Let’s be realistic about one thing…
Every reefer loves corals. It’s in our blood. We obsess over them. We don’t care what family, what species…we just are into ‘em. However, when it comes to corals that obsess us, few hold a grip on us like the corals from the genus Acropora.
They simply scream “reef” to the hobbyist and casual observer alike. They appear to be the one genus of coral that many hobbyists aspire to keep; a validation of their reefing skills, the pinnacle of the hobby for many. I’ve only half-jokingly referred to Acros as “The official corals of the reef hobby!”
Acropora: The official coral of the reef hobby? Maybe.
Yet, despite their popularity and pervasiveness in the hobby, they are still sometimes elusive, challenging, and downright disappointing. As importers, propagators, and distributors of these corals, we are still learning tricks and secrets to their care, and every day are surprised by their behaviors and responses to what we do (and don’t do).
This little blog is by no means designed to be a comprehensive discussion of Acropora care. There are hundreds of pieces written by hobbyists with way more experience than I have. However, what we will discuss today are some of the things that we have learned about this coral as a result of working with them every day. Some of this stuff you might already know, and it’s just an “aha!” for you. Other stuff might be things that you didn’t think about. Lets just get right to this random list of stuff…And, as usual, I’d expect you fine folks to add to this list, ok?
The most common question we get….How do you keep Acropora colorful, or get them to color up in the first place? First of all, we’ve found out one thing that we’ve written about here before: The water just doesn’t have to be spotless. We obsessed way too much about this in the past. You could perform surgery in our raceways- it was that sterile! And guess what? Our Acro colors were mediocre at best. After much experimentation and soul searching, we’ve found that it really doesn’t matter if you have some detectible nitrate (and I mean up to like 5ppm or more in some cases!) in your system. As long as other parameters are in check, the coral will be not only “none the worse for wear”, but better off for it.
Acros need to EAT! They are hungry corals that demonstrate a very distinct feeding response. Feed them any number of the commercially available coral foods- at the right time! Feed them after dark when the lights are out and they are extending polyps. And feed them regularly. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen what should be really amazingly colorful corals that look just washed up and pallid, because they are literally starving: For food, nutrients, etc.
Oh, and if you are not feeding your corals directly, feed your fishes! In fact- KEEP fishes! There was a time (I’m dating myself here, but who cares, right?) when it was not uncommon to keep just a few (andI mean like 2-3) fishes in a large tank, as the focus was stony corals. Wow- that was really kind of boring, huh? And we all know that when fishes eat, they eliminate nitrogenous waste products (okay, they POOP!) which, in turn, help provide nutrient for coral growth (and algae growth, of course, if you let things get out of hand). So no worries about keeping lots of fish in your Acro tanks. We have lots of fishes in our raceways, much to the delight of this fish geek, who loves seeing schools of different tangs swimming gracefully back and forth in our 30 foot long raceways!
The way to an Acropora's heart is through its stomach (well, not exactly, but you get it)!
Alkalinity is also an important factor in coral coloration and growth. The surprising thing is that it’s not really about one magic number, however…It’s about keeping the parameters tighter…You need to worry more about keeping alkalinity in a narrow range than you do about hitting an exact target number. We shoot for dKh of 10 but we see it fluctuate to 9…But that’s it. When you get wildly fluctuating values, guess what? The Acros get stressed…and they demonstrate this by losing color. Think stability…As SoCal uber Acro reefer and friend Greg Caroll often says, “SPS.” -“Stability Promotes Success.”
We really like supplements when they make sense. One of the best supplements that we have used is Potassium. We have found that keeping potassium in a seawater range of 375-400PPM is a huge assistance to developing and keeping color in Acros (and other corals). We love Brightwell's "Potassion."I know people that have pushed this much higher than that, but we have found a range that works for us and we keep it there. Sure enough, when potassium levels were below NSW ranges, we would see a distinct color drop off in our Acropora. Suffice it to say, we monitor this parameter tightly and don’t let it drop out of our target range anymore!
Amino acids seem to have a very positive effect on coral growth and coloration, and we have jumped on the amino train, and love the results. We are BIG fans of Julian Sprung’s “Acro Power”, which has had a profound impact on the coloration and overall health of our Acropora since we began using it. There has been much written on amino acid use in coral propagation, so I won’t jump into it here. Suffice it to say, the stuff works, and we are believers! And, you guys- our customers- definitely are giving us positive feedback about the colors!
Jake Adams calls it "coral crack", and he might be right!
Water movement is super important to Acropora husbandry- perhaps, as Jake Adams likes to say- more important than light. Water movement affects the gas exchange that takes place in coral tissues, creates and affects “boundry layers” around corals, moves food in and wastes out, and has a positive impact on frag recovery and healing after imposed propagation (ie; cutting and gluing!). We embrace massive water flow using the gyre principle. Much has been written about this, you just need to look into Jake’s writings online for everything you need to know. It’s been one of the most important factors in our success with coral propagation, and I highly recommend that you consider water movement technology even more carefully than you do say, a calcium reactor or other super high-tech gadget. It’s that important.
Water changes are fundamental to aquarium keeping, and Acropora, like all corals, will benefit from regular water changes in their systems. Water changes in closed systems dilute organic wastes and bring refreshed levels of trace elements and micronutrients to corals. This is a very important set of benefits, and your corals will virtually always benefit from a regular exchange schedule. Use a high quality salt mix and keep your brand loyalty. Every formulation is slightly different, and your Acros will sense this. Keep things consistent…Remember, “SPS.”
Temperature is also important to Acropora. It doesn’t really matter what number you choose (within the tropical range of 74-80F) as long as you keep it stable and fluctuations to a minimum. We tend to run our systems at about 77.5 and keep it in a very tight range (day/night and seasonal). Again, stability is super important. I’d tend to avoid keeping Acros (or any coral, for that matter) at the higher end of the temperature range (ie; 80 degrees) because the margin for error is just too great at the higher temps, in my opinion.
Like many other corals, some Acropora just don’t like to travel. They take longer to recover from the rigors of transport. This includes some of the Acropora tortuosa, some Acropora tenuis, and a bunch of the thicker-skeleton varieties, such as gemmifera and spathulata. They may take a few days or even weeks to recover from shipping as colonies, frags somewhat less. However, a lot of frags will lose color and regain it gradually as well.
One Aussie that doesn't always travel well..Acropora spathulata
And, while we’re talking about coral frags that don’t always look great right away, our glam frag, the “Strawberry Shortcake”, Acropora microclados, is the poster child for this. When you frag a ‘Shortcake, the frags will generally just go puke brown for…well, weeks! They will gradually gain the pinks and yellows that this morph is known for, but only after an unusually protracted “ugly period.” It’s just one of those things! What are the best “performers” in terms of fragging and color retention? How about Acropora chesterfieldensis, which you’d pretty much have to desiccate to make look ugly, or Acropora yongei, which loses color when it…Oh, wait, it just never loses color!
You can slice it, dice it, ship it..and it still keeps its color! Acropora chesterfieldensis
Notice I don’t even touch on light? That’s because a) people with waaaay more knowledge than I will ever have on the topic have said it all, and b) I think that you can grow corals under almost any of the commercially available lighting systems out there. You simply compensate for lower light intensities with nutrition and/or flow, etc. I’m not saying that you can grow Acros under a single 15 watt incandescent light bulb. What I am saying is that you can achieve growth in Acros when all of their demands are either met or compensated for in some way. ‘Nuff said…LOL
So there is a very quick, very dirty look at some of the things that we have learned about success with Acropora…There are thousands more that I didn’t event touch on here..that’s what you guys are for!
Let’s hear your thoughts!
And, as always-
Stay Wet.
Scott Fellman
Unique Corals
Every reefer loves corals. It’s in our blood. We obsess over them. We don’t care what family, what species…we just are into ‘em. However, when it comes to corals that obsess us, few hold a grip on us like the corals from the genus Acropora.
They simply scream “reef” to the hobbyist and casual observer alike. They appear to be the one genus of coral that many hobbyists aspire to keep; a validation of their reefing skills, the pinnacle of the hobby for many. I’ve only half-jokingly referred to Acros as “The official corals of the reef hobby!”
Acropora: The official coral of the reef hobby? Maybe.
Yet, despite their popularity and pervasiveness in the hobby, they are still sometimes elusive, challenging, and downright disappointing. As importers, propagators, and distributors of these corals, we are still learning tricks and secrets to their care, and every day are surprised by their behaviors and responses to what we do (and don’t do).
This little blog is by no means designed to be a comprehensive discussion of Acropora care. There are hundreds of pieces written by hobbyists with way more experience than I have. However, what we will discuss today are some of the things that we have learned about this coral as a result of working with them every day. Some of this stuff you might already know, and it’s just an “aha!” for you. Other stuff might be things that you didn’t think about. Lets just get right to this random list of stuff…And, as usual, I’d expect you fine folks to add to this list, ok?
The most common question we get….How do you keep Acropora colorful, or get them to color up in the first place? First of all, we’ve found out one thing that we’ve written about here before: The water just doesn’t have to be spotless. We obsessed way too much about this in the past. You could perform surgery in our raceways- it was that sterile! And guess what? Our Acro colors were mediocre at best. After much experimentation and soul searching, we’ve found that it really doesn’t matter if you have some detectible nitrate (and I mean up to like 5ppm or more in some cases!) in your system. As long as other parameters are in check, the coral will be not only “none the worse for wear”, but better off for it.
Acros need to EAT! They are hungry corals that demonstrate a very distinct feeding response. Feed them any number of the commercially available coral foods- at the right time! Feed them after dark when the lights are out and they are extending polyps. And feed them regularly. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen what should be really amazingly colorful corals that look just washed up and pallid, because they are literally starving: For food, nutrients, etc.
Oh, and if you are not feeding your corals directly, feed your fishes! In fact- KEEP fishes! There was a time (I’m dating myself here, but who cares, right?) when it was not uncommon to keep just a few (andI mean like 2-3) fishes in a large tank, as the focus was stony corals. Wow- that was really kind of boring, huh? And we all know that when fishes eat, they eliminate nitrogenous waste products (okay, they POOP!) which, in turn, help provide nutrient for coral growth (and algae growth, of course, if you let things get out of hand). So no worries about keeping lots of fish in your Acro tanks. We have lots of fishes in our raceways, much to the delight of this fish geek, who loves seeing schools of different tangs swimming gracefully back and forth in our 30 foot long raceways!
The way to an Acropora's heart is through its stomach (well, not exactly, but you get it)!
Alkalinity is also an important factor in coral coloration and growth. The surprising thing is that it’s not really about one magic number, however…It’s about keeping the parameters tighter…You need to worry more about keeping alkalinity in a narrow range than you do about hitting an exact target number. We shoot for dKh of 10 but we see it fluctuate to 9…But that’s it. When you get wildly fluctuating values, guess what? The Acros get stressed…and they demonstrate this by losing color. Think stability…As SoCal uber Acro reefer and friend Greg Caroll often says, “SPS.” -“Stability Promotes Success.”
We really like supplements when they make sense. One of the best supplements that we have used is Potassium. We have found that keeping potassium in a seawater range of 375-400PPM is a huge assistance to developing and keeping color in Acros (and other corals). We love Brightwell's "Potassion."I know people that have pushed this much higher than that, but we have found a range that works for us and we keep it there. Sure enough, when potassium levels were below NSW ranges, we would see a distinct color drop off in our Acropora. Suffice it to say, we monitor this parameter tightly and don’t let it drop out of our target range anymore!
Amino acids seem to have a very positive effect on coral growth and coloration, and we have jumped on the amino train, and love the results. We are BIG fans of Julian Sprung’s “Acro Power”, which has had a profound impact on the coloration and overall health of our Acropora since we began using it. There has been much written on amino acid use in coral propagation, so I won’t jump into it here. Suffice it to say, the stuff works, and we are believers! And, you guys- our customers- definitely are giving us positive feedback about the colors!
Jake Adams calls it "coral crack", and he might be right!
Water movement is super important to Acropora husbandry- perhaps, as Jake Adams likes to say- more important than light. Water movement affects the gas exchange that takes place in coral tissues, creates and affects “boundry layers” around corals, moves food in and wastes out, and has a positive impact on frag recovery and healing after imposed propagation (ie; cutting and gluing!). We embrace massive water flow using the gyre principle. Much has been written about this, you just need to look into Jake’s writings online for everything you need to know. It’s been one of the most important factors in our success with coral propagation, and I highly recommend that you consider water movement technology even more carefully than you do say, a calcium reactor or other super high-tech gadget. It’s that important.
Water changes are fundamental to aquarium keeping, and Acropora, like all corals, will benefit from regular water changes in their systems. Water changes in closed systems dilute organic wastes and bring refreshed levels of trace elements and micronutrients to corals. This is a very important set of benefits, and your corals will virtually always benefit from a regular exchange schedule. Use a high quality salt mix and keep your brand loyalty. Every formulation is slightly different, and your Acros will sense this. Keep things consistent…Remember, “SPS.”
Temperature is also important to Acropora. It doesn’t really matter what number you choose (within the tropical range of 74-80F) as long as you keep it stable and fluctuations to a minimum. We tend to run our systems at about 77.5 and keep it in a very tight range (day/night and seasonal). Again, stability is super important. I’d tend to avoid keeping Acros (or any coral, for that matter) at the higher end of the temperature range (ie; 80 degrees) because the margin for error is just too great at the higher temps, in my opinion.
Like many other corals, some Acropora just don’t like to travel. They take longer to recover from the rigors of transport. This includes some of the Acropora tortuosa, some Acropora tenuis, and a bunch of the thicker-skeleton varieties, such as gemmifera and spathulata. They may take a few days or even weeks to recover from shipping as colonies, frags somewhat less. However, a lot of frags will lose color and regain it gradually as well.
One Aussie that doesn't always travel well..Acropora spathulata
And, while we’re talking about coral frags that don’t always look great right away, our glam frag, the “Strawberry Shortcake”, Acropora microclados, is the poster child for this. When you frag a ‘Shortcake, the frags will generally just go puke brown for…well, weeks! They will gradually gain the pinks and yellows that this morph is known for, but only after an unusually protracted “ugly period.” It’s just one of those things! What are the best “performers” in terms of fragging and color retention? How about Acropora chesterfieldensis, which you’d pretty much have to desiccate to make look ugly, or Acropora yongei, which loses color when it…Oh, wait, it just never loses color!
You can slice it, dice it, ship it..and it still keeps its color! Acropora chesterfieldensis
Notice I don’t even touch on light? That’s because a) people with waaaay more knowledge than I will ever have on the topic have said it all, and b) I think that you can grow corals under almost any of the commercially available lighting systems out there. You simply compensate for lower light intensities with nutrition and/or flow, etc. I’m not saying that you can grow Acros under a single 15 watt incandescent light bulb. What I am saying is that you can achieve growth in Acros when all of their demands are either met or compensated for in some way. ‘Nuff said…LOL
So there is a very quick, very dirty look at some of the things that we have learned about success with Acropora…There are thousands more that I didn’t event touch on here..that’s what you guys are for!
Let’s hear your thoughts!
And, as always-
Stay Wet.
Scott Fellman
Unique Corals
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