By keeping a reef aquarium you are also raising the awareness of the marine life and the very narrow environmental conditions these animals need to exist. Aquarists then have a greater appreciation of the natural environment and they can spread this awareness and concern to others. As we now know global warming is hurting our eco systems and very little scientific work has been done on keeping live coral in captivity.

With more study, marine invertebrates and corals may have ingredients that can help the human race with medical treatments for disease and other problems and the propagation of coral for medical research could have far reaching results.

Apart from global warming one great threat to coral reefs are the people who raid these reefs and take coral for the holiday and curio trade. Live coral has been devastated on inshore reefs due to deforestation, dredging, and the use of coral as a construction material and dynamiting of reefs to obtain fish for food. Oil spills and sewage are also having a large effect on the survival of coral reefs.

Live coral for the aquarium has very little impact on the eco system. Many of the corals used in aquariums are soft corals and will quickly regrow from small fragments. Aquarium collectors of coral only take a small branch leaving large colonies intact which cannot be said of the other human impact on coral reefs. Keeping live coral in aquariums may be the only benefit mankind can offer to raising the awareness and educating on the plight of coral reefs.

Coral reefs while being a renewable natural resource can survive if managed correctly and should be able to withstand the intervention of the marine hobbyist. However large and indiscriminate collecting of coral should be discouraged. Aquarium owners have the ability to preserve and propagate live coral and marine creatures and not destroy it.

By taking a few live corals and propagating them in enclosed aquariums we may be able to lower the amount of live wild caught specimens.