How long can coral be out of water

Q: How long are corals OK in a bag?

The corals will be fine for 12, 24, 36 hrs. Youre actually better off with less water in the bag.

Because of strict environmental restrictions, coral reefs generally are confined to tropical and semi-tropical waters.

Coral reef locations around the world. Download

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Because of strict environmental restrictions, coral reefs generally are confined to tropical and semi-tropical waters.
Can coral reefs survive out of water?
How long can coral be exposed to air?
How long can a coral stay closed?
How long are corals OK in a bag?

Reef-building corals cannot tolerate water temperatures below 64° Fahrenheit (18° Celsius). Many grow optimally in water temperatures between 73° and 84° Fahrenheit (23°–29°Celsius), but some can tolerate temperatures as high as 104° Fahrenheit (40° Celsius) for short periods.

Most reef-building corals also require very saline (salty) water ranging from 32 to 42 parts per thousand.

The water must also be clear so that a maximum amount of light penetrates it. This is because most reef-building corals contain photosynthetic algae, called zooxanthellae, which live in their tissues. The corals and algae have a unique relationship. The coral provides the algae with a protected environment and compounds they need for photosynthesis. In return, the algae produce oxygen and help the coral to remove wastes. Most importantly, zooxanthellae supply the coral with food. The algae need light in order to produce food via photosynthesis.

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05-18-2005, 06:03 PM

midol

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Can corals survive out of water?

For more than 10minutes or so? I want to get some but i dont want to carry a big bucket of water in the cars so if i just had it out of water for 10 minutes or so would it die? How about if i used a spray bottle and kept spraying it?

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05-18-2005, 06:09 PM

electrikat

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They will bag them at the store and put them in a box for you. If not you could put them in a tupperware container with a lid. I definitely would not recommend keeping them out of water and spraying would be just as messy as a bucket would be.

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05-18-2005, 09:48 PM

fishfreek

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Many corals will do fine out of the water for short periods of time. Most will simply close up to retain mosture. Although most stores as mentiopned will bag them for you. If your trading corals with fellow hobbists you can either being yoru own ziploc style bags or as mentioned above also some small contaners with lids.

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05-28-2005, 04:29 AM

midol

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Sorry for the length of wait but im going to get my own coral from the ocean, or is that a bad idea?

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05-28-2005, 07:22 AM

fishfreek

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midol, this is just my personal opinion but yes taking wild corals from the ocean is a bad idea. FIrst off your local laws my prohibit this as many coral reefs are protected from collection except in a controlled and managed way. Now you might think to yourself that its just one or two corals and im only one person doing it but that kind of thinking can lead to total disaster of a reef if hundreds of thousands of people thought this way. Our coral reefs need to be conserved and us hobbists are ones whom have alternate methods of getting corals and we should use those methods if at all possible.

Some of these alternate methods include purchasing coral

frags

from fellow hobbists. Purchasing corals that have been aquacultured or those that have been rased on '

frag

farms' where the parent coral is several generations out of the wild reef.

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05-28-2005, 10:08 AM

SALTYDAWGY

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That sounds really cool. But I have a funny feeling that you could get into a lot of trouble for it in your area. I think you need a permit to collect on the GB Reef. Could cost you $10000.00 and a trip to the pokie. Most expensive corals ever.

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05-28-2005, 10:58 AM

midol

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Nar, i would get em from a non-protected place, old woman island just off from maroochydore. Apparantly there is coral there and we are allowed to collect it since it is the type that grows fast or something.

Also, is liverock just dead coral?

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05-28-2005, 11:28 AM

fishfreek

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Live rock is basicly coral skeliton thats been layed down over the years as the corals grow. I would not call id dead coral since only stoney corals (aka reef builders) are ones that contribute to producting live rock.

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05-29-2005, 07:47 PM

SeriousDude5

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What type of coral are you planning on snagging from the ocean?

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05-30-2005, 12:57 AM

#10

midol

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Something with color...

I dont really know, all the stuff around here is suppose to be easy to keep so i figured i'd just grab some stick it in and see what happens.

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05-30-2005, 01:56 AM

#11

SeriousDude5

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I;m going against everything someone said above sorry about that. But if you do decide to go grab some coral post some pics or email me at I would like to see whats gowing out there. \

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05-30-2005, 09:31 AM

#12

fishfreek

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I would avocate first seeing whats out there and then trying to identfiy what is of interest to you to know its water requirements and lighting requirements prior to obtaning it if its legal and your dead set on removing corals from the wild vs obtaning corals that have been cultured in an aquarium enviorment.

You have a responsbility in knowing what the requirements are in the coral before removing it from the wild. With out knowing the requirements it will mean almost certin death for the coral and only lead to additional removal of wild corals to replentish the losses. This is a lose/lose situation where as obtaning coral

frags

from fellow hobbists of corals that interest you is a win/win.

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05-30-2005, 09:44 AM

#13

Bearfan

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***Restraining myself***

The meer idea that you are willing to just grab something and see what happens appals me. Why destroy part of a reef without knowing what the heck you are doing? Also, the Great Barrier Reef is not the only reef in Australia protected by law. There are several species that cannot be harvested, and the harvesting of coral of any kind typically requires a permit of some sort.

This kind of reckless disregard for the destruction of the already rapidly shrinking reef is a crime against the future generations and the world enviornment.

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05-30-2005, 06:42 PM

#14

oyf709

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one reason why it is not a good idea is that it will bring parasites into your tank which might cause a total tank crash which no one really want to see it happen.
Then if you really want to get the coral yourself and also willing to spend so much time on

them, you still need to get the back ground of the coral you will get or else they will die off pretty quickly when they get in your tank. It could even kill the stuff in your tank.So being a responsible hobbist you shouldn't take anything out of water without knowing what they are.

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06-04-2005, 09:15 AM

#15

scott764

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Ignore the posts about taking coral effecting the environment...this is garbage. Mother nature does more damage than any of us ever will, just go diving after a cyclone and you will see incredible dmage to the coral on the gbr eg. on the yongala wreck, which is 30m deep, the coral and growth was stripped off one side of the wreck after a cyclone a few years ago. Id be more worried about not being able to keep it alive in the tank.

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06-04-2005, 11:43 AM

#16

fishfreek

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Scott Im sorry you feel conservation is garbage. The plain and simple fact is that coral reefs have thrived for tens of thousands of years as science has shown us thru carbon dating yet its only in the last 30 years that we have seen huge decreases in the coral reefs due to human interaction. While huricanes and other natural events damage reefs they also help build new reefs by spreading around broken corals, hm anyone hear of fragging? This is how nature does it. Where as massive over collection of fish and coral species lead to the reductions in population and eventual extension unless collection is done in a sustanable way.

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06-04-2005, 06:32 PM

#17

Bearfan

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I agree 100% with FF. The belief that human interaction with the world's reefs has not harmed it is simply ignorant. Do a quick search and see how many hundreds of incidents you can find.

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06-05-2005, 03:40 AM

#18

midol

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Quote:

Originally Posted by fishfreek

Actually, right now the greatest threat to the great barrier reef is the crown of thorns starfish. It has done way more damage than human interaction.

To everyone else: I will take photo's of what i want in one trip then identify it, research how hard it is to keep and such and then decide if i want it.

Does that sound like a better idea?

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06-05-2005, 09:20 AM

#19

fishfreek

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Have they idenditifed why the crown of thorns starfish's numbers have increased? Im assuming they have increased over what they had been histroically.

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06-05-2005, 11:01 AM

#20

midol

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Just really a load of speculation.

I've heard the increase in temperature could be doing it but i don't know.

Personally, i just think it is nature, i believe it has been happening since the earth was made, they come and go and the reefs recover but i do think something might be speeding it up, ie, global warming.

I am not that educated on the matter though, just some shows on the discovery channel and some light research.

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Can coral reefs survive out of water?

They can obviously be tougher than we tend to think, and keeping this in mind, it should not be such a surprise to find that many corals can survive in a bag without water for several hours.

How long can coral be exposed to air?

Although there are resistant species like finger leather corals. The surface of polyps is almost always sticky because they release a lot of protective mucus. So they can be exposed to air for 2-3 hours without problems.

How long can a coral stay closed?

How Long Can a Coral Stay Closed? In the wild, coral reefs can take anywhere between 100,000 to 30,000,000 years to form. But in a reef aquarium, most owners should see signs of opening after just a few hours.