Tubastraea micrantha often referred to as the black sun coral
The black sun coral is non-photosynthetic, meaning that they do not derive the majority of their energy from light, instead relying on capturing prey as their energy source. In the wild this means that Tubastraea micrantha will hunt for drifting zoo plankton by expanding their polyps, stinging any zoo plankton floating by.
Captured food is then transferred to the manus of the sun coral where the food is then digested, nutrients are absorbed, and any waste is excreted.
The main reason most black sun corals are closed during the day, is that zooplankton is most densely available during the night, and from the corals perspective it is just a waste of valuable energy to keep the polyps open when no food is being captured.
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