热带巩膜珊瑚在不同程度上依赖于它们的光共生伙伴。在正常的温度和辐照度下，他们可以提供大多数，但不是全部,寄主的营养需求。需要异质营养来充分提供关键的营养，尤其是氮和磷.巩膜珊瑚被称为中生浮游动物捕食者，大多数采用触手捕捉。几种珊瑚物种已经证明了捕获纳米浮游生物和微微浮游生物的能力，并且似乎满足了其日常代谢需求的很大一部分。捕获机制可能涉及粘膜纤毛活动或肠外消化，但是这些途径的相对贡献尚未得到评估。许多珊瑚使用肠系膜细丝来获取各种形式的食物，但是这些结构的功能形态和化学活性文献很少。珊瑚能够从颗粒和溶解的有机物中获得营养，尽管对这些来源的依赖程度普遍尚未确定。珊瑚,包括热带,深水和冷水物种，被称为底栖群落通过粘液分泌的碳和其他营养物质的主要来源，尽管化学成分差异很大。粘液在浮游微生物环中循环，底栖生物,和沉积物中的微生物群落。共识表明，粘液的溶解有机部分通常超过不溶部分，两者都是纳米浮游生物和微微浮游生物生长的来源。由于许多珊瑚使用粘液来捕获食物，在喂食期间收回一部分。净损益尚未评估，尽管通常认为生产超过了消费。粘液分泌对溶解有机物质的净摄取和损失也是如此。Octocorals被认为在进食过程中不使用粘液捕获或肠系膜细丝，并且通常依赖于弱游动的中浮游动物的触手过滤，颗粒物,溶解的有机物，和浮游生物.热带地区的非共生物种偏爱浮游植物和弱游动浮游动物。无硫黄藻酸盐软珊瑚是机会性的饲养者，根据季节将其饮食从夏季的植物和纳米浮游生物转移到冬季的主要颗粒有机物（POM）。冷水物种偏爱POM，植物碎屑，微浮游生物,和更大的浮游动物可用时。抗病者显然以中浮游动物为食，但也使用粘液网，可能是为了捕获POM。该组中的喂食模式知之甚少。
Tropical scleractinian corals are dependent to varying degrees on their photosymbiotic partners. Under normal levels of temperature and irradiance, they can provide most, but not all, of the host\'s nutritional requirements. Heterotrophy is required to adequately supply critical nutrients, especially nitrogen and phosphorus. Scleractinian corals are known as mesozooplankton predators, and most employ tentacle capture. The ability to trap nano- and picoplankton has been demonstrated by several coral species and appears to fulfill a substantial proportion of their daily metabolic requirements. The mechanism of capture likely involves mucociliary activity or extracoelenteric digestion, but the relative contribution of these avenues have not been evaluated. Many corals employ mesenterial filaments to procure food in various forms, but the functional morphology and chemical activities of these structures have been poorly documented. Corals are capable of acquiring nutrition from particulate and dissolved organic matter, although the degree of reliance on these sources generally has not been established. Corals, including tropical, deep- and cold-water species, are known as a major source of carbon and other nutrients for benthic communities through the secretion of mucus, despite wide variation in chemical composition. Mucus is cycled through the planktonic microbial loop, the benthos, and the microbial community within the sediments. The consensus indicates that the dissolved organic fraction of mucus usually exceeds the insoluble portion, and both serve as sources for the growth of nano- and picoplankton. As many corals employ mucus to trap food, a portion is taken back during feeding. The net gain or loss has not been evaluated, although production is generally thought to exceed consumption. The same is true for the net uptake and loss of dissolved organic matter by mucus secretion. Octocorals are thought not to employ mucus capture or mesenterial filaments during feeding and generally rely on tentacular filtration of weakly swimming mesozooplankton, particulates, dissolved organic matter, and picoplankton. Nonsymbiotic species in the tropics favor phytoplankton and weakly swimming zooplankton. Azooxanthellate soft corals are opportunistic feeders and shift their diet according to the season from phyto- and nanoplankton in summer to primarily particulate organic matter (POM) in winter. Cold-water species favor POM, phytodetritus, microplankton, and larger zooplankton when available. Antipatharians apparently feed on mesozooplankton but also use mucus nets, possibly for capture of POM. Feeding modes in this group are poorly known.
