Cnidarians - Corals

Anthozoa includes what animals?

Corals, anemones

Anthozoa have absence of a:

Medusa stage

Anthozoa body form

Polyp

Anthozoa spawners have what yearly?

Mass spawning event

What is the mass spawning event dependent on?

Specific lunar cycle

Once settled, Anthozoa take up what

Zooxanthellae

Anthozoa brooders release larvae that can do what

Settle immediately

How do larvae find a “perfect location” to settle?

Chemoreception

Name the types of Anthozoan asexual reproduction

Budding, fragmentation

Sublass Hexacorallia: Many ______ around the mouth opening, multiples of __

tentacles, 6

Subclass Hexacorallia: sea anemones are _____ while true stony corals are _______

solitary, colonial

What do the terms hermatypic and ahermatypic mean?

Hermatypic: reef-building, warm water. Ahermatypic: occur also in cold water

Subclass Octocorallia: Polyps have ___ tentacles and ___ complete septa

8

Octocorallia: soft corals polyps may be embedded in what?

Mesoglea

Sea fans, whips, pipe corals are colonial species with:

skeletal support (secreted by cells in mesoglea)

Octocorallia have tissues that accumulate _______ ___________ derived from fatty acid metabolism– protect from predation and overgrowth by others

noxious biochemicals

Best ways to prevent coral diseases?

Excellent quarantine and husbandry

Important considerations for coral husbandry

Lighting, stable water chemistry, water movement (species dependent), tank mates, feeding, life support

What PAR do you want for corals?

500-800

Ideal pH for corals

8.0 - 8.2

Ideal temperature for corals

74 - 78 F

Ideal salinity for corals

30 - 35 ppt

Ideal calcium level for corals

400 - 450

Ideal alkalinity for corals

8 - 11 dKH

Ideal ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates for corals

0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, 0-10mg/L nitrates

What other trace elements are important for corals besides calcium? Why?

Phosphate: fundamental for cellular processes, support zooxanthellae

Magnesium: prevents calcium and carbonate from binding prematurely