The conditions on inshore fringing reefs are often in strong contrast to those on offshore reefs. Periodically high sediment concentrations inshore can severely reduce light levels compromising coral photosynthesis, and high rates of sedimentation may smother coral tissues. Nevertheless, many inshore reefs display high coral cover, suggesting that inshore corals have become adapted or acclimated to periodically turbid conditions. Traditional models of coral energy budgets poorly account for the physiological mechanisms for acclimation in corals since these models use fixed parameters for the functional responses of energy acquisition to available resources, and ignore variation in energy losses among levels of resources or stressors. Here, we present a model that enables analysis of the effect of dynamic functional responses on the coral energy balance. Based on experimental physiological data and model predictions for two coral species we analyse the role of photo-acclimation and heterotrophic capacity in delimiting the resource niches of corals on turbid reefs. Sensitivity analyses of the model suggest that three factors are critical for maintaining a positive energy balance on turbid reefs: (1) a capacity to vary the parameters of the P-I curve within short time frames, (2) minimised respiratory and excretory losses under high turbidity, and (3) a high capacity to utilize heterotrophic sources of energy.