Many people set up saltwater aquariums and most of them prefer to decorate their tanks by placing some corals in it. Do you know that coral is not a plant but an animal? Just like the way you treat other living things, coral should be taken care of under the same manner. Before purchasing it, you should know how to take care of it. You should have a full knowledge about this beautiful animal by the time you make your decision to add it up to your saltwater aquarium.

The most common species of coral that are used in aquariums are called bubble coral. Due to the fact that they are so common, we will use this species as a guideline. Within the bubble coral family, there are three subspecies. They are simple bubble coral, pearl bubble coral and grape bubble coral. They are all cared for in the same way, so they will be referred to as bubble coral throughout the rest of the article.

One of the most important things to know about is how to space them when you put them in the tank. There are long stinging cells tentacles in each bubble coral. In most cases, they keep them closed till the time they are fed. If they are too close, they may hurt their neighbor coral by stinging them. You have to be aware of this case when locating corals in your tank. It is recommended to keep them apart by least 6-inch away.

Not only should the placement, the available lighting where they're placed also be taken into account. Bubble coral will be good in the aquarium if you have sufficient light sources beside the tube in the hood, considering to place the coral near the surface would be even better. Bubble coral love slower water movement. Don't place it in any direct current, it will keep coral's vesicles remain closed which will cause it to death in the long run.

One thing you've got to remember is that coral is a livening animal and should be fed just as your fish do. It is recommended that feed it few pieces of clam or shrimp once or two times on a weekly basis. Place the food morsels on the polyp of the coral. Any food will be eaten almost immediately when it is trapped by the tentacles or among vesicles. Don't overfeed weather it is fish or coral. Algae are harmful to your lovely coral, it is a pest that may damage or even kill your coral. You should set up a schedule, follow up and clean your aquarium regularly. By doing so, the amount of algae will be controlled. Flat worms are another type of thing that will do harm to your coral. Flat worms can be detected by your eyes with ease. They always appear as circular spots on the coral's vesicles. But they do less harm than algae. Nevertheless, you still should keep alert when they reach to a significant amount since a large population of these worms can also cause death.

Before adding coral to your tank, it is important that you should learn all the things you can. Most people don't know how to take care of this type of animal but it is surely an amazing addition to any tank. If you are able to take a good care of it, coral will certainly make your tank a beautiful aqua paradise.