Did you know that corals need sunlight to survive. Corals are actually animals, with tiny, tentacle-like arms that they use to capture their food from the water and sweep into their mouths. Most corals also contain algae called zooxanthellae (pronounced zo-UH-zan-thuh-lay), which are plant-like organisms that need sunlight for photosynthesis to produce its own food / energy. The “animal” corals and “plant” algae each benefit from their symbiotic relationship, even at depths of 30m to 150m, where sunlight is scarce.
In deepwater environments, researchers from Curtin University have found that reef-building corals survive by kicking into ‘photosynthesis overdrive’ to enhance their ability to gain energy from sunlight and by upping their intake of microorganisms.
Full article at: MarineTechnologyNews 10may23
More info: NOAA Facts Are corals animals or plants?