Acanthastrea

[lReef lKeeper]

Acanthastrea Species (Aussie and Non)

In my experience with Acans, they are far less demanding that any SPS coral in my system. They do not require intense lighting, insane amounts of water flow, or perfect water parameters. They are also some of my most prized possessions in my system, because of the insane color variations (mine are all Aussie Acans, but even the non Aussie's have crazy color morphs available to us.



Lighting Requirements : Low to Moderate

i would suggest any lighting besides Power Compacts for these corals. I have all 7 of mine on the sandbed under cover, from SPS corals above them, under 250w metal halides. I have seen them kept under VHO, T5, and MH and they all looked great. i would suggest acclimating them to the more intense lighting options.

Flow Requirements : Moderate

These corals do great for me in moderate to a medium high flow area. Like all other corals, use NO direct flow on them. You want to see the polyps GENTLY moving in the flow. This will allow the feeding tentacles to capture the food from the water column as it passes them by.

Water Parameters : Good

These corals are a very forgiving coral, IME. They do not require "perfect" water conditions, but would benefit them to be well taken care of. High calcium, Alk, and Mag will help them to grow faster, but are not required. I would recommend everything else to read 0's, but low readings will not have and noticable effect on them.

[rroselavy]

Good article. A few questions:

What do Acan's prefer to eat?

Should they be spot fed, and if so - how often?

How fast can they be expected to grow in a stable, mature system?

Thanks!

[lReef lKeeper]

i would suggest something like Mysis shrimp, cyclopeeze, oyster eggs, or the like.

spot feeding is not required, but they would benefit from them.

fairly slow growers even in a stable and mature tank.