Aussie Acan Lord Coral – Acanthastrea lordhowensis

• Date Added: 07/13/2010
• Tank: Cardiff 24 gallon
• Status: Inactive
• Purchased at: Marine Warehouse
• Cost: $40.00 (4 polyps)
• Coloration: Blue, Purple, and Green
• Lighting: 250w MH 14000K Phoenix

General Information

• Description: The Acanthastrea sp. corals, a Large Polyp Stony (LPS) coral, come in many brilliant color combinations from red, purple, green, orange, blue, rust, brown, gray, and/or tan. They can be easily misidentified with other types of corals. They are both a hermatypic and photosynthetic coral.

  They are competitive and can expel mesenterial filaments for defensive or offensive actions upon neighbor corals. Make sure to give them enough space to protect neighboring corals.

• Light and Flow: Although individual specimens can vary, in general they require moderate water flow and moderate lighting. Like all other corals, properly acclimating them is critical to their health. For optimum coloration, they should be given a moderate light levels such as T5 or lower in aquarium for metal halide lighting. Placing too close to metal halides can cause the polyps to not fully open.
• Supplements: It will require maintaining stable levels of calcium, magnesium, pH, alkalinity, and other trace elements as you would with other types of LPS corals.
• Feeding: While it does not require additional food to maintain its health, it will help their growth. Feed them minced meaty foods such as shrimp, mysis and squid. Turn off the powerheads and use a feeding device such as a turkey baster to slowly release the food over their polyps.

References

“Acanthastrea Coral – Acanthastrea spp.” FishLore.com. http://www.fishlore.com/coral/acanthastrea-coral.htm. Accessed 13 July 2010.

McBirney, Carrie. “Acan Lord.” Animal-World. http://animal-world.com/…/AcanthastreaLordhowensis.php. Accessed 13 July 2010.

Perun, Blane. “Acanthastrea Coral.” Blane Perun’s TheSea.Org. http://www.thesea.org/…coral.htm. Accessed 13 July 2010.