skeletal deposition nearly engulfs the shell, the peanut worm takes up residence inside the shell and through its own activity maintains a channel through the coral skelton to the outside. By the eversion and retraction of its feeding proboscis into or onto the soft sediment, the peanut worm can move the coral to a new position and keep it from being buried.
Here is what they look like!
If you would like to purchase one of these, please visit our online store at www.fragexpress.com
