Kandrona

Large Kandrona Generator in Yeerk Pool Cave

"The Kandrona is a miniature version of the Yeerks' home sun. It emits Kandrona rays, which concentrate in the Yeerk pools. It is what nourishes the Yeerks. That is why the Yeerks must swim in their natural state in the Yeerk pool every three days – they need Kandrona rays."

―Ax

A Kandrona is a miniature version of the sun on the Yeerk homeworld, that beams Kandrona Rays into a Yeerk Pool. Every three days, Yeerks have to swim in the Yeerk Pool to absorb the Kandrona rays which a Yeerk feeds on and needs to survive, or it will shrivel up and die. A Kandrona varies in size, from as big as a car to as big as say a barn. On their homeworld, their sun would generate the Kandrona nutrients which they then absorbed in the pools. It is also known as a Kandrona Particle/Wave Generator. Seerow invented the portable Kandrona Particle/Wave Generator so that the Yeerks could travel far out into the stars and still fulfill their three-day feeding.

Kandrona Rays

Small Kandrona Generator

Kandrona rays are the rays from the sun of the Yeerks' home-world and without its exposure, after three Earth days, they will starve to death. For this reason there is always a Yeerk pool where they absorb the rays in the form of liquid. It is always either a ground-based pool, or a pool ship.

This is a huge disadvantage to the Yeerks, proven when the Animorphs destroyed their main ground based-Kandrona, resulting in Visser Three having to use their pool ship to save only his "favorites".

This also was proven in #52 when the Animorphs destroyed the Yeerk pool all together and many Yeerks died of starvation.

Surviving Kandrona starvation

One known way of surviving without Kandrona rays is cannibalism, shown by Esplin 9466 Lesser after being exiled by his twin brother, Esplin 9466.

Another is to ingest instant maple and ginger oatmeal. Although this technique causes insanity in Yeerks, they can live in their host for as long as they are alive themselves, or until the host dies.