Electric Lemonade Anacropora forbesi

 Acropora Care

Anacropora are often lumped in with similar SPS corals such as Acropora or Montipora but exist in their own Genus. Anacropora can be thought of as a cross between thin branching Acropora such as Acropora echinata or Acropora lokani and the unique appearance of Montipora setosa. They are very fast growing and slightly more hardy than either Acropora or Montipora. Please see below for additional care tips for Anacropora as well as checking out our Top 5 Tips for setting up a reef.

 Location

Indo-Pacific - Anacropora are found in the islands of the Indo-Pacific including Fiji, Tonga, Solomon Islands, and the Great Barrier Reef.

 Lighting

High lighting would serve this species well. Anacropora can be kept under high output fluorescent bulbs (T5), but may benefit from more intense lighting such as metal halide (MH) or light emitting diode (LED). Anacropora may require a longer acclimation period to intense lighting such as metal halides. Anacropora can change color like other similar SPS, but not nearly to the extent that corals such as Acropora or Montipora do.

Low Light

Low light translates to about 30-50 PAR

Medium Light

Medium Light is between 50-150 PAR

High Light

High Light is anything over 150 PAR

Lighting is a loaded topic, so for a more in-depth discussion of lighting, please see our Deep Dive article.

 Water Flow

Strong water movement is recommended.

 Feeding

Like most coral, Anacropora rely to a large extent on the products of their zooxanthellae, however, in our experience, they also benefit from direct feeding. There are a variety of frozen fish foods available that make outstanding meals for Anacropora. We like to feed a mixture of meaty rotifer-based foods with vitamin additives and highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFA). The size of the food must be small enough that the polyp can fully ingest it. We like to use the cloudy supernate that forms after thawing out frozen food and using a turkey baster to spray it on the Anacropora colonies.

 Propagation

This genus for the most part has been propagated extensively in captivity and is an excellent candidate for aquaculture. It is reasonable to believe that a sustainable harvest can be achieved in time.

 Acclimation

Proper acclimation is extremely important considering the stress imposed on the animals by the shipping process. Please take a moment to review our Acclimation Guide.

 Photography

The images were taken with a Canon 5D mk II and 100mm macro lens under T5 Fluorescent lighting. Quite a lot goes into how we go about shooting the corals and anemones you see on Tidal Gardens. For an in-depth look at our methods, check out our comprehensive Reef Aquarium Photography FAQ.