Do soft corals produce excrement?

[itsacrispy]

Hi all,

I know this is a weird question, but do soft corals (or any coral for that matter) produce waste? For instance, do corals like Xenia produce waste, or are they 100% efficient in the use of the nutrients they take in?

Thanks,

Mike

 

[A_Lee]

I don't think any coral is 100% efficient, in that they don't produce any net waste. The water currents we provide in our tanks are what whisks away any metabolic wastes our corals produce. Without sufficient water movement corals end up literally drowning in their own waste.

 

[itsacrispy]

Thanks A_Lee. I figured as much, I don't know enough in the way of coral mechanics to see how they excrete waste.

 

[A_Lee]

I believe a lot of this metabolic waste is recycled by their zooxanthellae, and the rest released into the water column, sometimes via mucous.