If I had to pick my favorite Acropora species, it would probably be Acropora milepora.
Yup. I love this species- It has a lot going for it as an aquarium subject: It comes in a variety of colors, is quite hardy, fast growing, and is one of the "hairiest" Acros around! And, judging by our sales of "Millies", I'd say many other hobbyists share our love for this species...they are perennial bestsellers. We receive lots of calls, emails, and PM's about the care, habits, and growth of "Millies", so I thought it would be apropos to summarize some of the information that we've gleaned about these popular corals here.
When you receive your "Millie" frag, there are a few things that you can do to get it off to a good start and push it along on the road towards being a major superstar colony in your reef. Here are just a few:
While your frag is healing, inspect daily for signs of tissue recession or die-off. Often times, even with a frag, you can save it if a tissue necrosis situation arises, simply by snipping off the affected part and placing it back in your system. If it’s at the base- easier still. Just cut off the bottom, re-glue, and hope for the best. It’s also important to keep the base clean of algae and detritus, as these can smother the healing coral tissue and slow down encrusting on the plug.
Important points and factors about making and growing out “Millies” frags to a larger size:
*Be sure to dip frags before acclimating in mild disinfectant solution to kill bacteria and promote continued growth. If you're fragging a colony at home, follow this procedure for both the parent colony and the new frag to get it off to a healthy start.
*Another tip on fragging of "Millies": Don’t hack up the entire parent colony unless you are trying to save a dying colony. Always save some of the parent colony, for a myriad of reasons!
*Use minimal amounts of glue- just enough to achieve a bond between the plug and the coral. Too much glue can damage the coral and prevent polyp extension...
*Keep the base of the plug as free from excessive algae an detritus as possible to create a good surface for the coral to encrust over.
*Provide sufficient water movement to assure that significant flow reaches the frag. This will export gasses, move nutrients in and wastes out of the coral, and provide a cleaner, more oxygen-enriched environment for recovery and growth.
*Feed. A lot. Feed daily. Corals need light, food, and other additives, like potassium and amino acids, for optimum growth, health, and color. We're really high on the "Triton Base Elementz" and the overall Triton "Method" because continuous and balanced dosing of trace elements n proper ratios greatly benefits growing corals. We've seen a significant improvement in color, growth, and overall health of our "Millies" and all of our other Acros since we've embraced the Triton system. Our customers and visitors to our facility have noticed, too. Colors and growth are pretty incredible...And we're not just convincing ourselves of that.
*Keep environmental parameters stable. More important than locking in on any specific number is a range- and stability whiten the given range. We like to see DKH around 8-10...and STABLE! Calcium should be in a stable range as well as Magnesium. Although we've dosed potassium above NSW levels in the past with success, it became readily apparent after dosing Triton and keeping things at NSW levels that stability and continuous replenishment yielded better results than periodic dosing to achieve higher than NSW levels. An important observation to us- applicable really to most of the major parameters as well.
*Allow the coral time to fully encrust on the plug. Depending on lighting, flow, feeding, and health of the frags, this may take between two to three weeks or more. Yeah, that’s right- it takes a while. These corals really seem to spend a lot of energy encrusting before they pop out new branches. Once the encrusting gets going well, however, you'll see branches popping out all over. It's cool to see!
*Provide intense lighting. We keep our growing "Millies" about 18" or less under 400 watt Radium metal halide lighting on light movers in our grout raceways, and that seems to do the trick. They like a LOT of light, in our experience, to really color up. Can you use T5 and LED? Sure, but the bulk of our experience with these species is under halide.
*"Millies" have lots of individual variations within a given "morph", or even within a "crop"...Just like people, some grow faster, are better looking, and have more "hair" or color. Not sure exactly what factors contribute to this, but it is obvious when looking at large groups of them, as visitors to our facility can attest...We try to send only the ones that most closely resemble the baseline characteristics of the morph, but there are always variations...and these are actually what makes "Millies" so cool, IMHO. SO, if your "Gold Millie" stock frag is slightly different than the one in the pic- or even in your friend's reef...that's why. Rejoice in the individuality, right?
How many varieties do we have? Good question! At any different time, we probably have 10-12 varieties under propagation and growth, about 4-5 of which are on the site for sale. We rotate through depending upon the state of "salability" of the Millies. There is no sense in rushing these guys. They'll tell you when they are ready.
Here are a few of the more popular ones we are working with:
The UC "Gold Millie"
"Pink Millie"
UC "Superman Millie"
Purple Millie
"Millies" are so popular that we offer hand-curated frag packs of our favorite "Millies." These are cool, because they often include "one offs" or selection from varieties that are otherwise not ready for general release on our site as stock items. You often get some pretty killer morphs in these packs. And of course, they are all encrusted and in great health before we even think of selling them...the ONLY way to offer "Millies"!
"Like a box of chocolates", as Forrest Gump would say. You never know what you'll get in our Millie Frag Packs!
So, there you have it...A quick rundown on what are apparently everyone's favorite Acros! Hope one or more of these simple observations/tricks can increase your chances of success! let's hear your tricks and thoughts on these awesome corals!
As always, thanks for stopping by...Keep on reefing...
And Stay Wet!
Scott Fellman
Unique Corals
Yup. I love this species- It has a lot going for it as an aquarium subject: It comes in a variety of colors, is quite hardy, fast growing, and is one of the "hairiest" Acros around! And, judging by our sales of "Millies", I'd say many other hobbyists share our love for this species...they are perennial bestsellers. We receive lots of calls, emails, and PM's about the care, habits, and growth of "Millies", so I thought it would be apropos to summarize some of the information that we've gleaned about these popular corals here.
When you receive your "Millie" frag, there are a few things that you can do to get it off to a good start and push it along on the road towards being a major superstar colony in your reef. Here are just a few:
While your frag is healing, inspect daily for signs of tissue recession or die-off. Often times, even with a frag, you can save it if a tissue necrosis situation arises, simply by snipping off the affected part and placing it back in your system. If it’s at the base- easier still. Just cut off the bottom, re-glue, and hope for the best. It’s also important to keep the base clean of algae and detritus, as these can smother the healing coral tissue and slow down encrusting on the plug.
Important points and factors about making and growing out “Millies” frags to a larger size:
*Be sure to dip frags before acclimating in mild disinfectant solution to kill bacteria and promote continued growth. If you're fragging a colony at home, follow this procedure for both the parent colony and the new frag to get it off to a healthy start.
*Another tip on fragging of "Millies": Don’t hack up the entire parent colony unless you are trying to save a dying colony. Always save some of the parent colony, for a myriad of reasons!
*Use minimal amounts of glue- just enough to achieve a bond between the plug and the coral. Too much glue can damage the coral and prevent polyp extension...
*Keep the base of the plug as free from excessive algae an detritus as possible to create a good surface for the coral to encrust over.
*Provide sufficient water movement to assure that significant flow reaches the frag. This will export gasses, move nutrients in and wastes out of the coral, and provide a cleaner, more oxygen-enriched environment for recovery and growth.
*Feed. A lot. Feed daily. Corals need light, food, and other additives, like potassium and amino acids, for optimum growth, health, and color. We're really high on the "Triton Base Elementz" and the overall Triton "Method" because continuous and balanced dosing of trace elements n proper ratios greatly benefits growing corals. We've seen a significant improvement in color, growth, and overall health of our "Millies" and all of our other Acros since we've embraced the Triton system. Our customers and visitors to our facility have noticed, too. Colors and growth are pretty incredible...And we're not just convincing ourselves of that.
*Keep environmental parameters stable. More important than locking in on any specific number is a range- and stability whiten the given range. We like to see DKH around 8-10...and STABLE! Calcium should be in a stable range as well as Magnesium. Although we've dosed potassium above NSW levels in the past with success, it became readily apparent after dosing Triton and keeping things at NSW levels that stability and continuous replenishment yielded better results than periodic dosing to achieve higher than NSW levels. An important observation to us- applicable really to most of the major parameters as well.
*Allow the coral time to fully encrust on the plug. Depending on lighting, flow, feeding, and health of the frags, this may take between two to three weeks or more. Yeah, that’s right- it takes a while. These corals really seem to spend a lot of energy encrusting before they pop out new branches. Once the encrusting gets going well, however, you'll see branches popping out all over. It's cool to see!
*Provide intense lighting. We keep our growing "Millies" about 18" or less under 400 watt Radium metal halide lighting on light movers in our grout raceways, and that seems to do the trick. They like a LOT of light, in our experience, to really color up. Can you use T5 and LED? Sure, but the bulk of our experience with these species is under halide.
*"Millies" have lots of individual variations within a given "morph", or even within a "crop"...Just like people, some grow faster, are better looking, and have more "hair" or color. Not sure exactly what factors contribute to this, but it is obvious when looking at large groups of them, as visitors to our facility can attest...We try to send only the ones that most closely resemble the baseline characteristics of the morph, but there are always variations...and these are actually what makes "Millies" so cool, IMHO. SO, if your "Gold Millie" stock frag is slightly different than the one in the pic- or even in your friend's reef...that's why. Rejoice in the individuality, right?
How many varieties do we have? Good question! At any different time, we probably have 10-12 varieties under propagation and growth, about 4-5 of which are on the site for sale. We rotate through depending upon the state of "salability" of the Millies. There is no sense in rushing these guys. They'll tell you when they are ready.
Here are a few of the more popular ones we are working with:
The UC "Gold Millie"
"Pink Millie"
UC "Superman Millie"
Purple Millie
"Millies" are so popular that we offer hand-curated frag packs of our favorite "Millies." These are cool, because they often include "one offs" or selection from varieties that are otherwise not ready for general release on our site as stock items. You often get some pretty killer morphs in these packs. And of course, they are all encrusted and in great health before we even think of selling them...the ONLY way to offer "Millies"!
"Like a box of chocolates", as Forrest Gump would say. You never know what you'll get in our Millie Frag Packs!
So, there you have it...A quick rundown on what are apparently everyone's favorite Acros! Hope one or more of these simple observations/tricks can increase your chances of success! let's hear your tricks and thoughts on these awesome corals!
As always, thanks for stopping by...Keep on reefing...
And Stay Wet!
Scott Fellman
Unique Corals
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