A. Speciosa

[cilyjr]

About 6 months ago I took a chance on a couple of wild acropora speciosa pieces from Malaysia. They came in pretty pale but this is what they have turned into.
Both images taken under full blue lights with orphek 15k filter. Not software edited.

 

[Matt Bravo]

That looks crazy, I also took a chance about a month ago. Congrats on your success!

 

[cilyjr]

That looks crazy, I also took a chance about a month ago. Congrats on your success!

Thanks. I'm pretty happy. I don't keep my display that blue so it looks different there but no less colorful.

 

[DanyL]

Beautiful!

Been thinking to bring a frag myself, though from my understanding it’s quite a tough one.

How’s the growth rate of it in comparison to other species?

 

[cilyjr]

Beautiful!

Been thinking to bring a frag myself, though from my understanding it’s quite a tough one.

How’s the growth rate of it in comparison to other species?

It's interesting because people keep saying how fragile they are. I brought in two quite large wild colonies and cut them into many small frags. I have a 100% survivability rate. I did recently sell a few pieces at a show. And I gave one piece of each to my local fish store. So I do not know how all of those pieces are doing.
I gave the piece to my local fish store with the condition that should I lose mine. I will get a piece from them. Kind of a Coral Bank.

As far as growth rate goes. They haven't done much growing in 6 months. They have started to encrust a tiny bit. But in my experience, the skinny sticks don't do much encrusting.

That they did come in quite pale and I was a bit worried. They colored up rather quickly. Within 2 months they were pretty bright.

 

[cilyjr]

I would say that I did not dip them in any chemicals, I have traditionally used Bayer. They were not on a base so I didn't have to remove that. I inspected each piece underneath a microscope and did a potassium chloride dip.

 

[DanyL]

I guess I was kind of excepting to hear most of what you described above, though you surprised me about the survivability percentage, which I thought to be much lower.

I still haven’t seen anyone growing them past a few months, so it’ll be interesting to follow and see if it’s just one of the late sprouting acros which can suddenly blow up and grow rapidly after sitting for awhile, or is it really just a very slow grower.

Thanks for sharing your experience so far, I appreciate it! Now all is left is for me to pick one up too lol

 

[Gumbies R Us]

About 6 months ago I took a chance on a couple of wild acropora speciosa pieces from Malaysia. They came in pretty pale but this is what they have turned into.
Both images taken under full blue lights with orphek 15k filter. Not software edited.

Great looking acros!

 

[cilyjr]

I guess I was kind of excepting to hear most of what you described above, though you surprised me about the survivability percentage, which I thought to be much lower.

I still haven’t seen anyone growing them past a few months, so it’ll be interesting to follow and see if it’s just one of the late sprouting acros which can suddenly blow up and grow rapidly after sitting for awhile, or is it really just a very slow grower.

Thanks for sharing your experience so far, I appreciate it! Now all is left is for me to pick one up too lol

I had never cut up a wild colony to this extent before. Maybe that's the secret.

 

[exquisitething]

How does the speciosa do now after 8 months?

 

[cilyjr]

How does the speciosa do now after 8 months?

They are all still good. I've had no loss.

 

[exquisitething]

Fantastic! You’ve proven it’s possible to grow them—very encouraging news. I should start thinking about getting one. Hopefully, the aquacultured Speciosa will be available at a reasonable price in the market.
Thanks for the update.

 

[jnbrex]

They are all still good. I've had no loss.

Do you have an updated pic?

 

[cilyjr]

Fantastic! You’ve proven it’s possible to grow them—very encouraging news. I should start thinking about getting one. Hopefully, the aquacultured Speciosa will be available at a reasonable price in the market.
Thanks for the update.

Out of curiosity, What's a reasonable price?

 

[cilyjr]

Do you have an updated pic?

Same frag as above. Pictures taken are unedited. Google pixel 7 pro with the orphic orange 15K filter.

Here the pieces in my display. One is the blue and yellow only the other is the same as the frag.

 

[jnbrex]

Looking good! I’ve had a hard time keeping speciosa.

 

[exquisitething]

Out of curiosity, What's a reasonable price?

The current price, in the high three digits, along with a low survival rate due to mariculture, is unreasonable for average hobbyists like me, except for collectors or vendors who farm them. Once aquacultured versions become available, with a better balance of supply and demand and increased competition, the price should reach a more reasonable level. Many corals that were once highly sought after are now available at low three-digit prices, which are reasonable. For sure, it takes time.

 

[cilyjr]

The current price, in the high three digits, along with a low survival rate due to mariculture, is unreasonable for average hobbyists like me, except for collectors or vendors who farm them. Once aquacultured versions become available, with a better balance of supply and demand and increased competition, the price should reach a more reasonable level. Many corals that were once highly sought after are now available at low three-digit prices, which are reasonable. For sure, it takes time.

So you think 250 ish would be reasonable?
I'm not judging, I'm just asking.

 

[exquisitething]

I think so.

 

[cilyjr]

I think so.

I'm selling the pieces of the yellow and blue "knight king" for $150. But there are not a lot of stick heads in my area