I know the question is common but...

[Macropharyngodon]

What are you SPS keepers' strategies for success with Acropora long term?

I mean a little more than just - High PAR and High flow. Get into the nitty gritty!

Thanks!

 

[Biokabe]

I won't claim to be a master SPS keeper, but I have been able to keep them successfully in the past. Here's what I think are the basics of acro-keeping beyond PAR and flow.

First, placement. Yes, you need PAR and flow, but you also need to make sure that your acros are in a place where they can take advantage of that. Don't block flow for an acro with a rock wall - make sure that it can get flow around all sides of itself. Two other concerns with placement: Leaving room to grow, and avoiding dangerous neighbors. If you do it right, your acros should eventually grow, and as they grow larger, they also grow faster. So when you're setting them up, you need to make sure that they won't end up growing into each other. And then finally, acros will lose most direct battles with stinging corals. In the wild their competitive strategy is to simply grow up and over competing corals, leaving dead skeleton behind as a shield. In your tank, they likely won't have that option, especially when starting out.

Second, pest control. If you have the ability to run a coral QT tank this is somewhat easier, but you still need some way to control pests (you should assume that QT will fail at some point). The big things to watch out for here are flatworms and red bugs. Both are best controlled through the introduction of predator fish rather than chemical solutions. Chrysiptera springeri are a good option here for both, as are most Halichoerus wrasses. I think mandarins and pipefish are also good for red/white bugs, as are many other pod-eating fishes. Flatworms are especially important to control, even if you don't have acropora-eating flatworms; unchecked, they can reach plague populations in your tank and will eventually smother acros just by resting on them.

Third, water quality. Growing acros consume copious quantities of Alk and Ca, so you need to have a plan to keep both parameters in a stable and appropriate range. Nitrate and phosphate control are also important - while we no longer believe that those values should be at 0, you do need to keep them at a manageable level. Neither will kill acros outright except at very high values, but phosphate especially can inhibit growth above 0.5 ppm (exact figure subject to correction, for those more familiar with the studies than I am). I don't think you need to go all-in on ICP testing (Moonshiners method, for example) but people have had success with things like that.

Fourth, algae control. The branches of acros can snag loose strands of algae and offer a great perch for algae to grow on; left unchecked, a loose strand of algae can attach, kill tissue, and eventually smother an acro. So if your tank has long strands of algae, make sure you check your acros regularly for potential attachment, and up your herbivore population to keep algae in check. Tangs or rabbit fishes are a good option here, as are more traditional CUC members. Two standouts that merit discussion: Zebra turbo snails and urchins. Both are voracious algae eaters and are some of the few that will sometimes eat longer strands of algae (most snails will ignore long algae). However, both are also bulldozers and can easily knock over an acro, even one that's been glued down. If you keep either of those (which I do recommend in spite of their bulldozing ways), keep a regular census on your acros and be prepared to re-mount any corals that get knocked off the rocks.

Finally, nuisance fish. Some fish will eat acros, skeletons and all (parrotfish, some puffers). Others will peck at the polyps. And others love to perch on acros and habitually dig out tissue from acros (clown gobies). These fish should either be avoided entirely, or avoided until your acro population is large enough that their nuisance behaviors are spread out enough to not be dangerous.

As always, I welcome correction on anything that is wrong. Don't just take my words for it... I don't think I've said anything wrong, but there may be more-right things to say. =)

 

[Nordy]

Good Acro reef keeping protocol. I’ve lost a few to the bulldozers in my tank. I love large Trochus and big Halloween hermits, but they are a pain also.

 

[CHSUB]

With advances in both hobby testing and equipment, I believe it is easier that ever to maintain ocean reef parameters while feeding corals directly and daily. Corals, Acros and everything else, seem very easy to care for without mystery losses and other problems when following nature. The only problem I have is coral warfare…

 

[landlubber]

Its such a great utility that its hard to not mention brs's youtube or serious reef which appears to be a spinoff of brs but also with great info that goes deep into exactly what you're asking check em out!

 

[Macropharyngodon]

With advances in both hobby testing and equipment, I believe it is easier that ever to maintain ocean reef parameters while feeding corals directly and daily. Corals, Acros and everything else, seem very easy to care for without mystery losses and other problems when following nature. The only problem I have is coral warfare…

I won't claim to be a master SPS keeper, but I have been able to keep them successfully in the past. Here's what I think are the basics of acro-keeping beyond PAR and flow.

First, placement. Yes, you need PAR and flow, but you also need to make sure that your acros are in a place where they can take advantage of that. Don't block flow for an acro with a rock wall - make sure that it can get flow around all sides of itself. Two other concerns with placement: Leaving room to grow, and avoiding dangerous neighbors. If you do it right, your acros should eventually grow, and as they grow larger, they also grow faster. So when you're setting them up, you need to make sure that they won't end up growing into each other. And then finally, acros will lose most direct battles with stinging corals. In the wild their competitive strategy is to simply grow up and over competing corals, leaving dead skeleton behind as a shield. In your tank, they likely won't have that option, especially when starting out.

Second, pest control. If you have the ability to run a coral QT tank this is somewhat easier, but you still need some way to control pests (you should assume that QT will fail at some point). The big things to watch out for here are flatworms and red bugs. Both are best controlled through the introduction of predator fish rather than chemical solutions. Chrysiptera springeri are a good option here for both, as are most Halichoerus wrasses. I think mandarins and pipefish are also good for red/white bugs, as are many other pod-eating fishes. Flatworms are especially important to control, even if you don't have acropora-eating flatworms; unchecked, they can reach plague populations in your tank and will eventually smother acros just by resting on them.

Third, water quality. Growing acros consume copious quantities of Alk and Ca, so you need to have a plan to keep both parameters in a stable and appropriate range. Nitrate and phosphate control are also important - while we no longer believe that those values should be at 0, you do need to keep them at a manageable level. Neither will kill acros outright except at very high values, but phosphate especially can inhibit growth above 0.5 ppm (exact figure subject to correction, for those more familiar with the studies than I am). I don't think you need to go all-in on ICP testing (Moonshiners method, for example) but people have had success with things like that.

Fourth, algae control. The branches of acros can snag loose strands of algae and offer a great perch for algae to grow on; left unchecked, a loose strand of algae can attach, kill tissue, and eventually smother an acro. So if your tank has long strands of algae, make sure you check your acros regularly for potential attachment, and up your herbivore population to keep algae in check. Tangs or rabbit fishes are a good option here, as are more traditional CUC members. Two standouts that merit discussion: Zebra turbo snails and urchins. Both are voracious algae eaters and are some of the few that will sometimes eat longer strands of algae (most snails will ignore long algae). However, both are also bulldozers and can easily knock over an acro, even one that's been glued down. If you keep either of those (which I do recommend in spite of their bulldozing ways), keep a regular census on your acros and be prepared to re-mount any corals that get knocked off the rocks.

Finally, nuisance fish. Some fish will eat acros, skeletons and all (parrotfish, some puffers). Others will peck at the polyps. And others love to perch on acros and habitually dig out tissue from acros (clown gobies). These fish should either be avoided entirely, or avoided until your acro population is large enough that their nuisance behaviors are spread out enough to not be dangerous.

As always, I welcome correction on anything that is wrong. Don't just take my words for it... I don't think I've said anything wrong, but there may be more-right things to say. =)

Thanks a bunch!

 

[Matt L]

What are you SPS keepers' strategies for success with Acropora long term?

I mean a little more than just - High PAR and High flow. Get into the nitty gritty!

Thanks!

For me, do the maintenance, keep alk stable, and leave the tank alone. It’s not hard, just hard to stay motivated sometimes to keep up with water changes and cleaning the filtration.

 

[Macropharyngodon]

For me, do the maintenance, keep alk stable, and leave the tank alone. It’s not hard, just hard to stay motivated sometimes to keep up with water changes and cleaning the filtration.

Makes sense. I imagine it is a bit stressful given the dramatic nature of these corals though :)

 

[mook1178]

One word capital and bold

STABILITY This goes for all reefs realy, but is especially true for Acros. Phosphate, nitrate, alk, calcium, etc all have a range that is acceptable for Acros. As long as you are stable in that range, you will be fine. That range may allow for shifts that the Acro cannot take, ie Alk going from 7 to 8 dkh, no3 going from 5-10. These ranges are acceptable, but if they change that much in a day, that is not acceptable. The key is to not let them change quickly or drastically.

 

[Matt L]

Makes sense. I imagine it is a bit stressful given the dramatic nature of these corals though :)

Yeah, some tend to whither away sometimes despite the best of efforts too. But really there’s no magic, just maintenance and observation. People tend to get caught up in trying to enhance their color so much, they forget about the basics.