Beneath the waves, coral reefs paint a world of color and calm—but not everything in this paradise is peaceful. Hidden among the beauty are creatures that quietly bite, scrape, and suck the life from coral. 

In this article, we uncover five surprising creatures that feed on coral. Their roles are natural, but their impact is deep. Let’s dive in.

What are Corals?

Corals are considered a group of organisms that are related to sea anemones and sea jellies. They are soft-bodied animals that make up the phylum Cnidaria. A main characteristic of all Cnidarians having tentacles with stinging cells known as nematocysts.

Unlike many other Cnidarians, corals stay fixed to the surface. Most corals live in groups, but some live alone.

A coral colony can have just a few to thousands of tiny animals called polyps. All coral polyps feature the same basic body structure which include tentacles with stinging cells surrounding a mouth at the top of the body cavity.

5 Creatures That Feed on Coral

Coral reefs look peaceful and full of life, but some sea creatures feed on them to survive. These five animals may seem harmless, but they can cause a slow damage to the coral in ways many people don’t notice. Let’s meet the reef’s quiet troublemakers.

• Parrot Fish.
• Butterfly Fish.
• Crown of Thorns Starfish.
• Sea Slugs.
• Humans.

Parrot Fish

These colourful fish help by eating algae which can suffocate coral populations, but they also bite and eat coral. When a reef is in trouble, fish biting coral for algae ends up harming it more.

Butterfly Fish

Butterfly fish eat many kinds of coral, even the ones that grow like branches or fronting types. Butterfly fish live in reefs worldwide and come in many bright colors within the species.

They strongly protect the places where they eat and breed, which helps scientists learn what kinds of coral each type eats.

Crown of Thorns Starfish

The crown of thorns starfish is considered the most visible and monstrous-looking species that can be regarded as a threat to destroy coral reefs, especially in the Gulf of Mexico and Great Barrier Reef

Their numbers have grown fast in recent years because conditions help them thrive, even though they harm coral. The strong spiny starfish keeps eating soft coral and spreads from place to place like a harmful guest.

Sea Slugs

Nudibranchs are a broad group made up of many types of sea slugs. They secret harmful slime that hurts coral, then start eating the weakened reef.

While these species can be lumped together in a bigger general group, they’re still different kinds, just shaped from the same basic genes. Each one of these species is a part of a larger group of animals that eat living coral, but together, together with unstable conditions, they could wipe out the reefs.

Humans

In most seaside shops, you’ll find colorful jewelry and trinkets that are made from dead coral. While it is considered illegal to collect coral or even frowned upon in most places, humans are still one of the biggest predators of living coral.

There are few reasons behind that other than our amusement. One of the exceptional reasons is collecting them for medicinal studies.