Julian Sprung's presentation at the E-Reef Conference 2020. Corals eat. That's what they do. Sitting around on the sea bottom they don't really have much else to occupy their time. That's why their surface is largely filled with mouths. Each hungry polyp capturing planktonic food from the passing water supplies nutrients to the whole colony, or in the case of LPS corals, multiple mouths on a single polyp each contribute to the nutrient supply. But corals don't depend entirely on capture of plankton, nor only on the nutrition provided by what passes through these mouths. They have other ways of feeding that complement prey capture. Symbiosis with zooxanthellae is a key feature for corals' nutrition, but other modes of feeding are important as well. This lecture provides an overview of how corals feed and how aquarists can apply this knowledge to support healthy corals in a reef aquarium.

Julian Sprung grew up on a residential island on Biscayne Bay in Miami Beach, Florida, where he spent a lot of time collecting and observing all kinds of marine life. He is a graduate of the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Zoology, and is President of the aquarium industry manufacturing company Two Little Fishies, Inc. that he co-founded in 1991.

Julian has been keeping marine aquariums for more than 40 years, and currently maintains 6 marine aquariums plus a planted freshwater display. He also has a marine pond at home that utilizes natural sunlight.

Julian became well known in the aquarium hobby through his monthly column Reef Notes in FAMA magazine, and many years of traveling the lecture circuit at aquarium club meetings and trade exhibitions around the world. His books include The Reef Aquarium, volumes One, Two and Three, which he co-authored with J. Charles Delbeek, Corals: A Quick Reference Guide, Invertebrates: A Quick Reference Guide, and Algae: A Problem Solver Guide. He has also edited and published several other books and is currently working on three new titles, Fishes by Lemon Yi-Kai Tea, Diadema Culture Manual by Martin A. Moe, Jr. and The Coral Reef Aquarium volume Two by Tony Vargas.