TankBud

Table acropora

Acropora hyacinthus

Also known as Table Acro, Tabling Acropora, Plate Acropora, Hyacinthus Acro, Acro

SaltwaterCoral

Table acropora (Acropora hyacinthus)
Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0

Care at a glance

Temperature
75–81°F
24–27°C
pH
8.1–8.4
Adult size
17.7 in
45 cm
Minimum tank
53 gal
200 L
Temperament
Peaceful
Social behavior
Solitary
Swim level
Bottom
Diet
Photosynthetic
Difficulty
Difficult
Breeding
Hard
Rarity
Common
Reef safe
Reef safe
Family
Acroporidae
Origin
Grows on exposed Indo-Pacific reef slopes and crests, from the Indian Ocean through the western Pacific.

Overview

The Table acropora is a fast-growing coral that spreads outward into a wide, flat plate. It is a coral for experienced reef keepers.

Did you know

In the wild, Table acropora colonies can outgrow every neighbor and shade out the reef below them. Even a small aquarium frag will eventually try to plate out sideways into a disc.

Caring for the Table acropora

Give the Table acropora a reef tank of at least 53 gal (200 L) with plenty of horizontal room, because it tables outward. It needs strong light and moderate to strong flow. Mount it where the plate can spread without shading or touching its neighbors.

It is an advanced coral that needs a mature, stable system, so hold alkalinity, calcium and magnesium in a tight reef range. Keep the water at 75 to 81°F (24 to 27°C) and a pH of 8.1 to 8.4. It is a small polyp stony coral packed with zooxanthellae.

Start with an aquacultured frag. The Table acropora is peaceful, but it grows over slower corals. Plan for the wide footprint it will eventually claim.

Good to know

The Table acropora is a member of the family Acroporidae and one of the classic table-forming corals of Indo-Pacific reefs. Its fine, tightly packed branchlets fuse into a broad plate, a form distinct from the upright staghorn and the low, bushy corymbose acros. Aquarium pieces are usually blue, purple, green or cream with contrasting tips.

In the wild

The Table acropora grows on exposed reef slopes and crests, from the Indian Ocean through the western Pacific. Wild colonies can spread into tables over a meter across, catching light like a canopy over the reef. Their wide, flat plates also leave them vulnerable to bleaching in warm water.

Symbiotic relationships

Clown gobies and their Acropora

Clown gobies spend their lives wedged in the branches of Acropora corals, eating the coral's mucus and the small animals that live on it. Their skin carries a toxin that puts off predators, so the coral becomes a safe house. The coral is paid back in a way nobody expected: when a toxic seaweed touches an Acropora, the coral releases a chemical signal within minutes, and the gobies swim out and trim the seaweed back. Corals with gobies lose far less tissue to seaweed than corals without them.

A clown goby wants a branching coral to sit in, and Acropora is the natural choice, though it will settle for other branching stony corals. It is tiny, peaceful and needs small food several times a day. The one caution is the coral itself: a pair may nip a patch of Acropora or Montipora bare to lay eggs on the skeleton, and a small colony can lose a branch that way. Keep one, or a pair, per tank; two males fight.

Every symbiotic relationship in the catalog

Common questions

What size tank does a Table acropora need?

A Table acropora needs at least 53 gal (200 L).

What temperature and pH does a Table acropora need?

A Table acropora is comfortable at 75–81°F (24–27°C) with a pH of 8.1–8.4.

What does a Table acropora eat?

A Table acropora is packed with zooxanthellae and needs strong light.

How big does a Table acropora get?

An adult Table acropora reaches about 17.7 in (45 cm).

Related species