Indonesian Gold Torch Corals certainly live up to their name. They carry a hefty price and are coveted by many, but the conditions they may have to endure before they reach your home aquarium can lead to problems. Classic Indonesian Elegance Coral (Catalaphyllia jardinei). When suffering from disease, their tentacles shrink, then the whole mantle/polyp retracts, and then they melt away. Aquarists often can only watch, helplessly, as the coral perishes.
Coral reefs worldwide are struggling to survive amid growing environmental pressures. Developing medicines gives scientists tools to save sick corals and can help preserve threatened ecosystems.
