Nausicaá has been breeding coral in its aquariological reserves for over 30 years.
There is an extraordinary garden hidden within the aquarium reserves of Nausicaá, a coral nursery. Nausicaá has spent more than 30 years developing expertise in coral production and 70 species of coral are bred at Nausicaá.
All the corals in the exhibition were produced here, or in other partner public aquariums.
In the mornings, the team of biologists is hard at work in the different areas of the exhibition: cleaning the aquariums and feeding the coral are part of their daily tasks
In the Coral Jungle area, the design of the backdrops for the showcase aquariums has been designed to showcase the corals to their full potential. The animals selected to share these aquariums are also carefully considered based on compatibility between species. For example, the yellow clown goby from Japan can only lay its eggs on living tissue, in this case Acropora coral.
The handlers who look after the corals regularly carry out weeding or “sea-weeding” to remove algae from the corals. They also brighten up the planted areas to enhance the shapes and colours, just like a landscape gardener. The work of a coral handler is sometimes similar to that of a gardener, where maintenance and cuttings are part of the daily routine.
Shrimps and land hermit crabs maintain the aquariums in which the coral grows by eliminating the algae in them.
30 years of expertise!
In order to produce and grow coral, handlers use a cutting process that consists of cutting a branch of coral and attaching it to a support, in the same way as for a plant. This apparently simple task actually requires great precision as light, water or current flow parameters vary according to the species.
For example, Acropora corals require bright light and strong current. In contrast, the same current could damage certain species of soft corals such as Discosoma, which require less intense water movement.
What about fluorescent corals? Some corals become brightly coloured under ultraviolet light.
Many corals populate the aquariums in the Mankind and Shores exhibition.
Soft corals, hard corals, fluorescent corals, a large number of coral species can be discovered in the Coral Jungle area.
This cutting technique is used in the natural environment by the Reefscapers - The Coral Planters association, which is sponsored by Nausicaá. This association is repopulating reefs in the Maldives following bleaching episodes linked to climate change.