Fun Birds Nest Coral Facts For Kids

Birds nest coral, also known as needle coral or finger coral, is a member of the large family of corals. These animals are found in coral reefs at medium depths and are part of the aquatic ecosystem that can be found in oceans.

Birds nest corals have been often taken from their natural habitats and places in reef tanks and aquariums to create natural living conditions for pet species and serve as natural water filters. These corals co-exist with other tank mates and take advantage of the symbiotic relationships as fish and crab species will shape their growth.

As of now, these corals are listed as a Least Concern species on the IUCN Red List and continue to thrive in their natural habitat range. However, overfishing, mining, drilling, and other human interference that causes the destruction of their natural habitats may cause them to become endangered or even vulnerable to extinction.

If you like these true facts about birds nest coral, you can read other articles about fire coral and soft coral too!

Birds Nest Coral Interesting Facts

What type of animal is a birds nest coral?

A bird's nest coral, also known as finger coral or needle coral, is a small stony polyp coral, more commonly known as SPS corals by the aquarist community.

These species are one of the easiest aquatic SPS corals that you can add to your reef tank as they have an easy coral care guide and can be broken off to form new thin sections that can thrive in your reef aquarium given they are provided with the best lighting conditions.

What class of animal does a birds nest coral belong to?

Birdsnest coral belongs to the Anthozoa animal class or categories. The Anthozoa class of animals includes aquatic invertebrates in the shape of sea anemones, soft corals, and stony corals. This class of corals and anemones are mainly used as decorations or hiding spots for fish in a large reef tank.

How many birds nest corals are there in the world?

The population estimation of the birdsnest coral, also known as birds nest coral or bird's nest coral, is currently unknown. Like most SPS corals, the birdsnest coral, too, can thrive in proper water conditions by feeding on minute organisms that often come close to them after getting caught in the water flow in their habitats.

As a result of this vast population distribution, bird's nest corals are thought to have a stable population.

Where does a birds nest coral live?

Bird's nest corals are found hugging the shallow reef and upper reef slopes and can be found at a depth of 20-115 ft (6-35 m). They are known to thrive along the coast of Africa, Mauritius Islands, near Madagascar, the Red Sea, and the Cocos Island Ridge. They are also found near Australia and Lord Howe Islands.

What is a birds nest coral's habitat?

Bird's nest corals are marine animals and are found in marine ecosystems, especially reefs, where they thrive by feeding on the remnants of fish food. Their maturity is dependent on the water movement as a high water flow will help them in spreading out their branches to take the form of a finger coral or a needle coral.

These species of corals can also thrive in a tank or aquarium setup provided they are given the best coral case available to them in the form of good lighting and water flow.

Who does birds nest coral live with?

Bird's nest corals have a symbiotic relationship with marine animals as they often provide protection to small marine species as a nest.

The Gall-forming crab species (Hapalocarcinus marsupialis), particularly the female crab, has a symbiotic relationship with these nest corals as the crab often shapes the coral by cutting off bits and pieces of the branches to create a safe haven for the egg-laying and mating process.

The growth of the nest coral, is in this way, controlled by other symbiotic species.

How long does a birds nest coral live?

The lifespan of the bird's nest coral is unknown. This species will often outlive newer additions in an aquarium if they are provided with good care.

How do they reproduce?

The bird's nest coral is one of the species of corals that can reproduce in sexual and asexual methods. However, in captivity, sexual reproduction is uncertain as aquarists often frag larger corals in the aquarium to create small colonies.

Corals tend to reproduce once or twice every year by releasing eggs and sperm into the water. The egg and sperm come together to form a larva which is known as a planula.

The growth of bird's nest coral can often be triggered accidentally as the thin branches that these corals have often break during movement in the aquarium, forming in the creation of newer branches that form a new colony.

If you want to create new growth of this coral species in your tank or aquarium setup, you can do so easily by cutting branches off healthy sections of the coral and gluing the frag to a rock. Make sure you glue the frag sideways for proper growth.

What is their conservation status?

The bird's nest coral is listed as a species of Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. This is because they are a popular addition to reef tank or aquarium setups and growing them is easy if the proper birds nest coral care guide is followed.

All you need for them to thrive in your tank or aquarium is proper lighting, water flow, and non-invasive species around them.

Due to this ease of access, the bird's nest coral is abundant in its native habitats and continues to thrive by feeding off of small invertebrates.

Birds Nest Coral Fun Facts

What do birds nest coral look like?

Bird's nest coral is an arborescent species, meaning they grow like trees and have several branches that come together to form one large colony of corals. In their wild habitat range, the growth of these branches is dependent on the water flow, as they take the direction of said water flow.

Strong water movements help in the creation of thicker branches. These corals form an intertwined nest with twisted branches and will fuse together.

The thin branches are pointed in the form of needles or can be blunt depending on the water flow that is available to them.

In a tank or aquarium setup, the growth of the bird's nest coral is depending on their living conditions, i.e., water flow, lighting, feeding pattern.

This coral comes in various color tones and can be yellow, green, brown, pink, or orange, and in some cases, they can be a combination of the colors.

How cute are they?

It would be tough to call the bird's nest coral cute cuz they do not have any specific cuteness factor that applies to them. They are more like decorations in your tank or aquarium setup, albeit beautiful decorations.

How do they communicate?

Bird's nest coral, like other members of the coral genus, communicate with each other or nearby symbiote using chemical signals to send out a distress call when in danger.

To attract fish and other smaller aquatic species, they use chemical signals or smells.

How big is a birds nest coral?

Bird's nest coral, in the wild, grow up to 12-18 in (30.8-45.7 cm) in size, this size can be controlled in a reef tank by fragging them and creating smaller colonies out of the larger corals.

At greater depths, the bird's nest coral can often be seen sporting thinner branches compared to the ones at a lesser depth range.

Bird's nest coral can grow from a piece of frag into a mature specimen in a period of about 14 days.

How fast can a birds nest coral move?

The movement speed of the bird's nest coral is unknown.

How much does a birds nest coral weigh?

The weight of bird's nest coral is unknown.

What are the male and female names of the species?

Most members of the coral genus are hermaphrodites, meaning they produce both the male and female reproductive cells. As a result of this hermaphrodite nature, these corals cannot be divided into male and female, and hence, no particular name is assigned to separate the sexes.

What would you call a baby birds nest coral?

A baby coral is called a coral. Baby coral has the appearance of tiny jellyfish babies and floats near the water surface before they find a habitable place in the water column as they attach themselves to a hard surface.

What do they eat?

Bird's nest corals can often survive without artificially induced feeding as they feed on the algae living inside them via photosynthesis.

However, since they are animals, they do need to feed, and this can be done by dropping small amounts of food in their direction. Feeding responses can be triggered by dropping the food near their branches as these branches extend themselves in the search for sustenance.

They will also feed on food particles dropped by other aquatic animals that share the living space.

Are they poisonous?

No, these corals are not poisonous. Bird's nest corals are a non-aggressive species and do not like to instigate any sort of reaction from the residents they share their living space with.

However, it is necessary to provide ample room for them to grow without disturbance as a closed space will cause them to outgrow the tank or aquarium and in the process, unwillingly hurt other tank mates.

Would they make a good pet?

Yes, provided you follow all the instructions that are provided with the birds nest care coral manual!

Did you know...

There are more than 6000 species of corals that are further divided into 119 genera!

Corals can often take the shape of flowers and mushrooms, with most genus taking the form of a tree.

Corals are important to the ecosystem as they are natural water filters and help in reducing the effects of natural disasters, such as storms or floods on land. Corals are also used in human treatment, as they are effective in treating cancer and heart diseases.

The coral exoskeleton has also been used as a substitute bone graft in the process of regrowing human bone.

Corals are often preyed on by multiple species of fish, like parrotfish, snails, and sea slugs.

Why is my bird's nest coral turning white?

Bird's nest corals often change colors and the most common occurrence is them turning white. If your coral is turning white, it is the result of too much light directly affecting your coral, which leads to the flesh being burned and the formation of algae growth.

Do birds nest corals encrust?

Bird's nest coral does not encrust. Dead branches will continue to exist.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other Anthozoa from our brain coral facts and sea anemone facts pages.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable coral coloring pages.

Second image by Nick Hobgood.