Question: How is coral formed

This is a great Q. Coral Reefs are formed through the combined efforts of 1000s or millions of animals and plants. All working to provide a rich and diverse ecosystem. Corals themselves arise from what are termed reef building hard corals. They start as a polyp, and once settling they start to grow the calcium carbonate structure that acts as their skeleton and then they grow at around 1 to 5cm per year. As the coral gets larger it attracts other animals like fish etc and then a small habitat is created.