Acropora

Care at a glance

Acropora is the coral the rest of the hobby works towards: branching colonies in colours that look almost unnatural, with small polyps standing over the branches like a haze. It is also the least forgiving coral, which makes it as notorious as it is loved.

It demands bright light, strong varying flow and, above all, stability: alkalinity that moves no more than a tenth of a point a day, and nutrients that are low but not zero. When things go wrong it loses tissue from the base upwards, often within a day. Only start once your tank has run stably for a year, begin with a cheap frag, and do not move it once it has encrusted.

Good to know

• Needs a mature, stable tank

Related species

• Frogspawn coralEuphyllia divisa
• MontiporaMontipora sp.
• Candy cane coralCaulastraea furcata
• Torch coralEuphyllia glabrescens
• Favia brain coralFavia sp.
• Hammer coralEuphyllia ancora