Food Zone

There are many mouths on a coral reef and competition for food is a way of life. Reef animals employ a variety of methods for obtaining their share of the available food in this very competitive environment.

Each day in the sea is about eating and being eaten. It’s all about survival. With so many mouths in search of food, animals employ a variety of different methods to avoid being eaten.

The feeding behaviours of most reef fish can be classified as follows:

Herbivores

Although not very obvious, the reef is covered in algae. The brown colouration of barren reef rock, particularly on the reef top, is due to a highly productive layer of algae that grows as turf. It is this turf algae that is grazed daily by a vast number of herbivorous fish. Large schools of herbivores can often be seen moving across the reef grazing on turf algae.

Omnivores

These animals feed on both animal and plant matter. Angelfish tend to pick at their food while pufferfish and triggerfish crack open well-armoured invertebrates and graze on coralline algae with their powerful jaws.

Corallivores

These fish feed exclusively upon living corals, which contains both animal (polyps) and plant (zooxanthellae) material.

Carnivores

Come in all shapes and sizes. They range from species that feed on the tiny planktonic animals to cods and trout that feed on other fish.

Planktivores

These carnivorous fish feed on the tiny animals that make up the zooplankton. Large schools of damselfish and basslets swarm the reef fronts feeding on the individual planktonic creatures that are swept in by ocean currents.

Most reef fish are carnivores. They obtain their food by a wide range of feeding strategies. Most small carnivores feed on invertebrates such as crustaceans and molluscs. Goatfish are highly specialised, using whisker-like barbels that grow from under their mouths to stir up the sand in search of worms and other creatures buried there while the cleaner wrasse feeds upon the parasites o the skin of other fish. Discover more about the reef food web and get up close to mini predators and other hungry mouths in the Food Zone.