Tricolor Granulosa Acropora Live Aquaculture SPS Coral

Information

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 most difficult corals to keep.  They are highly sensitive to changes in water chemistry and require the most in terms of flow and light.  Many experienced hobbyists have struggled keeping Acropora long term, but that is part of the attraction to this coral.  Lastly, Acropora benefit greatly from a well established aquarium, preferably one that has been set up at least for 1 year. 

Lighting

High lighting would serve this species well. Acropora can be kept under high output fluorescent bulbs (T5), but may benefit from more intense lighting such as metal halide (MH). It will likely change its coloration depending on the lighting provided. Acropora may require a longer acclimation period to intense lighting such as metal halides. Acropora are notorious for dramatic color changes depending on tank conditions, chiefly lighting. It is possible for some colors on Acropora to change entirely, for example red sections to turn green.

Water Flow

Strong to medium water movement is recommended.

Feeding

Like most coral, Acropora rely to a large extent on the products of their zooxanthellae, however, in our experience, they also benefit from direct feeding. There are a variety of frozen fish foods available that make outstanding meals for Acropora. We like to feed a mixture of meaty rotifer-based foods with vitamin additives and highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFA). The size of the food must be small enough that the polyp can fully ingest it. We like to use the cloudy supernate that forms after thawing out frozen food and using a turkey baster to spray it on the Acropora colonies.