Beautiful hard corals with amazing patterns are found in the dark water fjords around Tufi Dive Resort, Oro Province, Papua New Guinea.

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These hard corals look kind of ugly during the day but at night when feeding, are quite beautiful

Corals are marine invertebrates in the class Anthozoa of phylum Cnidaria. They typically live in compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton. A coral "group" is a colony of myriad genetically identical polyps. Each polyp is a sac-like animal typically only a few millimeters in diameter and a few centimeters in length. A set of tentacles surround a central mouth opening. An exoskeleton is excreted near the base. Over many generations, the colony thus creates a large skeleton that is characteristic of the species. Individual heads grow by asexual reproduction of polyps. Corals also breed sexually by spawning: polyps of the same species release gametes simultaneously over a period of one to several nights around a full moon. Although some corals can catch small fish and plankton, using stinging cells on their tentacles, most corals obtain the majority of their energy and nutrients from photosynthetic unicellular dinoflagellates in the genus Symbiodinium that live within their tissues. These are commonly known as zooxanthellae and the corals that contain them are zooxanthellate corals. Such corals require sunlight and grow in clear, shallow water, typically at depths shallower than 60 metres (200 ft). Corals are major contributors to the physical structure of the coral reefs that develop in tropical and subtropical waters, such as the enormous Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Queensland, Australia. Other corals do not rely on zooxanthellae and can live in much deeper water, with the cold-water genus Lophelia surviving as deep as 3,000 metres (9,800 ft). Some have been found on the Darwin Mounds, north-west of Cape Wrath, Scotland. Corals have also been found as far north as off the coast of Washington State and the Aleutian Islands. Explanation from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coral

Horn coral from the Mid-Ordovician period called Rugosa or Tetracoralla coral,,long ago extinct,,sized approximately 1 to 1 1/2 inch long by 1/2 to 1.5 inch wide in 2 pound lots scooped from coral as pictured with the 2 pound lots containing 10 plus pieces generally.These horn coral pieces have classic shape and are agate hard so they take a great polish.These coral most likely came from large colonies of coral that now can be found in fossil beds of the anti atlas mountains in northern Africa.The coral has long ago agatized or fossilized but still retains the coral pattern and horn head and that is what makes these pieces unique in the horn coral family.This material can be polished to a great shine and cut to see some coral pattern or just studied as it is.These fossils are just as they came out of the ground and as with all mine rough material some pieces may have matrix rock attached and other pieces may be only a portion of a complete fossil but most are nice specimens.

This reef is an absolute dream space.  Fields and fields and fields of coral. Both hard corals and soft corals span as far as the eye could see...so much life and wonder within this system. And it makes for some great prints!   Read more about Brooke's Raja Ampat dive trip on the blog here...  This image might be available in a larger size than what the dropdown allows...please get in touch for any custom or large-scale sizing.

Elkhorn coral structures are actually colonies of several genetically identical animals living together.

Here is a list of MY 10 easy to keep LPS corals for the beginners, i have often been asked which to start of with so i am giving a full list of easy to keep...

Hard coral Turbinaria peltata

The seas are ablaze with the amazing hues of these unusual animals and the creatures that depend on them.

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Thank you Maureen from Mystic, CT for sending this photo! You will receive a signed copy of Wendy Diamond’s best selling book It’s a Dog’s World: The

Check out this article and explore these 16 types of corals, which are a crucial component of highly biodiverse marine ecosystems.

Here you will find tips on water parameters, food, cohabitation, breeding...

Silvie De Burie was an avid scuba diver for 15 years before deciding to bring her camera with her underwater. Originally from Ghent, Belgium, she began diving and snorkeling off the island of Bunaken in Indonesia in her mid-twenties. Her passion for observing marine life now comes through in her high-definition underwater photographs of hard coral reefs. De Burie zooms in on the bright, repeating patterns of the coral to expose the psychedelic details on these precious organisms. She says that she hopes that her photos will educate and inspire her viewers to be more conscientious of the fragile state of the world's oceans.

L’artiste belge et plongeur Sylvie de Burrie tourne des scènes sous-marines de corail en morceaux dont elle utilise la coupe pour créer une magnifique g

Silvie De Burie photographs the vast treasure chest that is the ocean – and her macro shots of hard corals glow and sparkle with life like the rarest of jewels

Coral reefs are a precious resource in the ocean because of their beauty and biodiversity. Coral reefs also provide shelter for a wide variety of marine life, humans with recreation, a valuable resource of organisms for potential medicines, create sands for beaches, and serve as buffers for shorelines.