Coral Barnacles
From Microcosm Aquarium Explorer
These barnacles are usually harmless to the corals they're attached to. Scott W. Michael
Overview
These barnacles are specialized to live on scleractinian corals and hydrocorals. They attach to, and then bore into, the coral. They secrete a single shell around themselves that is often covered by subsequent coral growth, so all that is seen is a rounded or conical bump on the surface of the coral with a slit or oval opening at the top. A typical barnacle filtering fan extends from this opening to feed on plankton.
Family: Pyrgomatidae
Other common name(s):
Native range:
Maximum length: 3 cm (1 in)
Minimum aquarium size: 38 L (10 gal)
Lighting: Immaterial.
Water: Marine 24 °C (75 °F) - 28 °C (82 °F)
Feeding
Difficult to provide with enough food. Can be fed enriched Artemia or some other moderately large high-energy foods. Phytoplankton are too small.
Aquarium Compatibility
They don’t really do harm to the coral they're attached to, although their activities may slightly weaken the coral’s skeleton and/or they may intercept food before it gets to the coral.
Notes
When the barnacle dies, the coral often grows over its shell and all evidence that a barnacle was once there disappears, except for a rather odd lump on the coral’s surface.