Why are acropora “hard?”

[Indytraveler83]

Just trying to figure out what I’m missing...

Acros are considered “Difficult” in most coral classifications, and most lfs I’ve been to are hesitant to sell acro unless they know you know what your doing.

My experience is fairly limited, but my first piece has probably doubled in size since I got it, and my second piece is already very happy looking.

I find my wall hammer and Duncan to be much harder to keep happy. I do nothing special for my acro’s, just set them where they can absorb light and let it go.

Any thoughts on why the “hard” stuff is doing well, while easier corals seem to be higher maintanence? Is it just perception? Or is there something I’m not seeing that’s making it more friendly for acros?

 

[Ling_Thing]

Just trying to figure out what I’m missing...

Acros are considered “Difficult” in most coral classifications, and most lfs I’ve been to are hesitant to sell acro unless they know you know what your doing.

My experience is fairly limited, but my first piece has probably doubled in size since I got it, and my second piece is already very happy looking.

I find my wall hammer and Duncan to be much harder to keep happy. I do nothing special for my acro’s, just set them where they can absorb light and let it go.

Any thoughts on why the “hard” stuff is doing well, while easier corals seem to be higher maintanence? Is it just perception? Or is there something I’m not seeing that’s making it more friendly for acros?

Tidal Gardens - Acropora Coral Care

Acropora are the crown jewel of the SPS world. No other genus has the sheer number of species as Acropora and when reef aquarists talk about the requirements to keep an SPS system, they are talking specifically about the care requirements of Acropora. Having said that, Acropora are one of the...

www.tidalgardens.com

 

[ReefBeta]

Acro is hard because it has hard skeleton inside it.

Jokes aside, it's really nice that you get your acro growing right away. It's not usually the case for many. Acro is so often right now start losing tissues in newer tank setup, without clear reason why. Most suggestions are have a tank stable for half a year to a year before adding, because there is not a good understand why acro are more prone to die in new setup despite all measurable factors (no3, po4, ca, alk, mg, etc.) look fine and lights and flows are enough.

Also, wall hammer is also pretty hard from what I hear, a lot more sensitive than branching hammer. For duncan I don't know. It was a easy one for me. But with your acro having a good time and duncan doesn't, I would guess your tank is running on very low nutrient input. In that environment will have more chance to have LPS be unhappy and SPS be happy.

Also within acro, there are some are hardy as stick while some are very sensitive.

 

[Nano10]

They're not hard just less forgiving in that less than optimal conditions that might not noticeably effect other corals will effect acros.

If you maintain your tank like you should they shouldn't be any more difficult than other corals.

But then again... on paper everything in my tank is perfect and acros should be thriving. But they're not.

 

[Roosterjack]

I have tried a few “$5 Frags” of Acropora from live sales. I am batting about .300 with them, and no appreciable growth.

 

[Steven Garland]

I think for most people this comes into the aspect that they have gotten the label "hard" because so many newbies have came into the hobby and their first coral 6 weeks from the tank becoming wet is a Acro or Mille of some sort thinking they can make them become some super colorful rainbow,super colony they see online and it doesn't happen.

With products,yes a tank can become "sps ready" within 6 weeks but for a tank to become "sps ready" I feel like a tank can be short term,but long term is not really a thing.

Most people or "professionals" say a tank isn't ready until a year or coralline is growing well.


These coral demand a certain amount of attention and care compared to a Zoanthid,Acan,Hammer ect ect. They come from pristine,stable,turbid conditions (for the most part).

I have kept very many sps pico's in the last few years and have had pretty good success,but no more than a year or so and then something happens like bryopsis,moving,loss of intrest and things go south. But if you are dedicated enough,do your research,are patient,can leave things alone long enough to stabilize and diligent I think they aren't that hard at all. Especially for a pico guy.

 

[El_Guapo13]

I only recently ( in the WWC Fragtoberfest sale) purchased my first two Acros. So far so good. Still kinda super nervous about keeping them, but I figure that it will be a good learning experience regardless of whether or not they survive and thrive, or cry and die. Still hoping for the former, and not the latter.

 

[Steven Garland]

If more people just did research,did frequent testing before hand and made sure things were stable,params were within the numbers they needed to be in for say 2-3 months before getting sps this stigma and label would probably be lifted off of this types of coral.

Don't get me wrong,most Montipora,Birdsnests corals are a little more forgiving than say a Home Wrecker or something of that nature.

If SPS were as easy as Acan's,everyone would keep them and maybe the prices would come down lol.

 

[Indytraveler83]

Lots of good info here!

I think the low nutrient theory is a big part of it. My nitrates are bottomed out no matter what I do, most likely because I have mostly smaller fish and an over abundance of live rock. For the most part my parameters are fairly stable with high calcium and mag, though water hardness tends to hop up and down a bit if I don’t watch it.

I can’t say I’ve succeeded with acro per say, it’s a short time frame and my frags shoW good growth, but no long term sustained success.

Its just that while my lps struggle with regression, my acro shows enough polyp extension that it looks fuzzy, and my newer piece looks a billion times happier than it did at the lfs just a few days ago.

Mostly just trying to “read between the lines” and figure out my tank’s environment.

 

[Indytraveler83]

Also, my first acro was put in the tank after the “uglies” stage passed by and coralline really started to take off (can’t keep it off the front glass to save my life!!). So I’m assuming that’s a sign as well?

 

[Steven Garland]

Lots of good info here!

I think the low nutrient theory is a big part of it. My nitrates are bottomed out no matter what I do, most likely because I have mostly smaller fish and an over abundance of live rock. For the most part my parameters are fairly stable with high calcium and mag, though water hardness tends to hop up and down a bit if I don’t watch it.

I can’t say I’ve succeeded with acro per say, it’s a short time frame and my frags shoW good growth, but no long term sustained success.

Its just that while my lps struggle with regression, my acro shows enough polyp extension that it looks fuzzy, and my newer piece looks a billion times happier than it did at the lfs just a few days ago.

Mostly just trying to “read between the lines” and figure out my tank’s environment.

I feel like a lot of people are not in tune with their tanks,and that is the problem. Or buy frags,then after a day say why is my piece dying ?! My cal is only 320,mag is only 1280,po3 is 20 lol well I wonder !!!

Or try and keep Acro's and have lights that emits 200 par INSIDE the diode and 50 12" from the light lol.. not realizing most Acro's need more along the lines of 200-300 to really thrive,while par is highly debated I think that aspect of keeping them has really been settled and provding the ranges needed params,flow requirements,par,feeding,lighting duration is followed you will have years of success in keeping them.

 

[C. Eymann]

Most require some type of intermittent/changing water flow in order to thrive, to really thrive vs survive- rock solid stable parameters, esp also nutrients need to be balanced and ideally kept at those #s /ratio is consistently.
like mentioned, they are usually one of the first coral to show signs of distress if something is off.

Then there is the higher lighting requirements

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

They are not "hard" to keep, they just require a more complete understanding of reef chemistry and dedicated testing and husbandry than most people are willing to put the time in for.

 

[Indytraveler83]

If SPS were as easy as Acan's,everyone would keep them and maybe the prices would come down lol.

Acans might be easy to keep, but the prices on them have skyrocketed in my area. I bought a multi-head frag in the spring for $30, and now similar frags are $60-80. I saw ones similar to what mine looks like now for $120+

Part of the reason I got into the acro in the first place is that they seem like they got cheaper all of a sudden. Only paid $15 for the green slimer frag, and this pink lemonade frag (if that’s what it is) was $40.

 

[ReefBeta]

Acans might be easy to keep, but the prices on them have skyrocketed in my area. I bought a multi-head frag in the spring for $30, and now similar frags are $60-80. I saw ones similar to what mine looks like now for $120+

Part of the reason I got into the acro in the first place is that they seem like they got cheaper all of a sudden. Only paid $15 for the green slimer frag, and this pink lemonade frag (if that’s what it is) was $40.

Agree! Acans are not getting cheaper at all.

But also I think sps grow a lot faster than acan once it start out.

 

[hart24601]

Most of them, not all of course, are from a part of the reef that is hard for us to replicate, even harder if one wants a mixed reef. Intense light, insane flow for starters. Talked about in this article. It's not hard to see why something from the below environment would be harder to keep than a lagoon coral that has low lighting, high nutrients and low flow.


Now if you set up a system for the above corals they become easier then if in a low energy system. But those easy corals now will not flourish in this system. We as reefers, myself included, get caught up in trying to have it all, and that's where it gets hard.

You Won’t Believe Where Strawberry Shortcake Acros Live | Reef Builders | The Reef and Saltwater Aquarium Blog

Recently in Australia, together with Nic from Ultra Coral Australia we had the luck to go and observe Acropora microclados, aka the Strawberry Shortcake (SCC), in its natural environment.

reefbuilders.com

 

[bitwise]

They are not "hard" to keep, they just require a more complete understanding of reef chemistry and dedicated testing and husbandry than most people are willing to put the time in for.

This. I bought my first acros about 3 years ago. All seemed good, colors were holding, and I was looking for growth. Then one by one they started to STN. I lost most of them.

The missing piece for me was really alkalinity stability. It's really troublesome to do without automatic 2 part dosing. I'm now able to keep them alive and working on growth and color now.

 

[Nano10]

Yea scans aren't neccesarily cheap. I'm still trying to fill out my garden but everytime I find a nice rainbow piece I want its like 150 bucks of more for a tiny frag.

 

[Steven Garland]

Just about 2 years ago,even Rainbow Acan's were cheap roughly $10-$15 a polyp now ALL green ones are even insanely expensive.. I look at prices online and it just disgusts me with how high frags have been marked up.

Zoa's are just as bad,when I started 10 years ago in the hobby morphs like Radioactive Dragon Eye's,CAR's were cheap. Now CAR's are upwards to $30-$50 a polyp...gtfoh...really ?! I'm flabbergasted by it honestly. This hobby is to the point now where if I couldn't find deals,I wouldn't be able to stay in the hobby.

 

[Indytraveler83]

If it’s green or blue I can locally get just about whatever I want cheap. But if I’m looking for anything orange red yellow or pink I can’t find it anywhere but the expensive places.

I feel like I just did great buying a quarter sized BTA for $35, because the cheapest I’ve seen them lately is $150-$250!