What is Fire Coral?
Most Scuba divers who have dived in tropical or sub-tropical reefs will have been cautioned about getting stung by the notorious Fire Coral, and will have filed away the information as just one of the many things that can sting or harm you underwater. Fire Coral also known as Stinging or Red Sea Coral belongs to the Milleporina order of species and contrary to popular belief isn’t really a coral at all. Fire corals are marine organisms that form colonies that look just like real coral; they are actually closely related to the jellyfish family and other stinging anemones. The Fire Coral gets its name from the painful burning sting that it inflicts on the unwary diver that brushes against it. How does it look? How can I identify Fire Coral? Fire Coral is unfortunately rather polymorphic and can appear in several physical forms. Sometimes it appears heavily branched and delicate in appearance, other times it is more, fan-blade shaped and massive. Most common forms it appears is either bra
