How to Identify a Fire Coral Fish

Video Transcript

"The marine organism we're going to identify now is the fire coral. Although called a coral it's not technically a member of the coral family. It's more closely related to hydroids, stinging anemones, and jellyfish than it is to coral. It's name derives not from it's color but from the burning sensation it causes when bare skin inadvertently touches it. There are at least three specimens of fire coral found in the Caribbean but I'm not going to identify individual species. Instead I will discuss the class of organism in general since they pose a hazard to both the snorkelers and divers. Fire corals are usually a tan or mustard color but also may appear to have a greenish tint in some cases. They almost always have a whitish coloration at the edges of their plates or tips of their spikes. Some specimens grow in vertical plates or fingers while others are frequently found in crusting gorgonians, sea fans, or stony corals. Their texture looks a bit like sandpaper but on closer examination one can see the numerous fine clear to white hairlike structures covering them. These hairlike structures are the stinging cells. Like the tentacles of jellyfish the fire corals stinging cells called nematocysts have a microscopic harpoon like structure that will fire a toxin into animals that touch them including humans. Although not life threatening unless someone has an allergic reaction to a sting, a fire corals sting can be quite painful. In addition to the stinging cells , the fire corals surface is rough like sandpaper and can easily cause skin abrasions if a diver or snorkeler brushes against it. The treatment for a fire coral sting is to immediately flush the area with vinegar to neutralize any nematocysts that may not have yet fired their toxin into the skin and then by immersing the area where the sting occurred in hot water to denature the protein. In fact, many experts now recommend skipping the vinegar step and just use the hot water soak. The water in which the affected area is soaked should be as hot as a person can stand and the hotter the better. In addition, any abraded areas should be cleaned after soaking and treated with a topical triple antibiotic cream. Fire corals are fairly common throughout the Caribbean and Florida tropical waters. They're most commonly found in shallow waters but some specimens can be found as deep as a hundred feet. Fire corals reproduce both sexually and asexually. Asexual reproduction can occur by budding and by fragmentation caused by wave action or accidental contact by divers or snorkelers. Sexual reproduction occurs when gametes are released into the water column and the fertilized eggs form free swimming organisms called planulae which quickly settle and attach to the bottom where they will begin to grow into a new fire coral colony. Fire coral feed on tiny creatures that drift by and come in contact with their stinging cells. Interestingly, some fish like hawkfish and juvenile yellow-tailed damselfish often take refuge among the fire corals branches and are unaffected by their stinging cells. And that's fire coral."