Green Acropora

[Badfish]

The ideal conditions for this SPS is an established reef aquarium with intense lighting. To maximize their growth rate, it is important to maintain a high pH and stable alkalinity and calcium levels. Phosphate and nitrate levels must be as close to zero as possible. Along with good lighting and water quality, these Acropora corals prefer strong, intermittent water flow within the aquarium. This is best accomplished with a wavemaker and multiple powerheads.

I bought this Acro from Happy Coral the last Lansing swap. I'm still fairly new to SPS so being able to keep this piece beautiful and healthy has really boosted my confidence in my tank and my abilities as a Reefer.

My favorite part about this coral is the little Crab that lives on it's branches. He not a Trapezia Acropora Crab so I'm still not 100% hes a good guy, I have done a lot of reading on the little bugger and found mixed stories. So far he hasn't caused any damage I can notice, but I've got my eye on him.

[Chris]

Nice piece..... if the crab has black tips get it out! Regardless I would probably remove it to be safe, but black tips definitely remove they are bad news.

[Badfish]

Well he had black tips, at first I was going to leave in him until I signs of damage like I said before. But after thinking about it your right Chort, better to be safe then sorry and get him out now while he's still small and I know where he is. In hind sight he was so small that more than likely he was causing damage I just couldn't tell. Thanks Chort.

[Chris]

Yeah definitely better to catch it before it starts doing noticeable damage, and severely stressing the coral.... or moving on to its next victim!

Just out of curiosity how is polyp extension now compared to before you removed the little crab? I would suspect it is atleast a little better, especially in the area the crab was hanging out in.

[Badfish]

Not in the Acro, it has always had great polyp extension (One of the reasons why I decided to removed the crab). I only first saw him a few weeks ago, but he must have been in the tank for a while, so I don't know what other corals he's been hanging around. I did noticed that he spent days on the green acro and nights on my garf Bonsai. And the Bonsai does seem a little happier.