A beautiful and diverse habitat greets visitors in the Florida Coral Reefs Gallery. In Florida and other regions of the world, living organisms create the framework of a coral reef. The resulting community is comparable to tropical forests on land. The shallowest portion of the reef is a high-energy zone with abundant overhead wave action and powerful surge amongst the corals.
Fishes find shelter in the thicket of coral branches rising from the reef.
Waves deposit rubble, creating hiding places for small fishes, crabs and mollusks, along with new growing opportunities for branching corals. You can see from floor to ceiling, all around the coral reef gallery. First, you must first install the free IPIX Viewer Plug-in . Then enter the coral reef gallery . Visit the Giant Anemone , Green Moray Eel , Queen Angelfish , Rainbow Parrotfish or Scrawled Filefish .