Non-photosynthetic corals

[squirt_12]

What are some non-photosynthetic corals that could fit in a 10g? I want the tank to be a reef but I don't really want to buy lighting right now. I will eventually upgrade and buy a light for it but I think it would be cool to have some non-photosynthetic corals and to feed them.

[Tigerbarb]

Some types of mushrooms can survive without any special light, or so I hear. They are still photosynthetic though. I've had one polyp in my 20g with 1.5 wpg of T8 light for a few weeks now, and it seems to be doing alright although it's colors aren't what they would be under the desirable lighting.

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

Ok, that's weird, I replied to this earlier. You need to be careful with azooxanthalic corals as many of them can be rather difficult. Sun Corals are probably the easiest of the azooxanthalic corals that are available. There are a number of Gorgonians that also do not require light to live. The difficulty comes in with feeding. To effectivly feed them you really should turn off your skimmer due to many of them being filter feeders and the foods you feed them can easily be removed with a skimmer. The other problem you get is that all that stuff you add to feed them, the uneaten stuff can contribute to algae and elevated nutrient levels in the tank. For this reason it can be difficult to maintain azooxanthelic corals.