Corals begin as small floating baby-Corals called Larva, which settle on the floor (and attach themselves to it). Each Coral then begins to grow polyps, which are small animals that have arms called tentacles, that come out to feed. Corals then keep on growing in size, growing skeletons made of limestone.

Usually, Corals grow very quickly and they do so together, until they form a huge reef which is then called a Coral Reef. Some reefs are so huge and are thousands of years old, made up of layers upon layers of polyps, growing for many miles. In fact, some coral reefs began growing 50 million years ago, although most coral reefs are between 5,000 and 10,000 years old.

Coral reefs become like little villages in the ocean, where many fish and animals live. Indeed, they can be home to an amazing number of fish, containing some of the most beautiful and colourful fish in the world, with the smallest and largest of fish living together around these reefs.