Is one more important than the other?

[thelonereefer1]

I’ve recently over the last few months began dabbling with acros. Been lps for years. Just a newbie Acro curiosity question. What is the sign of a happy healthy Acro, coloring or pe? Can they be mutually exclusive from one another or must they go hand in hand?

 

[blaxsun]

I would say PE then color, myself.

 

[Dburr1014]

I have a Oregon tort that has great color but hardly any pe.
It's growing so....

 

[calhoun3186]

Sorry I'm new to saltwater and I have tried to look this up, but what is "PE"?

 

[fodsod]

I've got acros that are one or the other. Some have good PE and some decent color and others that have no PE that I can see but are colorful and growing/look healthy.

As with everything in this hobby, it's always dependent on the individual animal IMO. They like what they like and its our job to figure out what that is.

 

[fodsod]

Sorry I'm new to saltwater and I have tried to look this up, but what is "PE"?

Polyp extension

 

[Troylee]

Really curious what the consensus is here… I have both.. some with great color and no pe and some with amazing pe and dull colors.. some have amazing pe and color haha..

 

[fodsod]

Really curious what the consensus is here… I have both.. some with great color and no pe and some with amazing pe and dull colors.. some have amazing pe and color haha..

I've read/heard a thousand times a mixed reef is the hardest to maintain. I guess this is one of the reasons why. It's difficult, if not impossible to make all the critters happy at once.

 

[Troylee]

I've read/heard a thousand times a mixed reef is the hardest to maintain. I guess this is one of the reasons why. It's difficult, if not impossible to make all the critters happy at once.

My tank is Sps dominant and I cater to them! I have a couple torches and a csb but they love the high light and flow also.. my tri color valida grows like a weed with crazy pe but the color is drab… my shortcake grows like a weed and beautiful color with very little pe lol.. I have over 40 acros and they’re all over the place.

 

[386reeftrader]

Number 1. sign of a happy acro is crazy nighttime PE, IMO. If your coral doesn’t have wild PE at night mainly from the axial corallites it’s more than likely not happy, or growing. If an acro is thriving it will have good PE and great coloration, though there’s limited species that never have much PE from radial corallites and those are the ones to check at night.

 

[Waters]

Depends on the acro. I have some that are growing like crazy with almost no PE.....others are super hairy. I would say growth, color, and PE all play an equal part in determining a healthy frag.