Keeping aussie acropora

[xmjxflipx]

Hey just wanted anyone to help me with keeping aussie acropora. Most of the sps that ive bought are tank raised in an aquarium which is used to the artificial lighting and the such.

I have several questions.

1. How do you minimize the stress or bleaching from when its shipped from australia-->Store--> consumer.

2. If it was normally under 400W or 1000W lighting and now i have t5s and it might bleach temporarily or massively due to maybe diff lighting intensity, color etc..what are the chances of recovery and what are the likelihood of the event to happen?

3. Why do some aussie acropora have this brownish base but the tips are colored like this for example. Over time if it is accustomed to the tank will the brownish base eventually turn into a more colorful base?

4. If i do happen to get a aussie acropora and it does bleach for one reason or another what are the steps i can do for recovery?? I have had one or two frags bleach previously but decided to keep them in my tank and after a month they returned to have very nice coloration.

 

[Troylee]

There not any different than regular mariculture sps.... They just take time to aclumate to our conditions.... Most likely it will brown out pretty bad for awhile and then come back real nice!!!! Some don't...:( they survive but not thrive, it's a chance we take....;) the shortcake is a classic example everyone I have had or my friends got were brown as can be but a few months down the road you got a show stopper piece!!!! That's been my exp anyway...;)

 

[xmjxflipx]

sort of like a diamond in the rough troylee?

 

[uchin]

Make sure they are dipped and inspected for pest. Start them in Med light and good flow.

 

[Stevejrnc]

The guy I'm working for has been getting in lots of aussi
sps they are very nice but after awhile some of the pieces
become even more colorful under 400watt radiums and superflow
just make sure any tight branching stuff get alot of flow

 

[clowns101]

1)The only way to be sure to keep stress down,it by buying from a good suppplier,most of them use quality whoelsaers,or importers and have a established QT system that allows them to care for the animal before any sale would done.

2)I dont know how many people who keep there corals under 1000 lights,I doubt many wholesalers or importers do either.As long as par is similar,I see no reason why they would bleach out very much.

3)Its natural color,some of the Indo Acros will do the same.

4)Chances of recovory are good as long as you system is good,it is all about you and your system.

Good luck to you.

 

[xmjxflipx]

thanks everyone...for the info. :) i will prob buy a small aussie colony and see how it does in my tank...

 

[Troylee]

Diamonds in the rough for the most part.... Although I have one stubborn one so far that grows like crazy but stays brown... It was purple and green when I got it...arrrrr just five them time...;)

 

[xmjxflipx]

btw does anyone know what causes sps to brown?? just like in the pic i posted? i think ive read insufficient lighting and/or excessive nutrients or high phosphates.....did i pretty much hit everything? i was hoping overtime maybe it wont be so brown like the pic as it looks unpleasant IMO.

 

[Stevejrnc]

Looking at aussi acros is nice
but my god the differance in aussi lps and all the others
is night and day

 

[Troylee]

btw does anyone know what causes sps to brown?? just like in the pic i posted? i think ive read insufficient lighting and/or excessive nutrients or high phosphates.....did i pretty much hit everything? i was hoping overtime maybe it wont be so brown like the pic as it looks unpleasant IMO.

Those are 2 important ones... By the looks of that colony I would say lighting is the issue because it's got a tight structure it's hard for light to reach the base.... Most large colonies have this problem....

 

[dakotasreef]

btw does anyone know what causes sps to brown?? just like in the pic i posted? i think ive read insufficient lighting and/or excessive nutrients or high phosphates.....did i pretty much hit everything? i was hoping overtime maybe it wont be so brown like the pic as it looks unpleasant IMO.

Yes, Yes and Yes. Flow can also have and effect on it. Stress from pests, being handled and just the shipping and collection process.

As long as your system is ready for sps, then you should be fine no matter where the sps comes from. Like said before, maricultured pieces can brown out a little easier than aquacultured pieces.

Like troylee had said, sometimes it takes some time for them to color back up.

I would say if you can get it for a decent price and you really like the piece. Go for it

 

[Werdlone]

1) you must have a mature system ready for sps. 2)STABLE parameters that are as close to natural sea water is important. 3)adequate flow..the thicker the branch the higher the flow it came from. Thick branches withstand strong surge in shallow reefs. 4)adequate light. T5 is adequate for sps..actually offers better spectrum of light IMO, with more control of color. I use MH, which IMO give more natural point source light with higher intensity and natural shimmer.

Aussie corals are no different from any other corals. They are just new to market and we are seeing really cool stuff. they will brown and then color back up.. This is the same for any wild sps.

 

[Myteemouse]

Yep I only have one aussi SPS and it was doo doo brown when I got it and it it slowly coloring back up like the SSC.. Just put it in a happy spot and watch it.. if you have good polyp extension and no resection .. you should be good.. the pic you posted looks healthy.. now just find he spot to color it up..
I found with my Strawberry shortcake.. It likes super high light right under the bulb and good flow...If I move the SSC even for a day or two it browns out.

 

[SunnyX]

I agree with everyone here. Finding a great supplier who handles corals with care is key. We started getting in Aussie a couple months back in anticipation of our store launch. Most of the Aussie's held thier color very well, some even look better now. A couple browned out and are now turning around into gems. If the Aussie's are coming in freash then you do take a risk with the corals browning out. But, any coral that I have had brown has always colored up even more brilliantly a couple months down the road. I say just worry about you systems parameters and the rest will take care of its self. ;)

 

[xmjxflipx]

yes...i actually bought one aussie....its blue about 2 inches from the top......but the bottom down is all brown!...ill wait and see how it develops.....
i also got a maricultured acro from liveaquaria divers den...it was nice.. it had a yellow/green base, with some purple and blue polyps.... so i want to see how they develop

Sonny (if ur rreading this)how many hours do you think i should run a full lighting?? right now my blues are on 12 hours which are just 2 blue+ bulbs but i do full lighting for about 4 hours to acclimate the sps slowly but how many hours is ideal when all bulbs are turned oon?

 

[SunnyX]

Hello, I run my blue's for 12h hours, and whites from 6-8 hours depending on coral coloration. When we got our first shipments a couple months back we placed everything under the T5's without changing the photoperiod. Every system is different so photoperiod will vary. Most stores keep their acros under MH, we are the rare exception and house are corals under T5. This is great as it helps the transition when they move to T5 lit aquariums. Many who run T5 will find that if they buy corals that were housed under MH they take much longer to settle in and acclimate.

What is your bulb combo consist of?

 

[xmjxflipx]

well the one that u told me :X i still need the aquablue special, but it will be

blue+
purple+
blue +
blue +
aquablue special
blue+

or which is betterj, dont know if it matters as far as the bulb placement...
blue+
purple+
blue +
aquablue special
blue+
blue+

 

[SunnyX]

Ha ha, sorry about that. I get a bazzillion messages a day so its hard to keep track. In that case I would bump the other lights up to 6 hours. Do it slowly, adding 30 minutes every 2 days. Im off to frag some stuff up, good luck! :D

well the one that u told me :X i still need the aquablue special, but it will be

blue+
purple+
blue +
blue +
aquablue special
blue+

 

[xmjxflipx]

its cool...to me lol ur like the george clooney of the reefing world :bigsmile: