Unlike stony corals, most soft corals thrive in nutrient-rich waters<p>Most soft corals found in marine aquariums are collected from the wild

Captive raised soft corals are now becoming widely available from many acquaculture facilities. They include leather corals, mushroom anemones, zoanthids

Sea fans are a form of gorgonian soft corals that rely on the current for a continuous supply of food. They may grow up to several feet across<p>Soft corals are “simply melting and wasting away” due to global warming-induced environmental stress

Coral extinction could mean a worldwide catastrophe impacting all marine and terrestrial life

There is a huge gap in our knowledge of soft corals in the reef environment, and with the rate of extinction, we have lost certain species forever

Its often possible to ‘frag’ soft corals that have grown well for sometime and maybe trade these back with your local fish store

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There will come soft rains and the smell of the ground,
And swallows circling with their shimmering sound;

And frogs in the pools singing at night,
And wild plum trees in tremulous white;

Robins will wear their feathery fire,
Whistling their whims on a low fence-wire;

And not one will know of the war, not one
Will care at last when it is done.

Not one would mind, neither bird nor tree,
If mankind perished utterly;

And Spring herself, when she woke at dawn
Would scarcely know that we were gone.

-Sara Teasdale

A friend on newsvine brought this poem to my attention – MALAMUTEMAN

Related articles

• Poem of the week: Redbirds by Sara Teasdale (guardian.co.uk)

The Alcyonacea, or the soft corals are an order of corals which do not produce calcium carbonate skeletons and so are neither reef-building corals nor do they lay new foundations for future corals. Instead they contain minute, spiney skeletal elements called sclerites. Aside from their scientific utility in species identification, sclerites give these corals some degree of support and give their flesh a spiky, grainy texture that deters predators.

Unlike stony corals, most soft corals thrive in nutrient-rich waters with less light intensity. Almost all utilize zooxanthella as a major energy source. However, most will readily eat any free floating food, such as brine shrimp, out of the water column.

Many soft corals are easily collected in the wild for the reef aquarium hobby, as small cuttings are less prone to infection or damage during shipping than stony corals. Nevertheless, home-grown specimens are more practical. Soft corals grow quickly in captivity and are easily divided into new individuals, and so those grown via aquaculture are often hardier and less expensive than imported corals from the wild. The most common example of this is various species of Actinodiscus, especially common red mushroom coral.

Related orders in the subclass Octocorallia include Sea pens, Sea fans, Sea whips, bamboo coral and xenias.