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Staghorn acropora

Acropora

Also known as Staghorn Coral, Acro

SaltwaterCoral

Staghorn acropora (Acropora)
Albert Kok at Dutch Wikipedia (Original text: Albert Kok) · Public domain

Care at a glance

Temperature
75–81°F
24–27°C
pH
8.1–8.4
Adult size
9.8 in
25 cm
Minimum tank
40 gal
150 L
Temperament
Mostly peaceful
Social behavior
Solitary
Swim level
Bottom
Diet
Photosynthetic
Difficulty
Difficult
Breeding
Medium
Rarity
Common
Reef safe
Reef safe
Family
Acroporidae
Origin
Indo-Pacific reefs; wild, maricultured and aquacultured colonies all common in the trade

Overview

The staghorn acropora is a classic branching and tabling SPS coral, the genus most people picture in a high-end reef tank. It is the most demanding common aquarium SPS, so it is for experienced keepers.

Did you know

The axial polyp at the tip of each branch is the growth engine of a staghorn acropora colony. Its color often differs from the body, so keepers watch those tips as the first sign of a coral doing well or in trouble.

Caring for the staghorn acropora

A staghorn acropora is zooxanthellate and depends heavily on light. Give it high light, often 250 to 600 PAR depending on the piece. It needs strong, turbulent, alternating flow, which feeds its tiny polyps and keeps its tissue clean.

Place it high in the rockwork, but acclimate it upward gradually over weeks. A sudden move into intense light will bleach it.

It needs a well established, rock stable system of at least 40 gal (150 L). Hold alkalinity and calcium steady, and keep nutrients low. Keep the water at 75 to 81°F (24 to 27°C) with a pH of 8.1 to 8.4. It is the first coral to show stress from parameter swings.

Several Acropora can share a tank, but give every colony real spacing, since an Acropora can sting or overgrow neighbors where they touch. It has no long sweeper tentacles of its own and is readily stung by LPS sweepers. Keep it clear of hammers, torches and similar corals.

Good to know

Acropora is a large genus in the family Acroporidae. You can tell it by the axial corallite at each branch tip.

In the wild

Staghorn acropora comes from reefs across the Indo-Pacific. Wild, maricultured and aquacultured colonies are all common in the trade.

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 staghorn acropora need?

A staghorn acropora needs at least 40 gal (150 L).

What temperature and pH does a staghorn acropora need?

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

What does a staghorn acropora eat?

A staghorn acropora is zooxanthellate, so it relies heavily on light. Strong, turbulent flow also brings food to its tiny polyps.

How big does a staghorn acropora get?

An adult staghorn acropora reaches about 9.8 in (25 cm).

Related species